Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo listens to arguments during his sentencing hearing Tuesday in federal court. Rizzolo was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud the federal government by evading taxes. Illustration by David Stroud.

Chief U.S. District Judge Philip Pro on Tuesday ordered embattled Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo to spend one year and one day in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by evading taxes.

Rizzolo, who pleaded guilty to the charge, is not required to turn himself in until May 22, giving him time to finalize the sale of his Industrial Road topless club. He is expected to serve his time in a federal prison camp in Taft, Calif.

The plea deal signed in May allowed a sentence range between 10 months and 16 months.

But on Tuesday, Rizzolo's lawyer, Tony Sgro, argued for a sentence of less than 10 months, saying Rizzolo, 47, has paid a far heavier price than the plea agreement outlined. Sgro said Rizzolo never expected the Las Vegas City Council actions taken after the plea agreement was signed. Those actions resulted in a loss of millions of dollars for Rizzolo, Sgro said.

The plea agreement, signed by Rizzolo and 14 of his associates, requires Rizzolo to sell his club, pay $10 million to the family of a man who was paralyzed in 2001 at the club, pay $5 million in fines and forfeiture and surrender $1.7 million to settle his tax liability.

The deal allowed Rizzolo to manage the business until it was sold.

However, in September, the City Council voted to strip Rizzolo of his liquor license and ban him from the property. It also levied a $2.2 million fine, the largest in city history, Sgro said. (Sgro didn't mention that he took the city to District Court in September, however, and got a judge to prevent the city from collecting half of that fine.)

"These are all extra penalties not foreseen in the plea agreement," Sgro told Pro during a 2 1/2-hour sentencing hearing.

On behalf of the company that owns the topless club, The Power Company, of which Rizzolo is a 90 percent shareholder, Rizzolo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering. The Power Company was placed on probation for five years.

The complaint against Rizzolo alleges that he, shift managers and other employees extorted money from customers by threatening them and physically abusing them. The indictment alleges that employees overcharged customer's credit cards and that dancers tried to charge patrons for acts that were not provided.

Bouncers and club managers often strong-armed those who questioned their tabs, the indictment says.

Kirk Henry, a tourist visiting from Las Vegas, was the victim of the most high-profile assault case at the club.

Henry said a Crazy Horse employee jumped him after he disputed an $80 tab. The attack outside the front doors of the topless club left Henry paralyzed from the chest down. A condition of the plea agreement requires Rizzolo to pay $10 million to Henry.

Rizzolo has had a sale of the club pending for $45 million, according to prior testimony.

Sgro claimed Tuesday that the city's actions against Rizzolo could affect whether Rizzolo can meet all the financial requirements in the plea agreement.

For example, if the city does not issue a liquor license for Crazy Horse Too, the value of the business will drop dramatically. Payment to Henry is expected to come from the proceeds of the sale.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Vasquez brushed off Sgro's complaint that the federal government had not intervened regarding the city actions that devalued the club. "The United States has no role in whether Mr. Rizzolo or Crazy Horse Too receives a liquor license or not," Vasquez said. "We don't have a dog in that fight."

Sgro described Rizzolo as a charitable and successful businessman whose only prior criminal record involved a 20-year-old misdemeanor charge. He said Rizzolo has cooperated with the federal agents and helped broker the deal that prompted all the defendants to plead guilty.

Rizzolo also agreed to pay the tax liability for all the employees indicted, Sgro said. Now he is left without his business and the label of felon.

"He lost his friendships, he lost his entire identity, he lost his entire lifestyle, he lost a significant amount of money post plea," Sgro said.

"There are compelling factors that scream at the court for a downward departure (from the recommended sentence). His punishment has been far more harsh than what is in the plea agreement."

Rizzolo had few words for Pro prior to sentencing.

"I think you have a pretty good picture of what I bought into and what I got out of it," Rizzolo said, referring to the plea agreement signed with the government.