A local restaurateur has applied for a new permit to serve liquor at the now-closed Crazy Horse Too Gentlemen's Club.

Michael Signorelli, operator of the Golden Steer Steakhouse, submitted the application Tuesday that would allow him to "sell alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages while offering live entertainment in the form of exotic dancers."

In revoking the license and fining the club $2.2 million Sept. 6, council members expressed concern with Rick Rizzolo and the 16 employees who pleaded guilty to felonies. Rizzolo's efforts have failed so far to appeal the yanking of the liquor license or to have it reheard.

Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese, whose ward includes the strip club, raised some of the same concerns about the new application on Thursday.

"I'd like to know who's going to be operating it," Reese said. "To me, there can't be any connection at all between the 16 people who admitted to felonies and those operating the club. I don't understand how that would happen."

The council probably will hear Signorelli's application for a temporary liquor license Oct. 4, said Finance and Business Services Director Mark Vincent. The Oct. 4 hearing will include the results of a background check of Signorelli.

If a license were issued, it would be good for 6 months, while the Las Vegas police conducts further background checks, Vincent said.

Signorelli has the liquor license for Golden Steer, at 308 W. Sahara Ave., and there are no complaints associated with that license, Vincent said.

That doesn't automatically qualify Signorelli to run a topless establishment, Reese said.

"He may have a liquor license for the Golden Steer and there are no problems. But there's a big, big difference between a steakhouse and a strip club," he said.

The Crazy Horse Too has been closed since Sept. 7. The council acted after guilty pleas by Rick Rizzolo, The Power Co. and 16 employees in federal court June 1 to tax fraud, conspiracy to participate in racketeering and seeking to extort payment from club patrons. Not all employees admitted guilt to all of the charges.

Signorelli did not return messages. Rizzolo attorney Tony Sgro also did not return calls for comment.

Signorelli is not a potential buyer for the club but rather someone who would temporarily lease the club from Rizzolo, according to City Hall sources.

Stuart Cadwell has testified in District Court that he agreed to purchase the Crazy Horse Too for $45 million but the lack of a liquor license could upend the deal.

Signorelli had been a principal in the defunct NevStar Gaming Entertainment Corp., which in the late 1990s operated the Mesquite Star casino. The company announced plans to build a $140 million hotel-casino in North Las Vegas, but never followed through.

He was also part of a group that recently made an unsuccessful bid for the casino company Riviera Holdings Corp.

His application with the city lists the corporate name as the Nevada Receivership LLC, with an address that's the same as the Crazy Horse's Industrial Road location. Signorelli, listed as the managing member of Nevada Receivership, incorporated the company Sept. 15.