Ex-wife claims Moulin Rouge executive owes child support

In January 2004, Chauncey Moore stood with other businessmen outside the Moulin Rouge as they announced their plans to buy the historic hotel and casino for $12.1 million.

Now Moore is the target of a Clark County District Court complaint filed by his ex-wife, Sonja Mack, who claims he owes her more than $49,000 in child support and interest. In the complaint, filed March 2, the San Diego woman is asking a judge to withhold Moore's income to pay the obligation.

Mack, 41, said she sought the help of National Child Support, a private collection company based in Ohio, after officials in San Diego County failed to force Moore to pay his obligation.

"I don't want to hurt Chauncey, but I'm tired," said Mack, who works for the city of San Diego.

Mack's complaint claims Moore, the chief operating officer of the Moulin Rouge Development Corp., is required to pay $560 a month to support the two sons he had with Mack. The boys are now 16 and 17.

According to Mack's complaint, Moore owes $49,175 in arrearages. That amount includes a principal balance of $38,367 plus $10,808 in interest.

Moore, 41, answered the door at Moulin Rouge Development's office on West Bonanza Road, next to the casino that was gutted by an arson fire in 2003. He declined to answer questions about the child support dispute and referred a reporter to his attorney, Paul Gaudet, who also declined to comment.

The Moulin Rouge was built in 1955 and became famous as the first racially integrated casino in Las Vegas, drawing celebrities such as Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra and Harry Belafonte. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Moore would not discuss the progress of the development company's plans to restore the property, which has remained in the same dilapidated condition since the fire.

"That's confidential information," he said, adding that the information would be "formally presented" soon.

Messages left for Dale Scott, president and chief executive officer of Moulin Rouge Development, were not returned. In 2004, Scott said he envisioned that the rebuilt Moulin Rouge would become the catalyst for redevelopment of the low-income neighborhood, which sits just north of downtown Las Vegas.

According to Clark County assessor records, Moulin Rouge Development purchased 5.4 acres at 900 W. Bonanza Road for more than $6 million in August 2004. The corporation purchased 2.3 acres at 920 W. Bonanza Road for $4.3 million in March 2006.

Mack's complaint in Clark County District Court asks that the child support order from San Diego be registered as a judgment against Moore and that the judgment "be enforced immediately."

"He has failed to respond, so he has lost by default," said James Durham, director of National Child Support's legal division.

A hearing on the matter has been set for Wednesday. Las Vegas attorney Peter Dubowsky, who is representing Mack, called the hearing a formality.

"We'll formalize the fact that this California order is now an enforceable Nevada order," Dubowsky said.

Durham said neither the collection company nor the attorneys who handle its cases get paid unless they collect, "so obviously we're extremely aggressive."

"We are the avenue of last hope," he said.

Mack said she and Moore were married about two years before they separated. They were divorced in 1997, Mack said, and she was granted primary physical custody of the two boys.

In 1996 in San Diego, according to Mack's complaint, Moore was ordered to pay $560 a month in child support. Mack said Moore paid some support but "was never consistent."

Mack said the pair's younger son went to live with his father in October. She said Moore's daughter from another relationship also lives in the Las Vegas home.

According to Clark County assessor records, the two-story home was purchased in 2003 for $193,000. Moore is not listed as the owner.

"I think it's one of the bedrocks of a civilized society that parents pay for the support of their minor children, and when they don't, it's ugly for everyone involved," Dubowsky said.