Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday the crimes employees and owners of the Crazy Horse Too Gentleman's Club pleaded guilty to didn't merit the maximum fines the city could impose.

"My personal belief is I would not see that in the same light as evaluated in the Cheetah's situation," Goodman said, referring to Cheetah's former club owner Michael Galardi's pleas of guilty and his testimony about bribing officials in Las Vegas and San Diego.

The city imposed the maximum fine of $1 million in the Cheetah's case.

The City Council on Wednesday scheduled a disciplinary hearing on Crazy Horse Too's tavern license for Sept. 6. The council could decide to revoke or suspend the club's license to serve alcohol and could fine the club up to $2.192 million.

Goodman was asked at his news conference Thursday about the admission by the company that owns Crazy Horse Too that the club "sought to extort payment from patrons through explicit or implicit threats of violence, or through actual use of force."

"That is a lot different than bribing a politician. That's the integrity of the system. This is just a business practice that's entirely unacceptable," Goodman said.

Goodman disclosed at Wednesday's council meeting that he had been club owner Rick Rizzolo's defense attorney 21 years ago and said Rizzolo was his friend.

David Chesnoff represents Vincent Faraci, a shift manager for Crazy Horse Too, and Chesnoff is a partner in the law firm Goodman founded that still bears his name. Goodman's two sons are partners at the law firm; but the mayor said he has no financial interest in the partnership, despite his name still being on the letterhead.

Goodman said the firm maintains an insurance policy for him, but he didn't know what kind of insurance policy it is.

Under the plea agreement with the federal government, owners of the Crazy Horse Too have agreed to pay fines totaling $17 million.

The largest chunk of that is $10 million that will be paid to Kirk Henry and his wife. Henry was paralyzed after he disputed an $80 bill for dances he allegedly received. Shift manager Robert D'Apice "grabbed him from behind, twisted his neck, and forced him violently to the ground," according to a civil complaint filed by Henry.

In the plea agreement, D'Apice admitted that "during the course of the conspiracy and acting within the scope of his employment at the Crazy Horse Too, on at least two or more occasions sought to extort payment from patrons through explicit or implicit threats of violence, and through actual use of force and physical violence against patrons in which various degrees of bodily injury were caused."

The City Council fined Cheetah's topless club $1,017,000 in 2004 after Michael Galardi pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges in San Diego.

Galardi later pleaded guilty to bribing officials in Las Vegas.

On June 1, Rizzolo and 16 workers pleaded guilty to charges for actions between 2000 and 2005. Several charges were related to tax fraud.

The Power Co., which holds the tavern license, pleaded guilty to one count of "conspiracy to participate in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity" between 2000 and 2005.

City regulations allow fines up to $1,000 per day for a licensee business that "has been or is being conducted in an unlawful, illegal or impermissible manner."