Richmond strip-club owner faces hearing before liquor agency

A Richmond strip-club owner faces a two-day hearing this month that could cost him his state license to sell alcoholic beverages.

The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has scheduled a hearing for June 23 and 24 in Richmond on charges against Velvet, a strip club at 3 S. 15th St. in Shockoe Bottom.

The ABC Department charged Velvet and its owner, Samuel J.T. Moore III, with 11 violations of state law, including selling alcohol to minors and creating a haven for illegal activities. The agency issued the charges in March and originally set a hearing in early April but postponed action to allow Moore to prepare his defense.

The charges could result in disciplinary action against the club, including possible revocation of its license to sell alcohol.

The ABC action stemmed from an investigation that it conducted in 2007 and 2008 in conjunction with local and federal law-enforcement agencies, which staged a late-night search of the club and Moore's second-floor residence in the same building on Feb. 24, 2008. The agents were looking for evidence of possible prostitution, illicit sex, illegal public nudity and drug distribution at the club.

The only charges produced by the investigation alleged that Moore had sex with a minor and another woman and that he illegally filmed the acts.

Moore accepted convictions on three misdemeanor charges without admitting guilt and spent 30 days of a 60-day sentence in jail, but he avoided trial on two felony charges that could have resulted in the loss of his ABC license.

Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or .