The CEO of the publicly-held restaurant chain Buca Inc. has admitted that he spent $54,000 in company funds on strip clubs.
Joseph P. Micatrotto, Buca’s CEO and former head of Panda Express, has pleaded guilty to charges he defrauded the company and investors through a series of activities which included spending $54,000 at strip clubs between 2001 and 2004. The spending included a one $19,017 charge on a credit card along with a $5,000 tip at one strip club.
Micatrotto, who was fired by the company board in May 2004, was also accused of having a Buca vendor pay him $65,000 in order to pay off a failed restaurant’s debt. He is also said to have inflated one of the vendor’s bills in order to pay the money back and was subsequently charged with wire fraud for failing to disclose the payment on required documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Micatrotto’s conviction is believed to be the first conviction under a new law requiring corporate bosses to be responsible for the accuracy of their companies’ financial results.
According to the SEC, Micatrotto had the company buy an Italian villa in his name then had it reimburse him for the remodeling of his homes in California, Las Vegas and Minneapolis.
