SANTA ANA HEIGHTS : Topless Cabaret Cited for Contempt Closes

The Laff Stop, a former comedy club turned topless cabaret, closed its doors Tuesday after a lengthy legal battle in which the club was found to have violated an Orange County ordinance prohibiting topless shows.

There was no public announcement of the club’s decision. In the early days of the former comedy club, it hosted such acts as Robin Williams and David Letterman.

Tuesday, there was only a voice on a telephone answering machine: “We have closed our business after 18 years, and we are not open. Thank you for your patronage. Thank you for calling. Goodby.”

The club’s decision comes four days after Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert A. Knox found the club in contempt for continuing to stage topless shows in violation of a county law that prohibits such entertainment within 500 feet of a residential community.

The Laff Stop is in unincorporated Santa Ana Heights, just south of John Wayne Airport.

Deputy County Counsel Thomas C. Agin said sentencing on the contempt finding was scheduled for late next month, leaving club owner Jorn Rossi and dancers liable for possible fines and jail time.

“I’m surprised,” Agin said Tuesday. “They’ve been at (the legal challenge) so long. I don’t really know what their plans are.”

Agin said he would not make a recommendation on sentencing until closer to the sentencing date. Agin has said that Rossi and the dancers face possible fines of up to $1,000 each and five days in jail for each day the club was in violation of the law. The county contends the club was in violation of the ordinance for nearly 60 days.

“Our intent was not to have them close,” Agin said. “We’re not out to punish people. As long as they comply with the law, we’re happy.”

Neither Rossi nor club attorney Paul Mast could be reached for comment Tuesday. And Agin said he was given no indication that the club was intending to close. Friday, before the judge issued his contempt ruling, club officials argued that dancers were complying with the law by using latex and other makeup applications to cover their breasts.

The former comedy club was reportedly struggling financially before it began offering topless dancing in February, 1993.

Rossi made the change without first obtaining adult-entertainment permits from the county. In an effort to remain open, he filed a lawsuit against the county alleging that the county’s zoning ordinances do not apply to Santa Ana Heights.