DA trains sights on porn mogul over debt

By Jeff German (contact)

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The district attorney’s office is seeking a felony arrest warrant for “Girls Gone Wild” producer Joe Francis for failing to pay $2 million in gambling debts at Wynn Las Vegas.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Bernie Zadrowski, who runs the bad check unit, filed a two-count criminal complaint against Francis on Monday for allegedly cashing a $2.5 million check on a closed bank account at the Wynn in February 2007 to obtain gambling markers.

The complaint, which charges Francis with theft and fraud, and the arrest warrant request were being forwarded to Justice of the Peace Bill Jansen, who was randomly assigned the case.

Zadrowski declined to comment.

But according to a copy of the warrant request, Francis still owes $2 million to the Wynn, plus $220,075 in processing fees to the bad check unit. Under Nevada law, the fees are used to help fund the unit.

Reno attorney David Houston, who is representing Francis in the criminal case, did not return phone calls Monday.

The criminal investigation was opened last month at the request of Wynn Las Vegas, which, along with its chairman, Steve Wynn, is locked in bitter litigation with Francis.

The casino filed suit against Francis in District Court in June seeking to recover its $2 million. That led to a sensational counterclaim last month by Francis who alleged, among other things, that Wynn had supplied him with prostitutes during his 2007 gambling junket as a “personal gift.”

Wynn then filed a defamation suit against Francis, calling the soft-porn producer’s claims “false” and “scurrilous beyond imagination.”

State gaming agents, however, have opened an investigation into Francis’ allegations.

Jerry Markling, chief of enforcement for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said the review is continuing, but he declined to discuss it.

Jennifer Dunne, a spokeswoman for Wynn Las Vegas, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Francis, who earned a fortune producing videos of drunken, stripping college girls, has had other troubles with the law in recent years.

In March, he pleaded no contest to felony child abuse and misdemeanor prostitution charges in Florida, and he is waiting to stand trial on tax evasion charges that were moved from Reno to Los Angeles federal court.

Jeff German is the Sun’s senior investigative reporter