3 Colacurcio associates sentenced in federal court

Even as the government launched its racketeering investigation into the late Frank Colacurcio Sr.'s strip clubs, the men who ran them believe they were themselves victims of theft.

A civil lawsuit filed last month in King County Superior Court by Leroy Christiansen, David Ebert and Steven Fueston accuses Frank Colacurcio Jr. of siphoning off as much as $9 million in cash from receipts from the four clubs.

The lawsuit was referenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, where Christiansen, Ebert and Fueston appeared for sentencing for prostitution-related crimes stemming from a four-year investigation into the Colacurcio clubs.

In keeping with an earlier plea deal, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones did not send any of the men to prison. But he said he likely would have, if not for the fact that the government was focused more on shuttering the clubs than punishing the men who ran them.

Over the objections of their attorneys, Jones also ordered the men, as part of their probation, to undergo "Moral Reconation Therapy," a form of cognitive therapy focused on morals. Christiansen's attorney, Angelo Calfo, said such therapy was unnecessary.

Christiansen, 68, Colacurcio's nephew and a longtime Colacurcio associate, had earlier pleaded guilty to the most serious charge, conspiracy to engage in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO), which could have sent him to prison for 20 years. Under the agreement with federal prosecutors, he will serve five years of probation.

Ebert, 62, who pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to use interstate facilities in aid of prostitution, was sentenced to five years of probation.

Fueston, 62, had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to permit prostitution near a military establishment, referring to his involvement in Fox's, a club in Pierce County near Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Fueston was sentenced to a one-year probation under the plea agreement.

All three are also banned from the adult-entertainment business in Washington, according to the plea agreements.

Most significantly, the three men had earlier agreed the government would seize the clubs — Honey's near Everett, Sugar's in Shoreline, Rick's in Lake City and Fox's — and other property worth more than $7.5 million. The clubs closed in May.

Attorneys for the men argued that they could not control what the dancers did, and that they would have vigorously defended against the government's case had it gone to trial.

"For every one woman the government put on the stand to say she was victimized, we'd put on two who would say, 'That's not the way it works,' " said Ebert's lawyer, Jeffrey Robinson.

But Jones, who had reviewed wiretaps and other evidence, said it was clear to the court that the three men ran a business operation that relied on "deception, toleration and greed."

Jones made it clear, based on financial information compiled by federal prosecutors, that all three of the men still have "significant resources" gleaned from years of running the clubs, which at one time were bringing in $1 million a month, according to court documents.

Christiansen oversaw the management of the four clubs and Talents West, the family's business offices. He was responsible for hiring and firing dancers.

Ebert, of Monroe, was also involved in the clubs' operations and, according to the indictment, was responsible for purchasing properties used to promote prostitution.

Fueston, of Tacoma, managed the operation of Fox's.

The pleas culminated a decades-long game of cat and mouse between law enforcement and the Colacurcio organization that once prompted Colacurcio to complain that police have been "investigating me since I was born." He died July 2 at age 93 while under indictment on allegations of racketeering and promoting prostitution.

In June, his son, Frank Colacurcio Jr., pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge that will cost him $1.3 million in cash and likely land him in prison for a year and a day. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September.

John Gilbert "Gil" Conte, Colacurcio Sr.'s driver and associate, pleaded guilty earlier to a racketeering charge. He was also placed on probation.

The lawsuit filed by Christiansen, Ebert and Fueston alleges that the younger Colacurcio skimmed cash from the monthly receipts culled from cash cover charges, dancers' fees, surcharges for cash-machine usage and beverages.

Colacurcio, according to the lawsuit, was responsible for divvying up the money among the managers and owners. Christiansen, Ebert and Fueston claim the amount they received increased dramatically after Colacurcio Jr. was no longer responsible for the books.

John Wolfe, Colacurcio Jr.'s criminal-defense attorney, did not immediately return a call for comment.

The Colacurcios and their four associates were indicted last July on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to launder money and promote prostitution, which federal agents and police say has been a mainstay of the clubs' business for years.

Colacurcio Sr., credited with introducing go-go dancing to Seattle in 1965, had been convicted multiple times for racketeering, conspiracy, assault and tax fraud.

At one point, the Colacurcio organization's string of strip clubs spanned 10 Western states. Over the years, the clubs dwindled to four but remained targets of law-enforcement investigations.

Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report, which includes information from Times archives.