Nude club at center of political scandal

Friday, Sept. 12, 2003 | 5:34 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: Sept. 14, 2003

SAN DIEGO -- At the center of the political corruption scandal here is Cheetahs, the totally nude dancing establishment in the north San Diego suburb of Kearny Mesa.

Open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, the club owned by Las Vegas businessman Michael Galardi is on a corner of a busy commercial thoroughfare.

Although the gentlemen's club is surrounded by automobile repair shops and dealerships, fast food joints, a bar and grill and a strip mall, Cheetahs sticks out because of its hot pink roof.

On the day that club manager D'Intino pleaded guilty for his role in the scandal, the parking lot at Cheetahs was crowded with customers' vehicles. Parked across the street was a flatbed truck with a Cheetahs advertisement showing a topless blonde, her crossed arms covering her breasts.

The husky doorman inside the club issued a stern "no comment" when asked about the indictment, directing all questions about the case to "Las Vegas headquarters."

Catty-corner from Cheetahs in San Diego is FanDiego, a ceiling fan and lighting shop where salesman John Betancourt says that the nude club has been a good neighbor. So good, he said, that the club has bought fans from him.

"I'd like to see justice done," Betancourt said. "I'm more concerned with our politicians than with Cheetahs' actions. I would hope our politicians would be held to higher standards."

Betancourt said he did not see the scandal as an example of Las Vegas exporting sleaze to San Diego.

"A guy trying to corrupt politicians will try to do it whether its Atlantic City or San Diego or Las Vegas," he said. "If a businessman is trying to buy politicians, he needs to be held accountable for it."

Fellow strip mall businessman Cesar Gannod, co-owner of key engraver Fast Keys, which consists of a small hut in the parking lot, had a bird's-eye view of the proceedings when the San Diego media swarmed down on Cheetahs with television news vans the day the indictment was announced.

"People are blowing this out of proportion," Gannod said. "The media is making this out to be bigger than it should be. What politicians aren't corrupt? If politicians were bribed, that's their problem. But I have no problem with Cheetahs."