Gary Guymon is shown in this 1997 Review-Journal photo when he was a Clark County prosecutor. Michael Galardi Has testified that Gary Guymon took care of his employees in exchange for favors

Former Deputy District Attorney Gary Guymon was just looking to have a good time at a strip club after work.

But his frequent visits to Cheetah's and friendship with then-club owner Michael Galardi have led to sorrow.

"I never dreamed that an association I thought was a legitimate one would bring such an inference of guilt upon me," Guymon said in a phone interview last week. "But look what it brings me, heartache and shame on my wife and family."

At the public corruption trial of former County Commissioners Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, Galardi testified he bought Guymon drinks and lap dances and arranged for him to have oral sex and intercourse with strippers.

In exchange for these favors, Guymon took care of Cheetah's employees' speeding tickets, DUIs and assault charges, Galardi said.

Guymon, 43, said he knew based on previous allegations that Galardi would implicate him in the tangled web of corruption the former strip club owner has detailed in federal court.

But the testimony still stung.

"It's simply not true," Guymon said. "His assertions are outrageous. ... He takes a sliver of truth and spins it into a lie."

The true part, according to Guymon, is that he was a regular at Cheetah's during the mid-1990s, received lap dances there, and on occasion passed along speeding tickets received by Cheetah's employees to judges.

But Guymon said Galardi never paid for his lap dances and rarely bought him drinks. When he did, Guymon said, Galardi sent over a bottle of water because he didn't drink alcohol. Guymon denied engaging in sex acts at Cheetah's.

"For Michael Galardi to say he paid for sexual favors is scoffable," Guymon said. "I went to (Cheetah's) like any other citizen."

Guymon brushed off allegations that he did anything illegal for Galardi, but said Galardi and former Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone tried to corrupt him.

Guymon said Galardi and his right-hand man, Malone, both called him on at least one occasion to ask for his help disposing of criminal cases, including a felony case against a relative of Malone.

Guymon said FBI recordings of those conversations show that he rejected their requests and referred both men to defense attorneys.

"I didn't help them at all," Guymon said.

Guymon, now an attorney in the Clark County public defender's office, has measured his words carefully in the two years since Galardi's allegations against him became public.

In the interview, Guymon said he has become "tired of the perpetual questions" about whether he did anything unlawful.

"If there was truth to it, I would have been charged. I never received a suspect letter or a target letter," Guymon said, referring to the letters sent by grand juries investigating possible crimes.

Guymon was in San Diego for a separate trial stemming from Galardi's involvement with public officials there. Malone was convicted in that trial and awaits trial on public corruption charges in Las Vegas. Guymon was not called to testify in that case and said he hasn't been subpoenaed to testify at the current trial.

Guymon praised Malone after the former county commissioner was convicted last year of public corruption charges in San Diego.

In a letter to the court before Malone's sentencing, Guymon wrote, "I sincerely hope that the punishment that Lance receives is tempered by the countless outstanding qualities and contributions Lance possesses."

Malone was sentenced to three years in prison for his crimes in San Diego. He is set to stand trial in Las Vegas in August.

In the interview, Guymon lashed out at his former friend Galardi for ruining his reputation and good name.

"The moral of the story is you lie down with dogs, you get fleas," said Guymon, who is married and has a 3-year-old son.

Guymon said Galardi greatly exaggerated the weekly gathering of attorneys at Cheetah's that the former strip club owner dubbed "Lawyer Day."

Galardi testified that up to 40 attorneys, including a handful of prosecutors, came to the club on Friday afternoons. Galardi said he gave his personal attorney, Peter Christiansen, about $500 to buy drinks and lap dances for the lawyers.

"I think he's made that sound much more grandiose than it really was," said Guymon, who got to know Galardi through Christiansen. "Perhaps it was in his mind, but it didn't really happen that way."

Nate Barez, a former Cheetah's manager who now owns a self-defense training business, said in an interview that Galardi has unfairly smeared Guymon.

"Gary was a very straight-up guy," Barez said. "He didn't like the things (Galardi) was doing with other politicians."

Guymon also poured scorn on his former boss, District Attorney David Roger, who, he said, forced him to resign from a job he had ably performed for more than 10 years.

"I was invited to leave, even though I did nothing wrong," Guymon said. "This county lost a damn good prosecutor."

Roger declined comment on the circumstances surrounding Guymon's departure from the district attorney's office.

Guymon said denunciations of his character have made him appreciate his current work as a defense attorney.

"Be assured I passionately do this now and understand the power of a wrongful allegation," Guymon said.

As a public defender, Guymon represented the son of Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols, who had been charged with attempting to kill two Las Vegas police officers last year. Josh Nichols was acquitted on those charges but convicted on five other charges.

As a deputy district attorney, Guymon prosecuted several high-profile cases and gained convictions against defendants including former Las Vegas police officer Ron Mortensen, who was found guilty of murdering Daniel Mendoza in a drive-by shooting in 1997. Guymon also prosecuted the case of Margaret Rudin, who was convicted in 2001 of killing her millionaire husband.

Guymon said he has "changed his course of conduct" in the past few years.

"I didn't think I had a problem," he said. "But sure I'd do things differently in hindsight."