Unruly celebrities get zero tolerance
Las Vegas continues to send a message to misbehaving celebrities: Break the law, pay the price.
In the first of two recent high-profile cases, undefeated boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. got rocked with eight charges filed against him in a domestic violence case.
Then it was Paris Hilton's turn, following her arrest for cocaine possession last month.
In a plea bargain agreement, she will plead guilty to drug possession and obstructing an officer, complete a drug abuse program, pay a $2,000 fine and serve 200 hours of community service, Clark County District Attorney David Roger said.
Hilton's deal came as a surprise to a veteran criminal defense attorney who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
"My first impression was that she was being treated harsher because she was a celebrity," said the source.
"Normally in a case like this involving a small amount of cocaine, you get 40 hours of community service and maybe six months suspended sentence," he added.
"Because she's high-profile, what better way to send a message to celebrities who get in trouble in Las Vegas?"
It probably didn't help Hilton's cause that Roger is up for re-election, the source added. "Politically it would been perceived that she was walking away or getting a slap on the wrist."
Two years ago, Roger prosecuted O.J. Simpson in an armed robbery that sent the NFL star to prison.
Hilton, 29, avoided two consecutive six-month sentences in the Clark County Detention Center, but the terms of her one-year probation means "if she's arrested anywhere, she's going to jail for a full year," the source said.
Hilton was arrested Aug. 27 when her boyfriend, nightclub executive Cy Waits, was pulled over near Wynn Las Vegas after marijuana smoke was detected by a motorcycle cop. Waits was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Mayweather faces arraignment Nov. 9 for the eight charges from the Sept. 9 incident with the mother of his children. Four of the charges are for felonies.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Former Green Valley Ranch singer Michael Grimm proposed to his girlfriend, Lucy Zolcerova, on Thursday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, a day after winning the fifth season of "America's Got Talent." They met while he was signing CD's after a Las Vegas performance.
CLUB CHATTER
One of the latest high-level nightclub firings came as no surprise to those who have been following his profane rant-filled social media postings.
He's leaving a raw daily record of a lifestyle that reads like Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns and Money."
His latest screed: He vows to bring down the resort that canned him.
Also heard on the Strip: speculation that Cy Waits and Steve Davidovici are teaming up on Davidovici's club, Chateau, at Paris Las Vegas.
Davidovici turned Pure Management Group into one of the city's biggest nightclub success stories before the IRS came calling.
SIGHTINGS
Singer Michael Bolton and his "Dancing with the Stars" partner, Chelsie Hightower, backstage at "Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular" (The Venetian) after watching the show Friday. ... Bill Edwards and Lou Mann, producers of "Sgt. Pepper Live with Cheap Trick," hosting a wrap party with the cast and crew at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. A baby grand piano was brought into the restaurant for the party. ... Eleven-time NFL Pro Bowler Jonathan Ogden, at Republic Kitchen and Bar in Henderson on Saturday.
THE PUNCH LINE
"I was training the dogs to ... uhhhhhh ... get Osama bin Laden." -- From David Letterman's Top 10 Michael Vick Excuses
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
