No Black Crepe for Dead Boss : The Show Goes On at the Mustang

There was no black crepe hanging from the runway at the Mustang topless bar in Santa Ana Friday. Just the usual flashing colored lights and rotating glitter-globe and guys along the rail. They were watching Vanessa moving to the music and removing most of her cowhide bikini.

The sign over the door said that the Mustang, on Harbor Boulevard near McFadden Avenue, is a theater, and the show is going on. There was not a hint that the club’s operator, James Lee Casino, had been murdered in his Buena Park condominium the night before.

Ron Leon, the club’s general manager, consented to a brief interview in the club’s parking lot. He said Casino had been in the club the previous Monday or Tuesday--he wasn’t exactly sure which.

Leon arrived Friday morning and heard that members of the news media had been inquiring about the killing. He said he called Buena Park police to confirm that it had occurred.

Operations Not Affected

“He was friendly with all of us,” Leon said of Casino, describing him as “controller” of the club. “He made friends with everyone here.”

Did news of the murder affect the staff? “That depends on their relationship to him,” Leon said. As for the club itself, the day’s operations had not been affected in any way, Leon said.

Vanessa finished her act with a brief roll on the runway.

“Hey, I wouldn’t mind being that dance floor for a while, eh?” cracked the disc jockey from inside the glass booth.

He segued into a pitch for amateur night. “No professional dancers,” promised a sign nearby.

Gina was next, but first another of the dancers who had already performed took the usual stroll along the rail to pick up tips from the patrons and to plant a light, cautious kiss on all willing lips.

Normal Crowd

It was a normal early-evening crowd, ventured one waitress. About a fourth of the 250 seats were taken. Both pool tables were being used. The bouncer was shining his flashlight into a customer’s duffel bag, checking for forbidden objects. (The sign at the door forbids cameras and knives. “Cowboy hats OK,” it allows.)

The bar was doing a moderate business, but business doesn’t have to be too good. Two beers cost one patron $6.50.

That’s the way Casino wanted it. Leon said Casino had “control of the operation” and always had since the club opened in June, 1983. Casino had lots of experience running nightclubs, Leon said.

Leon didn’t want to talk about the kind of man Casino was.

“He was a good friend,” Leon said. “He was always good with me.”

And that’s all that needs to be said, Leon added.