Local reactions range from fear to disappointment

Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 | 11:24 a.m.

From the halls of local government to the environs of adult entertainment businesses, response to federal indictments in San Diego Thursday related to a strip club scandal ranged from disappointment to fears that it could tarnish both government and the industry.

Clark County Manager Thom Reilly said his staff and the district attorney's office would study the indictments -- which named local strip club owner Michael Galardi and former County Commissioner Lance Malone, as well as three San Diego city councilmen in a political corruption case -- to determine whether any action needs to be taken against Galardi's business licenses in the county.

"It's disheartening and I'm somewhat angry that public officials and government agencies may be painted with a broad brush because of the actions of a few individuals," Reilly said. "People who deal with us know that we provide good service. People who work for the county are professional and proud of the work they do."

Reilly said that he didn't believe Malone's indictment on wire fraud, extortion and interstate travel in aid of racketeering in relation to a Galardi strip club in San Diego would have any impact on the conduct of Clark County government business. Malone became a Galardi consultant after serving four years in office.

"I don't know how we can address the actions of someone who has already left office," Reilly said. "I haven't seen anything to suggest that are any improprieties in the county."

But he said a task force that is reviewing the county's ethics code and is expected to vote on a draft report Sept. 9 could touch on related topics. The task force is reviewing a possible "cooling off" period that would prohibit elected county officials as well as employees from lobbying the county within a year of leaving county office or employment.

Federal officials in Las Vegas are conducting a similar probe and have named Commission Chairwoman Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, former Commissioners Erin Kenny and Dario Herrera and former Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald as subjects or targets of the investigation.

Agents raided Galardi's businesses in May. A grand jury has been meeting since.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, ethics professor Craig Walton, a member of the task force, said he hopes the Malone indictment will result in positive changes in the ethical conduct of elected officials in Southern Nevada. Walton said that he wasn't "completely surprised" by the indictments but that wire fraud and the other charges are "extremely serious" offenses.

"It means we have one bad apple," Walton said, referring to Malone, "and God knows how many others.

"We need to come up with government ethics workshops. It's naive to think that just because someone gets elected that they know how to do ethical things. It's not that simple. You can almost say that a conflict of interest is the daily bread of a public official. There's food around you everyday so you have to be on guard.

"I know there's a school of thought that the public is stupid and forgets about ethical lapses but a number of people who betrayed the public trust weren't reelected or didn't run again."

Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who has served on the commission since Operation Yobo 20 years ago -- a sting that resulted in bribery charges against then-commissioners Jack Petitti and Woodrow Wilson -- said he wasn't surprised by the indictments of Malone and Galardi based on what he has read about the FBI probe,

But Woodbury said he wouldn't speculate on the impact this could have in Las Vegas.

"I hope it has a chilling effect on anyone who thinks they can exercise improper influence," he said.

Fellow Commissioner Myrna Williams, who also served with Malone, said she, too, was not surprised by the indictments based on what she has read in the newspapers. But she said had no inside information about the federal case.

"I have no idea of what they have," she said of the federal investigators. "I hate to see anybody in trouble, but I guess they are going to do what they have to do. I feel very sorry for the families" of those involved.

Jaguars general manager Rich Buonantony defended his boss, Mike Galardi, late Thursday.

Buonantony has managed Jaguars, the two-story posh gentlemen's club, since it opened on June 26, 2001. Before that, he served in the same position at Galardi's other Las Vegas strip club, Cheetahs, which opened in 1991.

"Mike is one of the most outstanding people there are. He's a good friend," Buonantony said.

Asked if he knew where Galardi would be today, Buonantony said: "He will be in San Diego, at least I'm assuming so, just like everyone else."

In the meantime, "business is going on as usual," Buonantony said Thursday night at the club. "It's a little slow right now, but it will be full with the three-day weekend. We expect a very good turnout."

Buonantony said Galardi was being unfairly villified by authorities.

"He's made a lot of contributions to charities. He is not a drug lord," Buonantony said.

Other representatives of adult entertainment businesses said that because the industry is already under a law enforcement microscope they feared that convictions in San Diego would intensify scrutiny of the industry in Las Vegas and around the country.

Raymond Pistol, owner of the Talk of the Town adult nightclub and X-rated Showgirl Video, both in Las Vegas, said he was "shocked" by the indictments because he has not heard of any problems at Galardi's local strip clubs, which include Jaguars and Cheetahs.

"I find it hard to believe that Mike Galardi has been indicted for extortion and fraud," Pistol said. "He's a good guy. He runs a tight operation. I'm shocked and surprised that he has done anything wrong. It will have to be proven in court for me to believe it.

"The clubs are well run in this town and I know of no problems. That doesn't mean that a politician might not want to make a name for himself by creating problems."

But Pistol said he feared that legitimate adult-oriented businessmen will now find it harder to make contact with local public officials.

"We assume we're under scrutiny anyhow," he said. "My biggest concern is that we will become disenfranchised. Will this mean I can't get behind a politician? They might get squeamish taking (campaign) money from us or talking to us."

City of Las Vegas Business Services Manager Jim DiFiore said his department has no immediate plans to investigate the Cheetahs license.

"If (the charges) resulted in a conviction in court we would certainly review (the license) with the city attorney's office," he said.

Word about the indictments spread quickly at Caesars Palace, which has been playing host this week to an annual convention of adult nightclub owners. One participant who expressed disappointment was Cleveland adult nightclub owner Angelina Spencer, executive director of the 600-member Association of Club Executives, a trade association for adult nightclub owners.

"It's unfortunate that this happened because the industry is already under a microscope," Spencer said. "When it hits one club owner it hurts all of us. If Michael Galardi is vindicated, that will be great. But if he's not, we will all suffer.

"I believe that 99.9 percent of all club owners try to run legitimate businesses."

Spencer said news about the indictments didn't come as much of a surprise, however, because of all the media coverage the FBI probes in San Diego and Las Vegas have been receiving.

"Most of the reaction here has been people just shaking their heads," she said.

Peter Eliades, co-owner of the Olympic Gardens and Sapphire topless clubs in Las Vegas, said the indictments could mean that club owners and politicians will be more careful in future dealings.

"People are going to be more on the lookout, but if you're an honest person, you don't have anything to worry about," Eliades said. "If you have skeletons in your closet, it could be a problem but if you don't, then you're going to be OK."

Eliades said the indictments could be bad news for the adult industry in Las Vegas and the local economy.

"It doesn't sound very good right now," he said. "I hate for anyone to be in a situation like this. We don't know if they're guilty yet, so we just have to hope for the best."

Paul Brown, Southern Nevada director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, whose members include organized labor, minority and women's groups, said he did not think the indictments would have much impact on local campaign contributions.

Although Eliades and many other adult nightclub owners give campaign donations to state and local politicians, their contributions pale in comparison to those given by casinos and developers.

"The cash flow in Nevada is already so high because of the limits that allow $5,000 for a primary and $5,000 for a general election," Brown said.

He said the one area of donations that could be affected are those that are made about the time of a key vote.

"They shouldn't be allowed to do that," Brown said. "The Legislature doesn't allow contributions while they are in session, and we may see a backing off of that sort of thing before the city councils and county commission."

Like other politicians, Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid said he has been relying on media accounts for information about the corruption probe. He said the probe could color people's perception of the county commission.

"I'm disappointed, mostly because it affects the ability of us to govern," Reid said. "It makes people more cynical and makes them lose faith in government, which is regrettable.

"I've only been in office eight months, but I think we've done some good things, and I don't want those good things to be overshadowed by the bad things. I guess it's just troubling, but we all have a job to do and we need to move forward."

Las Vegas City Councilman Lawrence Weekly said that based on the media coverage of the probe it reinforces the idea of "just monitoring who you accept donations from and some of your relationships."

Fellow Councilman Gary Reese, who served with former Councilman Michael McDonald -- a subject of the FBI probe in Las Vegas -- said the indictment won't change the way he works.

"My momma taught me when I was a kid to be honest, and I've done that all my life," Reese said. "It will be just business as usual."

New Las Vegas City Councilwoman Janet Moncrief, who is currently under an ethical cloud having to do with her election campaign, said she didn't think people would correlate her troubles with those involving the indictments.

But she said she hoped the indictments would have a lasting effect on local politics.

"Every local politician will be more careful about every aspect, even little things like taking show tickets," Moncrief said. "When I first came to City Hall the mayor spoke to me about that, and he said there are ways of getting into trouble people wouldn't even know. That whole investigation has opened up everyone's eyes." Sun reporters

Erin Neff, Launce Rake, Jace Radke, Mary Manning and Sito Negron contributed to this report.

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