Judge dismisses part of strip club suit against cops

Jace Radke

Tuesday, June 29, 2004 | 9:26 a.m.

A federal judge has dismissed part of a lawsuit filed by topless-club owner Rick Rizzolo against Metro Police alleging that officers conducted an illegal search of his Crazy Horse Too club on Oct. 4, 2001.

The suit, filed in September, alleges that Metro Sgt. Al Cervantes, relying on information provided by Metro Detective Robert Rogers and Officer Erick Wilds, used false statements and omitted facts from the request for the warrant to search the club.

The suit seeks punitive damages in excess of $10,000 from Metro, Cervantes, Rogers, Wilds and five unnamed officers for the invasion of Rizzolo's privacy as well as his emotional distress, humiliation, legal fees and loss of business profit and reputation.

In an order filed Monday, U.S. District Judge Lloyd George dismissed a portion of the lawsuit that alleged that the officers violated the Nevada Constitution and were part of a civil conspiracy. The allegations of an illegal search were not dismissed, and the case remains ongoing.

The search warrant in question was requested after an alleged incident at the club involving a Kansas City man who has filed a civil suit against the club. Kirk Henry alleges that his neck was injured by a bouncer after a disagreement over a bill in the club on Sept 20, 2001.

The club maintains that Henry was found on the ground outside the club, and that club employees assisted in getting him medical attention.

Rizzolo's lawsuit alleges officers omitted from the search warrant affidavit that Henry was drunk at the time of the incident and may not have been able to accurately perceive what was happening. Also, Henry's version of events given to Rogers is contradicted by a recorded phone call to the fire department in which Henry said he was hit by an unknown person, not a club employee, according to the suit.

Rizzolo's lawsuit also alleges that officers omitted that a cabdriver at the scene reported that he had seen Henry fall to the ground, and that it was not a club employee who took Henry's wallet as alleged by Henry, but instead an officer who had removed the wallet to identify Henry.

Last fall Metro settled a civil rights lawsuit by paying two men $900,000 after the men claimed they were wrongfully charged with a felony and falsely arrested by several Metro officers, including Rogers, after an altercation in a bar in 1997.

Juan Berry, a corrections officer from Minnesota, and his cousin, James Suggs, who works for a pharmaceutical company in Kentucky, accused officers of fabricating charges in retaliation for a fight May 23, 1997, with several off-duty police officers at the now-defunct Drink nightclub.

Crazy Horse Too was also raided on Feb. 20, by federal agents as part of an investigation into possible ties between the club and organized crime. Neither that raid nor the 2001 Metro Police search have resulted in any charges being filed.