Billiards Parlor Behind 8-Ball With City : Entertainment: Bikini-clad hostesses raise concern of Hawthorne officials, police and a minister. The owner calls it a perfectly innocent attempt to attract more business--which it did.

Jerry Jamgotchian understands that the city of Hawthorne is a good three miles from the beach. But he still thinks you should be able to wear a bikini--or even underwear--in public there without getting rousted by the police.

Apparently, not everyone in Hawthorne agrees.

For months now, Jamgotchian, owner of South Bay Billiards on El Segundo Boulevard, has fought a running battle with Hawthorne officials over alleged infractions of city ordinances at the billiards parlor. But the city’s real beef with him, he says, is that he hired young women to wear skimpy clothing and mix with the customers.

Jamgotchian insists it was a perfectly innocent attempt to attract more business.

“Ever been to the beach?” Jamgotchian, 42, asked. “That’s all it was. You could see the same thing at the beach that you saw here. More, even.”

Nevertheless, police last month raided the parlor and arrested four people, including two bikini-clad “swimsuit hostesses.” Since then, Jamgotchian has “temporarily” abandoned the bikini strategy until he determines what is and is not permissible in Hawthorne.

Jamgotchian says he is mystified by the controversy. He says that when he first opened the billiards club in 1989--”Please don’t call it a pool hall”--the community welcomed him with open arms.

But last summer, after expanding the club to 14,000 square feet with 39 pool tables, Jamgotchian decided that since he did not have a liquor license, “I needed something to keep the guys here on weekday nights.”

The answer, he decided, was underwear.

Jamgotchian contracted with a Redondo Beach company called Double Exposure to provide “lingerie shows” at the billiards club on Monday and Wednesday nights. As described by Jamgotchian, the shows consisted of young women wearing lingerie and mingling with the customers, with “absolutely no touching allowed.”

“It worked,” Jamgotchian says. He noticed a definite increase in attendance on Monday and Wednesday nights.

Unfortunately for Jamgotchian, however, one of the attendees was Pastor Albert Wise of the Del Aire Assembly of God Church, who with several other concerned Hawthorne residents came to check out the billiards club one evening. Wise did not like what he saw.

“Some of the lingerie shows looked like something you’d see in Penthouse” magazine, Wise said this week.

Wise acknowledges that he is objecting on moral grounds--”I get paid to be a moralist,” he said. But what really upset him, he said, was that minors allegedly were on the premises during the shows.

“When he starts corrupting the youth, I’m going to oppose that,” Wise said. “Jerry (Jamgotchian) is doing things that are unhealthy for the psychological and moral health of our children.”

At a Hawthorne City Council meeting in February, Wise and others denounced the lingerie shows, pointing out that the club is situated next to Hawthorne High School. Double Exposure, meanwhile, capitalized on the controversy, distributing advertising flyers for the lingerie shows that proclaimed, “SEE THE SHOW THAT SHOCKED HAWTHORNE!”

Jamgotchian says he assured Wise and other concerned residents that he would try harder to keep minors out of the billiards club during the shows. He says critics of his club indicated that swimwear would be less offensive than lingerie. So he immediately changed the underwear shows to swimwear shows--which is to say, bikinis.

But despite the change, Jamgotchian says, the heat did not let up.

In February, after an investigation by the Hawthorne city attorney’s office, Jamgotchian was charged with 19 counts of violations of state law and Hawthorne municipal ordinances, including having too many video game machines on the premises, providing entertainment--that is, the swimsuit shows--without a license, and permitting raffles on the premises.

Jamgotchian said he intends to plead innocent to the charges. He said he believes he resolved the alleged problems, citing as evidence a March 10 letter from Hawthorne Police Chief Stephen R. Port, which says in part, “It is our opinion . . . you have modified or changed your business practices within the framework of the law.”

But a week later, about 10 uniformed Hawthorne police officers swooped down on the billiards club, arresting four people, including two “swimwear hostesses,” on charges ranging from gambling to holding an illegal raffle. No formal charges were filed, however, and the four were eventually released after a short time in custody.

Jamgotchian and other club employees say customers were “harassed” by officers who checked their identification. No minors were found on the premises. One waitress who was arrested said police officers referred to her using a racial epithet.

After several people who were at the billiards club protested the police action at a City Council meeting, city officials promised an investigation. Jamgotchian is threatening legal action against the city.

Police and city officials are closemouthed about the incident. Lt. John Beerling of the Hawthorne Police Department said he doubted the department would have any comment about the raid.

“That place politically is a hot potato,” Beerling said. “We’re trying to be as neutral as possible right now.” Beerling added, however, that South Bay Billiards “is not a place we’ve had a tremendous lot of problems with. But it seems to be under a spotlight right now.”

Hawthorne City Councilman Larry Guidi, who Jamgotchian says was instrumental in prompting the police raid, declined to comment.

Jamgotchian, meanwhile, says the question of renewed swimwear shows is “under study.”

“I’m trying to work out a resolution acceptable to everybody,” Jamgotchian said. Referring to Hawthorne’s city motto, he added: “I just hope that in the ‘City of Good Neighbors’ they will work with me in the same spirit.”