Former Treasures dancer not guilty

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 | 8:55 a.m.

A dancer from the now shuttered strip club Treasures was found not guilty Tuesday of two counts of soliciting prostitution.

The club has been closed since mid-September when the Las Vegas City Council voted against giving the club's owners a permanent liquor license, and their temporary liquor license expired. The council's decision was based in part on the August conviction of a Treasures dancer for soliciting prostitution.

Before granting the club's owners a temporary liquor license in 2001, one of their attorneys had promised the club would operate 100 percent above the law.

Club owners Hassan and Ali Davari's legal problems at their Houston strip clubs also influenced the council's September decision. They are appealing the council's action in federal court.

Louis Palazzo, attorney for the former dancer in Las Vegas Municipal Court on Tuesday, said the outcome for his client "certainly can't have any adverse affect" on the federal case.

"And it demonstrates the viability of the appeal," he said.

Former Treasures dancer Angela Wise was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution for allegedly agreeing to perform sex acts with two undercover Metro Police detectives at Treasures VIP area on Sept. 30, 2003.

Municipal Judge Dayvid Figler said that while he believed the testimony of the two officers, there was not enough evidence to say what would have happened if Wise and the officers had gone to the VIP area.

Figler then acquitted Wise on the two counts of soliciting prostitution.

Wise said she was happy with the outcome and to have the case finished because the pending charges have made other clubs leery of hiring her.

In all, three Treasures dancers were charged with soliciting prostitution. Two, including Wise have been found not guilty, and one was convicted, Palazzo said, adding that the conviction is being appealed in District Court.

Some dancers were also charged with violating the city's erotic dance code, but the constitutionality of that law is being challenged in District Court, Palazzo said.