By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The parent company of Rick’s Cabaret and other strip clubs, as well as five executives, have been indicted over their alleged roles in a 13-year bribery scheme to avoid paying millions of dollars in New York sales taxes, state Attorney General Letitia James said on Tuesday.

RCI Hospitality Holdings, officials including Chief Executive Eric Langan, and three of the company’s Manhattan clubs together face nearly 80 charges in a New York state court including criminal tax fraud, bribery and conspiracy.

The defendants “deny the allegations and will take all necessary action to defend themselves against these overreaching charges,” their lawyer Daniel Horowitz said in a statement. “As a publicly traded and audited company, RCI has a policy of paying a

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