THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 22, 1996 TAG: 9603220527
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
The owner of Mermaids was found guilty Thursday of breaking a county law by operating earlier this year without a valid permit.
But the controversial Point Harbor nightclub that features topless dancing remained open less than two hours after the verdict.
Robert F. London, the president of R.F. London Inc., was sentenced to 10 days in jail and fined $50 for each of three counts of using a building after a permit has been revoked.
The jail terms were suspended for 12 months, and he was given a year of unsupervised probation.
London was found not guilty of an additional charge of violating county ordinances on Aug. 24, 1995, when the case was still under appeal.
London's attorney, John Halstead of Elizabeth City, said immediately after the trial that his client would start the appeals process all over again - this time to contest Thursday's decision by 1st Judicial District Judge Edgar Barnes.
Currituck County officials said they had suspected Mermaids would still be in business, despite the court's ruling.
``I'm sure he'll be open,'' said Lennie Hughes, a special prosecutor who does appellate work for the county.
Currituck County officials have tried for months to shut down Mermaid's, which features bare-breasted women dancers as nightly entertainment.
Hughes and Currituck County Attorney William Romm argued that London violated the county's ordinance by continuing to do business after his operating permit was revoked in August 1994.
A county board rescinded the permit after deciding the owners had misrepresented their business intentions at a required public hearing earlier in the year.
At that hearing, London and a business partner said they would not feature topless dancing. At the time, both Mermaids owners and county officials believed the practice was illegal.
The nightclub owner later learned topless dancing was permitted in Currituck County and began bringing in dancers to enhance business.
London appealed the 1994 revocation to a Superior Court judge, who declared the original public hearing invalid and ordered a new one. In recent weeks, London has requested a second public hearing. But no hearing has yet taken place.
Another appeal by London to the state's Court of Appeals was rejected a few months ago. That panel essentially said the request for judicial review was premature since a second public hearing had not been held as ordered.
Halstead said because no final decision was given, the case remained under appeal, and he therefore allowed Mermaids to stay open.
County officials contended that the permit revocation should stand until another hearing is held by Currituck's Board of Adjustments.
London, as head of R.F. London Inc., was issued criminal citations earlier this month for operating the nightclub on Feb. 23 and 24 and March 1. Mermaids also has been open since those dates.
Immediately after the trial, London was served a letter advising him he would be charged $50 a day in civil penalties for every day he remains open.
Hughes said the civil penalties that could be leveled had nothing to do with Thursday's proceedings. MEMO: PLANS TO APPEAL
Robert F. London's attorney, John Halstead of Elizabeth City, said
immediately after the trial that his client would start the appeals
process all over again.
by CNB