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Calendars Reveal Meetings With Strip Club Lobbyist

Councilmen Claim They Have Done No Wrongdoing

POSTED: 5:15 pm PDT June 23, 2003
UPDATED: 5:33 pm PDT June 23, 2003

The owners of Cheetah's strip club and three City Council members are at the heart of an FBI investigation for alleged influence-buying in San Diego and Las Vegas.

Ralph Inzunza, Michael Zucchet, Charles Lewis

10News reviewed the calendars of the three council members -- Ralph Inzunza, Charles Lewis and Michael Zucchet -- whose offices were searched by the FBI.

Inzunza, (pictured, far left), said he did not do anything wrong in connection to the FBI's investigation of City Hall and now through his criminal attorney he said his frequent meetings strip club lobbyist Lance Malone were strictly above board. Malone, a former Las Vegas police officer, won the election as a County Commission in Las Vegas and then lost a reelection in the midst of his own strip club scandal.

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Inzunza's meetings with Malone included a 2-hour lunch at Dobson's, a 90-minute breakfast meeting at the Westgate, a 2-hour meeting at Chuey's in Barrio Logan and a lunchtime meeting at the Grant Grill. The last meeting was May 1, 2003 at the Hob Nob restaurant in Golden Hill, just two weeks before FBI agents served search warrants on Inzunza's office and the offices of Council members Charles Lewis and Michael Zucchet.

Zucchet's, (pictured, middle), calendar showed he met with Malone just once -- during a lunch meeting with Inzunza at the Grant Grill.

Lewis's, (pictured, left), calendar was not made available until late Monday afternoon and 10News has yet to go through it.

In two years Inzunza met with Malone a total of nine times and unlike many of the other meetings no topic of discussion was ever listed for those meetings. Inzunza's attorney said no listing was not unusual.

According to 10News, a lawsuit that was filed by the owner of Cheetah's against the city was a little out of the ordinary. Apparently when Cheetah's failed to get a liquor license, they started to sue the city and then suddenly dropped the lawsuit. All this coming during the time span of those meetings between Malone and Inzunza.


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