Strip club back in convict’s control

Sunday, July 15, 2007 | 2:29 a.m.

Rick Rizzolo has regained control of the closed Crazy Horse Too, as he continues to wait for federal prosecutors to approve a sale agreement.

Lawyers for Rizzolo, who is in federal custody in Los Angeles for tax evasion, obtained a court order from Justice of the Peace Abbi Silver to evict restaurateur Mike Signorelli, the man leasing the club from Rizzolo.

The Las Vegas constable's office showed up at the Crazy Horse Too on Friday morning with a locksmith and Rizzolo attorney Mark Hafer to change the locks at the Industrial Road club. Signorelli did not oppose the effort to kick him out.

His liquor license was formally revoked by the Las Vegas City Council last week because he failed to make good on a promise to officials to buy the club from Rizzolo.

Signorelli voluntarily surrendered his liquor license June 30, after the deadline imposed by the city passed for him to close a Crazy Horse Too sale. He kept the once-popular club open without serving alcohol until last weekend.

"Now that he's been evicted, there is no chance of him ever making a deal to purchase the Crazy Horse," Hafer said. "This makes a sale to a new buyer possible."

Hafer said federal authorities Friday were scrutinizing two separate deals for the club.

New offers, he added, come in every day.

Rizzolo soured on dealing with Signorelli after he stopped paying rent last month, Hafer said.

Signorelli has been privately threatening legal action against Rizzolo for not selling him the club. His lawyer, Steve Stein, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Stein said earlier in the week that Rizzolo had rejected Signorelli's latest offer of $31 million .

Rizzolo is barred under his 2006 federal plea agreement from running the Crazy Horse Too or having anything to do with its operations. So the club will remain closed until a buyer is found and licensed.

Rizzolo intends to use money from the Crazy Horse Too's sale to pay $17 million in fines and court settlements, including a $10 million judgment to a Kansas City-area man paralyzed after a 2001 incident at the club.

If Rizzolo cannot find a buyer, prosecutors under his plea agreement have the right to ask a federal judge to install a third-party manager to run the club and oversee efforts to sell it.

Because of Rizzolo's history of associating with organized crime figures, the government has the right to disapprove of any Crazy Horse Too buyer who has known organized crime ties.