Solicitation case, license issue hang over Treasures

Sito Negron

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2004 | 9:27 a.m.

Las Vegas Municipal Judge George Assad will decide next week whether a dancer at the Treasures strip club solicited an undercover police officer for sex.

Meanwhile, city staff is asking Las Vegas City Council to again postpone the big decision -- whether to renew Treasures' liquor license.

The council had been slated to make that decision on Wednesday, but now the matter is expected to be taken up Sept. 15. The license initially came up for review on March 17, but the council held off on a vote to see what happened in this and three other solicitation cases.

City officials were not available to explain why they requested yet another postponement. Mark Fiorentino, Treasures' lawyer on the licensing issue, did not return calls seeking comment.

The case in Assad's court was one of several soliciting prostitution trials involving dancers from Treasures, a $30 million club that opened last year after an extensive licensing process.

Part of the licensing decision by City Council was a promise extracted from Fiorentino that there would be no illegal activity at the club. His promise came after council members were told of lawbreaking at the Houston strip clubs of the Davari brothers, who own Treasures.

The four alleged prostitution violations occurred shortly after the club opened.

The Las Vegas City Council considered pulling the liquor license, which effectively would have killed the club, but opted to wait for the outcome of the prostitution cases.

One dancer already has been found guilty of soliciting for prostitution.

Council members also questioned whether they could single out Treasures for tougher enforcement, despite the promises made by Fiorentino, who later said the pledge was impossible to live up to and an error on his part.

A survey of violations found at local strip clubs presented to the council showed that Treasures was about the same as most.

In addition, the national television show "Dateline" recently broadcast a story about troubles at the Crazy Horse Too, a club down the street from Treasures in the Industrial Road area just west of the Strip. The story focused on a tourist's claim that his neck was broken in an unprovoked attack by bouncers in 2001.

That type of information had been expected to be part of the discussion Wednesday, before the item was slated to be postponed. Absent from the discussions have been Mayor Oscar Goodman and Councilman Michael Mack, the former because his son Ross Goodman represents the Treasures dancers in the prostitution cases, the latter because he is a consultant for the club.

Fiorentino also has attempted to persuade City Council that the Davari brothers have gone beyond other club operators' attempts to self-police, and points most prominently to the program instituted by a private detective he hired. The program includes background checks, random sweeps by a drug-sniffing dog, and a policy of firing employees who break the law in the club.

He said the dancer who was convicted of solicitation for prostitution would no longer be allowed to work in the club.

During Monday's hearing Assad focused on whether dancer Barbara Lewis was entrapped by an officer, who spent about two hours with her and asked her to exchange sex for money four times.

She refused the arrangement each time, according to testimony, before finally agreeing leave the club and go to the officer's room for $600.

"All the officer did was provide the opportunity," said Martin Orsinelli, the deputy city attorney trying the case.

Ross Goodman, who is representing Lewis, said the officer went beyond affording the opportunity to break the law. "The officer refused to stop when Miss Lewis turned down the offer," Goodman argued.

Assad said he would come back with a verdict Sept. 7.