D. A. Vows to Fight Plans for Card Club : Gambling: Prosecutor says he has already expressed his opposition in writing to a promoter hoping to build a large facility in Oxnard.

Trying to stop cold a new push for a casino in Oxnard, Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said Tuesday that he will fight any effort to bring big-time gambling to Ventura County because large card clubs are magnets for crime.

Specifically, the district attorney said he opposes a plan by Richard P. Crane Jr., a former federal prosecutor and Nevada casino owner who wants to open a 52,000-square-foot card club along the Ventura Freeway in east Oxnard.

“I’ve already notified Mr. Crane in writing that I will oppose any proposal that his group may present to the City Council,” Bradbury said.

Although impressed by Crane’s reputation and experience, Bradbury said he cannot support the promoter’s new casino because large-scale gambling “inevitably brings (crime) with it . . . regardless of how honorable its owners and operators are.”

“These casinos, without exception, bring crime problems to communities,” he said. “They degrade the quality of communities.”

Crane said he had not received Bradbury’s letter and would not comment on how it might affect his plans.

“We’re not looking for trouble, but at the same time I am anxious to see the D. A.’s letter,” Crane said. “You have gaming up in Ventura already, don’t you? So it’s not gaming, it’s size.”

*

Two card clubs are open in the county, both in Ventura. Neither has more than six card tables. Crane is considering a 50-table club near the Price Club store at Rice Avenue.

Crane pitched his deal to Bradbury in March, accompanied by two prospective partners, former professional football executives Donald Klosterman and Edward LeBaron. The two men operate the glitzy Hollywood Park Casino, the state’s third-largest card club.

The promoters made their case to the county’s top prosecutor because Bradbury’s condemnation of card clubs helped kill three similar Oxnard projects two years ago. Crane had a majority interest in one of those proposals, and with new partners is trying to build again at the same location.

In an interview last week, Crane said he hoped to allay Bradbury’s concerns and vowed not to press the issue if Bradbury and Oxnard leaders oppose him.

“I’m not interested in going in there if there’s opposition from the community leaders,” he said. “I don’t want to offend anyone. There are other places to go.”

Councilman Andres Herrera, citing Bradbury’s position, said Tuesday that this may not be the right time to reopen the card-club debate.

“What put the final nails in the coffin last time was Mr. Bradbury’s overview of the situation,” Herrera said. “So I don’t think it’s going to pass muster with our community. The trump card here is public sentiment, and I think the district attorney can sway a lot of sentiment.”

*

Even if the City Council were to approve Crane’s proposal, Bradbury said he would challenge that decision, because Bradbury and state Atty. Gen. Daniel Lungren have both concluded that a 1984 state law requires that voters approve new casinos.

Oxnard City Atty. Gary Gillig disagrees. A simple council vote would be sufficient for a large casino, he said, because Oxnard allowed gambling by charitable groups before the state law was changed.

Herrera, who was leaning toward a card club for its tax and job benefits two years ago, said he would vote to put the issue on the ballot this time if Crane will pay for the election.

“If they can make a case to the voting public, why deprive them of that opportunity?” he said.

In opposing Crane’s plan, Bradbury reaffirmed his position in 1993, when he concluded that large casinos corrupt local government and result in spinoff crimes such as follow-home robberies.

Bradbury’s vigorous opposition, along with an outpouring of community concern, prompted the Oxnard City Council to drop the issue even though some council members were attracted by a casino’s tax and job benefits.

Crane’s casino would lure about 1,000 customers a day, produce at least 300 jobs and provide $500,000 to $1.2 million in gambling taxes annually for the city, promoters initially estimated.

*

While still strongly opposed to a large local casino, Bradbury said his role in the card-club debate this time could be reduced if promoters all appear to have clean records.

“Keep in mind, one of the reasons we felt so strongly last time was that there were some real unsavory characters involved,” he said.

One promoter had a felony conviction for committing lewd acts with a child and a second acknowledged participation in a scheme that hid the true ownership of a card club in Bell, a small city near Los Angeles.

Two of Crane’s former partners--both local developers--were also convicted of misdemeanor money laundering for funneling about $1,000 to the campaigns of council members and an assemblyman.

“If there’s a criminal element involved, my responsibility is to be very aggressive in dealing with the issue,” Bradbury said. He added that he has found no reason for such concern with Crane, a former head of a federal organized crime strike force in Los Angeles.

But Bradbury said it is still his responsibility to “be a voice of caution and make sure the public understands the type of crime problems that legalized casino gambling will bring to our communities.” Beyond that, “I’ll leave it to the local legislative body to determine,” he said.