The Nye County Board of County Commissioners voted to hold a special hearing on Dennis Hof’s license renewals for his brothels in Crystal.
The Nye County Commission voted 5-0 to schedule a show cause hearing during a Dec. 19 meeting on Dennis Hof’s Cathouse and the Love Ranch Brothel with a 4-1 vote, which are scheduled for Jan. 16. The commission’s reasoning stems from missed deadlines to illegally placed signage and other issues.
Janice Maurizio of the Nye County Sheriff’s Office said Hof passed all his inspections during a Dec. 5 check of Dennis Hof’s Cathouse, which wasn’t in operation at that time, at the December meeting.
But that was past the 60-day deadline to get it done, Nye County Commission Chairman Dan Schinhofen responded.
Nye County Commissioner Lorinda Wichman was right behind Schinhofen in noting the expiration.
“I made the renewal of that license contingent on him being open in 60 days, and he told me, right here, on the record, that his intention was to open in 60 days,” Wichman said. “It’s not open.”
Because it wasn’t open, the license is automatically revoked according to county code, she noted.
Marc Risman, legal counsel for Hof, spoke against automatic revocation at the meeting.
Risman explained that he’d been in contact with Nye County District Attorney Angela Bello on the matter.
“It was a mutual belief that if this license, which has been with this holder for six or more years, is going to be revoked, that it would be done so with a notice and order to show cause,” he said.
Bello, who was on video conference from Tonopah at that time, concurred.
“I do believe that an order to show cause is appropriate,” she said. “I think there was some confusion on the record as to what the motion was.”
In the end, the board agreed to a show cause hearing.
“We have a code,” Schinhofen said. “We need to follow it, with that in mind, even though I think that the 60 days that were given were plenty of notice. If you waited that long and couldn’t get it done, I will make a motion to have a show cause, so we can say the same things again and revoke the license.”
Schinhofen also called for a show cause hearing on the Love Ranch, citing issues such as illegal signs on Bureau of Land Management property, along with Hof’s business expanding off the parcel that’s listed on the application to the county.
Schinhofen said that parcel number four is listed on the application.
Schinhofen added that he didn’t want the business closed but was asking for a show cause, which the board approved.
The hearing for both properties in Crystal will be held on Jan. 16 during the commission’s regular board meeting.
Contact reporter Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes