Judge Dawson plans hearing after Davidovici sentencing

A day after issuing a lenient sentence in a tax case to Steve Davidovici, U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson on Thursday was planning a hearing in the matter, a courthouse source confirmed, in an apparent attempt to answer questions about his family’s possible links to the ousted Las Vegas nightclub operator.

The judge’s son, Brian K. Dawson, has worked as a bartender at the Gallery Nightclub inside Planet Hollywood.

Davidovici, a managing partner of Pure and many other clubs, was at the center of an IRS Criminal Investigation case that focused on hundreds of thousands of dollars in tips Pure employees received but failed to declare on their income taxes. On Wednesday, Dawson sentenced Davidovici to eight months of house arrest while former Pure doorman Mikal Hasen received a 366-day sentence.

Local defense attorneys familiar with Dawson’s judicial style expressed their utter surprise that the judge, who has often been quite tough on tax scofflaws, went easy on Davidovici after the defendant claimed to have suffered a debilitating eye injury related to the stress of the criminal investigation.

"He’s usually very tough on tax cases," one veteran lawyer said, declining to be identified because he practices in Dawson’s court.