Federal prosecutors have rested their corruption case against former Clark County Commissioners Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey. So far, testimony in the trial has had the effect of, well, undressing the region's political establishment.
Strip club owner Michael Galardi said he gave cash to nearly every elected and appointed official in downtown Las Vegas. And, if Galardi is to be believed, Mr. Herrera, then-Las Vegas City Councilman Michael Mack and then-Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Guymon treated Galardi's "gentlemen's clubs" as brothels, demanding and receiving sexual favors from women of their liking on Galardi's dime.
Advertisement
Whether public officials received cash or sex acts through Galardi, his testimony offered a revolting image of Southern Nevada government.
But what did his testimony say about the valley's thousands of strippers?
Club owners and strippers themselves have gone before elected boards and denied that their industry fronts prostitution. Yet Galardi himself admits that at all hours of the day, he has "dancers" willing to do just about anything for the right price.
Will savvy tourists catch on to this? Can the marketing geniuses at R&R Partners incorporate this "Vegas Story" into their next national ad campaign? And how will the valley's "honest" strippers deal with even more indecent proposals?