Vic strip club owner avoids jail for bribe

A strip club owner who let his dancers perform sex acts and paid-off a council officer who was helping him dodge police investigations has been fined but will avoid jail.

Neil John Hancock, 69, of Doncaster East, has been ordered to pay $15,000 after pleading guilty to one charge of bribery and one charge of operating an unlicensed sex services business.

Victorian County Court judge Richard Maidment imposed a jail term of seven months but Hancock will not serve immediate jail time as the sentence was suspended.

The court heard Hancock paid $15,000 to City of Yarra worker Ken Wolfe between 2006 and 2010 during which period Wolfe gave him tip-offs about visits by police and an investigation by Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Defence barrister Ron Gipp said Hancock was a generous man who was taken in by Wolfe's pathological lies, including that his son had leukaemia.

Mr Gipp said Hancock had a long-standing friendship with Wolfe and never intended to bribe him, but conceded he acted recklessly.

"The reality is, Neil Hancock got sucked in," Mr Gipp said.

Hancock owns an adult entertainment club, Club Striptease, in Richmond, which is licensed for four workers to perform lap dances.

Prosecutors told the Victorian County Court Hancock knew his workers were performing oral sex and other acts despite his adult entertainment licence prohibiting this.

They said Wolfe gave Hancock preferential treatment including calling him, and warning him police were on their way and that he was on Consumer Affairs' radar.

Before one 2010 police visit Wolfe called Hancock, allowing him to take steps to ensure he wasn't in breach of his licence.

Afterwards Hancock called Wolfe, telling him: "Mate, without your phone call I would have been f***** right up the a***", prosecutors also said.