Sunday, November 02, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JOHN L. SMITH: Those crazy troublemakers keep trying to give topless cabaret bad name

The Crazy Horse Too topless cabaret receives a lot of criticism, but I'm starting to think the controversial jiggle palace is just misunderstood.

That's right.

Despite enough calls for police service to warrant its own substation, an ongoing FBI probe into possible corruption and mob influence, the nightmarish case of Kansas tourist Kirk Henry, and a late-night shooting just this week, I am almost certain the place is a victim of circumstance.

After all, how else do we explain the amazing lack of interest on the part of our dedicated elected and appointed city officials to close it down as a hazard to public safety?

Discounting corruption, cronyism, and the incestuously cozy relationship between owner Rick Rizzolo and almost every elected official to draw a breath in Southern Nevada, that is.

But forget that. And while we're suffering from temporary amnesia, forget that Metro was called to the club more than 700 times over a two-year period.

Because if we don't forget all that, we're left with a question:

When has a business that has become a colossal trouble magnet overstayed its welcome?

Answer: That depends on the business.

One local man saw his convenience store closed by authorities after he failed to keep crack dealers off the property. This, despite the fact the store was located in a drug-riddled neighborhood.

Then there was Jerry White, who owned the Long Branch Saloon at the crossroads of Fremont Street and East Charleston Boulevard. He fought like a bare-knuckle brawler to keep the hookers and drug dealers away from his place. "Hit the door, whore," he'd shout to the unfortunate working girl who sought sanctuary in his place.

When White eventually failed to keep out the street characters, the authorities swooped in and closed him down. And he didn't attract anywhere near 700 calls for service.

We live in a community where common street bums and 44-ounce entrepreneurs get arrested for jaywalking, but the Crazy Horse Too operates without a hitch -- give or take an FBI search warrant.

Restaurants with inferior health ratings get closed without anyone getting their neck broken or a Louisville Slugger upside the head, but the Crazy Horse Too just keeps on rolling while city officials stare at their shoes.

That's why I've come to the conclusion that the club is misunderstood. It must be.

Of course, there was that incident in the mid-1980s in which it was alleged a Colorado tourist was savagely beaten with a baseball bat in the club's parking lot. Who knows, maybe it was Rizzolo's way of bringing the need for more ballfields to the attention of the city fathers.

Come to think of it, there also was the strange case of David Fau, the customer who fought in the parking lot with Crazy Horse Too personnel. Fau's battered body was later discovered near the railroad tracks, but club officials accused of wrongdoing eventually prevailed in a civil trial. Another misunderstanding.

There's also the case of Kirk Henry, the Kansas tourist who in 2001 wound up with a broken neck in the Crazy Horse Too parking lot following a dispute over an $88 bar tab. Henry was paralyzed in the incident, and Rizzolo & Co. are mired in a civil case. Meanwhile, the FBI and IRS investigate the criminal side. Surely it's one more misunderstanding.

On Thursday, two men argued at the club. One man punctuated his rhetoric by shooting the other man several times.

Police found the loser of the debate -- where else? -- bleeding in the parking lot.

The bleeder initially was reluctant to speak, but one source now says he has begun to remember the altercation in greater detail. It's no stretch to speculate that the FBI will want to interview him in connection with its investigation of the club.

Anyone spot a pattern?

There's nothing wrong with the Crazy Horse Too.

It's the damn parking lot that's causing all the trouble.

So here's a deal city officials can live with.

If you don't have the political will to shut down the Crazy Horse Too, the least you can do is close the parking lot.

People get hurt there.

John L. Smith's column appears Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.