Got off easy: Nightclub’s tax cheats get light sentences

There's an old expression in the news business: If it bleeds, it leads. It's a not-so-sensitive way of saying violent crime always takes priority.

That saying fits the criminal justice system as well. Violent offenders are the highest priority of prosecutors. Killers, rapists and armed robbers generally get the harshest prison sentences - as they should.

But in the process, property and financial crimes tend to fall to also-ran status. Investigations can be tedious and incredibly complicated. There are precious few prosecutions, and the sentences handed down can be light. Restitution rarely is made. Sometimes, crime can indeed pay.

This disparity has been on display over the past few months in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson, where federal prosecutors have been trying to hold accountable the people behind a $7 million tip-concealing scheme at the Pure nightclub on the Strip.

The growth of Las Vegas' upscale nightclub and party scene has made a lot of people rich over the past 15 years, Steve Davidovici among them. The nightclub operator saw so much cash pour through his properties that he and at least one of his employees simply pocketed some of the dough without reporting the income. Davidovici pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return for 2006 and agreed to pay $141,306 in back taxes.

But instead of getting prison time, Davidovici received three years of probation and eight months of home confinement. Judge Dawson cited concerns that prison would not provide Davidovici with adequate medical care to treat a condition that threatens his eyesight. His former chief doorman, Mikel Hasen, received a slightly harsher sentence for filing a false 2006 return, about one year in prison and about $100,000 in back taxes.

Men such as these two make law-abiding, taxpaying Americans look like chumps.

Financial crimes have victims and pose serious threats to the public. Offenders should face consequences that match the crime.