Topless club faces fines after boss’s guilty plea

Dan Kulin

Monday, June 12, 2006 | 7:24 a.m.

The Crazy Horse Too topless club could face more than $2 million in city fines as a result of the recent guilty plea of club owner Rick Rizzolo.

It would be the largest fine levied by Las Vegas for violations of a city license, easily dwarfing the nearly $1.1 million paid in 2004 by the parent company of Cheetahs topless club after Michael Galardi pleaded guilty to bribing San Diego politicians.

City Attorney Brad Jerbic said his office is drafting a complaint against Crazy Horse Too's parent company, which is owned by Rizzolo.

The complaint will probably go to the City Council in July, and if the council approves the complaint, a hearing would be set.

At that hearing, the council would decide what penalty to impose, if any. The punishment could include revocation of the club's liquor license and/or a fine based on the number of days that the business was open while breaking the law. The city can fine a business $1,000 per violation per day.

Although Jerbic said his office is still calculating the possible fine , he said it would top $2 million.

Rizzolo pleaded guilty June 1 to felony tax conspiracy charges under a deal that reportedly calls for him to pay nearly $17 million in fines to settle a civil lawsuit and to sell the club within a year. He also faces up to 16 months in prison.

Family Promise is still searching for a new home.

The nonprofit organization that helps homeless families with temporary shelter was thought to have a lead on a new home base, but an apartment being offered by a local synagogue turned out to be too small for the group.

"We could only use one apartment, and it was extremely small and only had one bathroom," said Family Promise Director Terry Lindemann.

The group's current headquarters on Van Buren Avenue is about 1,600 square feet with two full bathrooms and a garage for storage.

The apartment that was offered by Temple Beth Am was about 900 square feet, Lindemann said.

After operating 10 years in the neighborhood near Bonanza Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard, Family Promise must move because the City Council did not grant the necessary zoning approvals last month.