Florida arrests could affect LV clubs

Monday, Dec. 29, 2003 | 11:23 a.m.

The arrests of six people at four Tampa, Fla., strip clubs last week further cloud an already uncertain future for two now-closed topless clubs in Las Vegas.

Police and county officials, including County Commission members who will ultimately make the decision on whether to grant liquor, gaming and "adult cabaret" licenses for two clubs at the center of a federal corruption probe, said Friday that the arrests will factor into their investigation of Jack Galardi's suitability to run or own the clubs.

Jack Galardi is the father of Michael Galardi, who faces a conviction hearing next month for bribing San Diego city councilmen and until the last two months owned Jaguars and the Leopard Lounge in the county and Cheetahs in the city of Las Vegas.

The younger Galardi has pleaded guilty in a Las Vegas federal court on charges of paying public officials between $200,000 and $400,000 to vote for measures that helped his clubs. In his plea on the racketeering charge, Michael Galardi agreed to sell off his interest in the clubs -- a promise he kept this month with his sale to his father.

But the licenses do not automatically transfer. Jaguars and the Leopard Lounge are closed as lawyers for Jack Galardi attempt to win approval for the licenses.

Commissioner Myrna Williams, who faces the prospect of four of her former commission colleagues going to federal prison in the probe, said the latest arrests will play a part in the Metro Police investigation that will precede a decision about licensing Jack Galardi.

"We would have to pay attention to the arrests," Williams said. "Of course, they (those charged in Florida) are innocent until proven guilty, but this is a 'privilege' license."

That means Metro investigators, who will recommend approval or denial of the licenses, can take into account accusations that point to a pattern of behavior. The County Commission will not depend on newspaper accounts of the arrests to determine what it should do, Williams said.

"What we have to do is rely on the investigation," she said, noting that Jack Galardi will have to shoulder the cost of a thorough investigation if he wants to win the licenses.

Jacqueline Holloway, Clark County director of business licensing, echoed her boss' comments. She said Metro's investigation will be thorough, but in a sense, routine.

"With any licensee, Metro conducts a consistently neutral investigation," Holloway said. "They will proceed with their normal routine and normal course."

If Metro requests additional resources, the police investigators will get them, she said.

Police have promised a complete investigation.

"It's going to be very in-depth," Officer Jose Montoya said. "We're definitely going to look at the way these businesses are run."

Suzanne Coe, Jack Galardi's attorney, said the Tampa arrests could not come at a worse time for her client. She spoke from Florida, where she said despite the ongoing issues in Las Vegas, her client's primary concern is to find out what happened at the Tampa clubs and make sure that any criminal activity is stopped.

"When it rains, it pours," Coe said. "But we're not sure at this point, we're trying to find out, if anything has happened in Tampa. There's only allegations at this point."

She said that the arrests are likely to affect the January licensing hearings scheduled for the county clubs but the county board also will have evidence that Jack Galardi is personally clean.

"He's done absolutely nothing wrong," Coe said.

Jack Galardi already has a license to run a strip club, Cheetahs, in the city, and for that he went through a background investigation, she said. Coe added that her client has four decades of experience running similar clubs.

But the elder Galardi has not avoided controversy. Three years ago a jury in Atlanta, where he owns nightclubs and strip clubs, ordered Jack Galardi to pay more than $2 million to a stripper who said she was disqualified from a nude beauty pageant for refusing to allow the club owner to lick whipped cream off her breasts.

And Jack Galardi has personal experience with law enforcement: An arrest for theft in the 1970s led to a federal prison term. A 1992 federal drug probe investigated the strip-club owner, but did not result in any formal allegations.

Metro investigators brought up Jack Galardi's legal history in 1999, the last time he came before the county. Officers asked the County Commission to allow them to investigate whether Jack Galardi had a financial interest in Jaguars, a club with licenses in Michael Galardi's name.

The commission denied the police request by a 4-3 vote. Three of the four officials who voted against the background check -- Dario Herrera, Lance Malone and Erin Kenny -- now face charges in the corruption probe.

Mary Miller, Clark County deputy district attorney and county counsel, said like every other issue, the Tampa arrests will be a factor in Metro's investigation and will likely play a role in the commission's new consideration of Jack Galardi's suitability for licensing.

"Without a doubt it has to be factored in," Miller said. "Whether or not it will make a difference in the end, I don't know, because we don't have the background and the facts yet."