Newton wins restraining order in rift over celebrity museum plans

A judge granted Wayne Newton a temporary restraining order against his landlord Thursday amid stalled plans to turn his lavish Las Vegas estate into a celebrity museum, a project that has sparked allegations of fraud, mismanagement, animal abuse and sexual harassment.

Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez ruled that developer Steve Kennedy must stay 50 feet away from the Newton family and their home, effectively putting the brakes on construction to make Newton's Casa de Shenandoah estate a tourist attraction.

Kennedy, the manager of CSD LLC, filed a lawsuit two weeks ago claiming the Newton family was unwilling to move from the house so it could be converted into a museum. The Newtons filed counterclaims alleging breach of contract and fraud.

The legal wrangling paints an uncertain future for Newton's 40-acre estate featuring South African penguins, Arabian horses, celebrity memorabilia and 17th-century antiques imported from European castles.

Newton said after Thursday's hearing that he regretted entering into the deal with Kennedy.

"I don't like vultures," Newton said.

Newton lives in the main house with his wife and their 10-year-old daughter. Kennedy purchased the property for $20 million in 2010, intending to build the Newtons to a $2 million home on the estate and converting the gold-trimmed main house into a public venue.

In his lawsuit, Kennedy alleged the Newtons delayed the project by refusing to pick a location for their new home. The Newtons countered that Kennedy failed to obtain proper construction permits and did not act in good faith.

"They had no intentions whatsoever of creating a museum honoring Wayne Newton," said Newton's lawyer, J. Stephen Peek, during the hearing.

Newton attended the hearing with his wife, Kathleen McCrone Newton, and her sister, Tricia McCrone, who also acts as the family's publicist and lives in a guest house on the estate. During the hearing, Newton and his wife wore broad smiles, even as McCrone Newton shook her head repeatedly as the allegations that she and her husband had not been cooperative were presented.

Peek claimed Kennedy tried to punish the Newton family by ordering that they banish their prized collection of 55 Arabian horses. Kennedy removed rose bushes that had been planted by Newton's late mother. Newton was prevented from accessing his antique car collection , according to court filings.

The Newtons also said that improper construction at the home caused several leaks, threatening an expensive art collection that includes paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Salvador Dali and Vincent van Gogh. The family claimed Kennedy filled up an artisan well that Newton used as his "meditation pond."

Kennedy's attorney Charles McCrea Jr. countered that the home had a faulty roof and that the well reeked of sewage, with the toxic fumes having killed three penguins that lived on the estate.

McCrea Jr. said the Newtons must vacate the property so construction can continue. He cited concerns about who would cover the expense of caring for the property's many horses, with monthly costs reaching $40,000. CSD wants to donate the horses to a ranch that has expressed interest in them.

The lawsuit says Newton sexually harassed a female employee hired to train the horses by kissing her on the mouth. The worker quit and has threatened to sue Newton and CSD, the lawsuit says.

Newton said Kennedy and the woman had a personal relationship and that the woman begged for her job back after she was dismissed last year.

Kennedy declined to discuss the case as he was leaving the courtroom.

Newton said he hopes the museum will open under a different owner.

"Time will tell if it is built," Newton said. "It will not be built under the present circumstances of management."

Both sides are expected to return to court on July 30.

Construction plans for the museum call for a zoo, visitors' center, car exhibition and a theater where Newton could perform live nightly. It was initially to open late last year.