Decision is delayed on club dancer

Sito Negron

Thursday, June 24, 2004 | 11:12 a.m.

Municipal Judge Cedric A. Kerns on Wednesday expressed doubts about the defense of a Treasures dancer charged with soliciting prostitution, but postponed a decision that could start a chain of events that would close the strip club.

Kerns said he did not believe the dancer's testimony that she never agreed to sex, but the judge said he was not certain that the acts described by Metro Detective Charles Peck rose to the level of solicitation.

The case is being closely watched and aggressively defended because of the implications: During a highly charged licensing process brought on by legal troubles at the Houston clubs of Treasures' owners Ali and Hassan Davari, their lawyer promised that there would be no illegal activity in the Las Vegas clubs.

With that, the club was granted a temporary license.

In October, only two months after the club's opening, three dancers were arrested on charges of soliciting prostitution. The Las Vegas City Council considered pulling the liquor license, which effectively would have killed the club, but opted to await the outcome of the prostitution cases later this summer. The council now is scheduled to reconsider the license in September.

During Wednesday's trial Peck told the court that dancer Jessica Crockett offered to go to his room and have sex. However, she did not bring up the issue of money, the detective said.

Peck said that he told her he had won $700 gambling, and did not want to spend more than that. He testified that she agreed to oral sex and intercourse and that it would not go above that price.

Crockett, dressed in white scrubs from the cosmetology school she said she is attending, denied that she ever agreed to sex, and at times on the stand gagged in horror when asked whether she offered oral sex.

Deputy City Attorney Ed Poleski said in his closing statement that the issue was clear.

"There's no thin line. It's a big fat line ... someone's lying to you," the prosecutor said. He said that the defense had motivation to lie -- the possible consequences for Treasures -- and he said of Peck's testimony, "If you believe him, then we met all the elements (for a conviction)."

Kerns said he found it hard to believe a woman working in a strip club would find the suggestion of sex so abhorrent, and considered her testimony suspect.

However, he was unsure whether the transaction as described by Peck constituted an agreement to trade sex for money. He said he wanted to review the transcript in detail before making that decision. He postponed ruling on the case until July 29

Crockett appeared to break up in tears, her shoulders slumped and quaking, when Kerns made his comments.

Louis Palazzo, one of two lawyers defending Crockett, referred to the high stakes for Treasures -- a $30 million club -- in his closing argument. He noted that most prostitution citations are settled before court, something that Fiorentino also noted during the City Council meeting, raising the issue of whether Treasures was being targeted for selective prosecution.

Palazzo pointed out that in this trial, although Treasures' license is part of the context, if found guilty, "Miss Crockett is the person who walks out of here ... saddled with that conviction. It's unfair to use her as a pawn."

Crockett was also represented by Ross Goodman, Mayor Oscar Goodman's son. As a result of his son's involvement, the mayor abstained from voting on the issue or taking part in discussions about Treasures at recent City Council meetings. Joining him in abstaining was Councilman Michael Mack, who is a consultant for the club.