Employees, Relatives Of Strip Club Owner To Testify
Witnesses Could Reveal If Contributions Were Legit
UPDATED: 7:41 a.m. PDT July 11, 2003
SAN DIEGO -- The federal grand jury investigation into the city hall corruption appears to be entering a critical phase, 10News reported.
An attorney for Michael Galardi -- the man who owns Cheetah's strip club in Kearny Mesa and several clubs in Las Vegas -- said that nearly 25 of his client's employees and relatives have been brought to San Diego to testify at today's weekly session.
Sources told 10News that many of the employees and relatives are listed in court documents, which detail contributions to city councilmen Ralph Inzunza and Charles Lewis.
The witnesses may help the grand jury help determine if the contributions were genuine or bribes, according to 10News.
Former federal prosecutor Eric Acker told 10News that he believes officials could be laying the final framework for a possible indictment by looking at who gave money.
Acker said that the next step before an indictment would be determining intent. Did strip club bosses give money for a specific reason? And if the contributions were bribes, were they successful?
Acker said he believes that the witnesses could prove vital by revealing when and how often those contributions were made.
"If money flowed, and something happened in response, it would certainly provide circumstantial evidence that is was not legitimate political contributions," Acker said.
Previous Stories:
- May 21, 2003: Local Strip Club Tied To Mob?
- June 13, 2003: Current, Former Council Staffers Testify Before Grand Jury
- June 6, 2003: Stevens Testifies Before Grand Jury
- May 30, 2003: City Council Staffers Testify Before Grand Jury
- May 25, 2003: Zucchet To Use Campaign Committee To Pay Legal Bills
- May 19, 2003: Councilmen Claim They've Done Nothing Wrong
- May 18, 2003: Federal Grand Jury Hears Council Member Testify
- May 16, 2003: Strip Club Warrant Details Revealed
- May 15, 2003: Mayor: Despite Raid, Business Of City Continues
- May 15, 2003: 3 City Council Offices, Strip Club Raided By FBI
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