Friday, Sept. 12, 2003 | 10:01 a.m.
While officials with Clark County say they have not ruled out the possibility that besieged strip club owner Michael Galardi may try to transfer his business license to someone else, his father, Jack Galardi, may not be the first in line for the job.
Suzanne Coe, chief counsel for Jack Galardi, who operates several strip clubs in Atlanta and the Southeast, said she had no comment on the possibility of her client taking over his son's Las Vegas clubs. She added that it's "an issue that has not even come up."
Michael Galardi, owner of two topless clubs in Clark County, has less than a month to voluntarily turn in his license to operate the strip bars after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a political corruption case.
Coe was in Las Vegas earlier this year to deliver to a federal grand jury some of Jack Galardi's records that had been requested by prosecutors. She said she is constantly hearing rumors regarding her client and how he may be connected to the political corruption investigations in Las Vegas and San Diego.
"I don't know where this news is coming from on this," Coe said from her Atlanta office. "I don't know who has the power to talk about these things, but no one contacts (Jack Galardi) or me to ask us."
Michael Galardi pleaded guilty in San Diego on Monday after initially pleading not guilty to a federal indictment released in that city on August 28. The indictment alleges that Galardi, former Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone and the manager of a Galardi club in San Diego made illegal campaign contributions to three San Diego city councilmen in an attempt to get them to relax regulation of strip clubs.
No indictments have been released in connection with the Las Vegas investigation.
Mary Miller, Clark County counsel, said the county will give Michael Galardi 30 days to turn over his license to operate Jaguars and Leopard Lounge.
Wire fraud is considered a crime of "moral turpitude" she said, a crime that would almost always carry the prohibition of a license to operate a business involving liquor, strippers and significant sums of cash.
Miller said the county could not immediately rule out a transfer of ownership to Jack Galardi, if he were to apply. She did add, however, that the elder Galardi had stepped out of the licensing process for the clubs in Clark County, and that the investigation into his suitability to run the establishments could be lengthy.
Meanwhile at City Hall, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday that he has asked City Attorney Brad Jerbic to advise the council next week what authority it has regarding Mike Galardi's license for Cheetahs, a club he co-owns with his father within the city limits.
When Goodman was asked whether he believed the city should revoke Galardi's license for Cheetahs, Goodman said, "You bet your bippy."
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