Judge orders SoCal strip club to pay $90K fine
 

(SF)

Original Story Here



LOS ANGELES (AP) A judge ordered the owner of a nude dance club to pay a $90,000 fine for violating city code barring adult businesses from operating within 500 feet of a residential area.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey also ordered the owner of the Frisky Kitty in Tarzana, Jamal Haddad, to stop offering nude dancing if he wants to stay in business.

The fine was substantially less than the nearly $6 million penalty the city sought against the club for its violations of the city code and the state business and professions code.

For years, the city had been attempting to shut down the club on the grounds that it was close to an apartment building.

Roger Jon Diamond, an attorney for the club, said his client stopped serving alcohol when he began offering nude dancing to adhere to laws prohibiting the mixing of alcohol and total nudity. By making dancers wear some clothes, the club will have to serve alcohol again to stay in business, he said.

``Putting skimpy clothing on dancers and reintroducing alcohol is something I'm sure the community doesn't want,'' Diamond said.

He said the club has not drawn much criticism from residents of a nearby apartment building.