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Saturday, January 10, 2004 Michael Galardi retracting guilty pleas? Someone must be kidding JANE ANN MORRISON Is it true topless club mogul Michael Galardi really wants to get out of his plea bargains and take his chances at trial? Despite Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's oh-so-public disclosure Wednesday that Galardi contacted his law partner David Chesnoff about two weeks ago to discuss the possibility of withdrawing his guilty pleas, something doesn't smell right. It doesn't rise to the level of urban legend, but this isn't the first time sources have said the strip club owner wanted to recant his federal plea bargains. During the weeks between Galardi's public plea in San Diego on Sept. 8 and his secret plea in Las Vegas on Oct. 24, I could never confirm a tip that Galardi was unhappy with his agreement in San Diego and wanted to back out of his plea bargain. This time, Galardi's apparent flip-flop was easy to report, almost too easy, after Goodman's comments during a licensing hearing for Jack Galardi, Michael's estranged father and the founder of the topless club dynasty. One source of a prosecutorial persuasion scoffed at reports Galardi is trying to pull out of his pleas. "There's no inkling of that, none," he said. "Galardi hasn't moved off the mark." He described the reports of Galardi' vacillating as a ploy by defense attorneys for other defendants "to try to scuttle Galardi's reputation." Chesnoff couldn't say much, other than Galardi "called to talk to me about his federal situation." Yet attorneys representing Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, former Commissioners Lance Malone and Dario Herrera, and three San Diego city councilmen have to be smiling with delight every time it becomes news that Galardi appears to be doing the Turnaround Waltz. It gives them more fodder to ask Galardi that ever-popular question on cross-examination: "Are you lying now or were you lying then?" Don't forget: Goodman's son, Eric, represents defendant Herrera. The mayor himself refuses to completely close the door to joining his son on the defense team. Goodman's impossible-to-ignore revelation came during a liquor licensing hearing for Jack Galardi, who wants to operate Cheetah's, a topless club within city limits. Goodman, as he should, disclosed potential conflicts he might have at the start of the hearing. Goodman also disclosed he had represented one of the Galardis 20 or 30 years ago. Then Goodman said there was no conflict of interest and participated in the licensing vote at which Jack Galardi was given 30 days to pay a $1.1 million fine to keep Cheetah's liquor license. On the other hand, if it's really true that Michael Galardi wants to retract his pleas, there's a practical downside, said defense attorney Doug McNabb of Houston, a white-collar crime expert. It's hard to do. And if you withdraw the pleas and are convicted, those five-year sentencing caps Galardi has in both jurisdictions dissolve. If he's convicted, he is exposed to serving far more time in the Big House than he's looking at now. Plus, all those statements Galardi gave voluntarily can be used to prosecute him. Galardi has been a Chatty Cathy, talking for hours to FBI agents and prosecutors about the bribes he scattered across two states. In November, he actually described San Diego prosecutors as "my new friends, my buddies." That doesn't sound like someone hoping to pull out of his plea bargains. Galardi will not go down in history as a man of consistency. His negotiations with prosecutors ping-ponged so many times and passed so many "deadlines," it turned into a journalistic joke to report Galardi was close to making a plea bargain in Las Vegas. When he finally pleaded here, he copped to one racketeering count and agreed to forfeit $3.8 million in assets and pay $400,000 in fines. In San Diego, he agreed to pay a $250,000 fine. His sentences would run concurrently and be no longer than five years. McNabb said if it's true that Galardi wants to recant his plea, "this guy's a nut. If I were representing Galardi, I'd want to have him psych-tested." So the options seem to be either Galardi is crazy or the talk of his about-face is another motion filed in the Court of Public Opinion. | |