Local News in Brief : Club Owner May Be Tried
The Los Angeles city attorney’s office still intends to prosecute the owner of a Harbor Gateway nightclub that features nude dancing, even though a court order calls for it to shut down by Wednesday.
Francis E. Brown of Westchester had been ordered to close the Shanghai Lady by April 15 and will still be prosecuted for allegedly violating a city ordinance that prohibits sex-oriented businesses within 500 feet of homes, a city attorney’s spokesman said.
Long Beach Superior Court Judge Elsworth Beam signed an order Thursday that calls for Brown to vacate the property at 21176 S. Western Ave. The order enforces an agreement reached last week between lawyers for Brown and landlord Arthur Berke, who had initiated eviction proceedings against the club.
Neighbors and officials in Los Angeles and nearby Torrance have been trying for six years to close the club.
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