Former club owner sentenced on arson, tax evasion charges

ATLANTA - A former nude dance club owner who once offered money to have former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell hurt was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday for arson and tax evasion. <br> <br> Michael Childs, who owned Nikki&#39;s VIP and the Gentlemen&#39;s Club, pleaded guilty last fall to evading taxes and to paying an arsonist to torch a competitor&#39;s businesses. <br> <br> He was recorded telling a government informant that he would pay $20,000 to have Campbell injured. He was not charged in connection with the offer. <br> <br> Judge Richard Story sentenced Childs to three years in prison for the charges -- to be served concurrently, and three years supervised release. <br> <br> Childs was on the government&#39;s witness list in the Gold Club strip club case and cooperated with authorities in a federal child prostitution case. He also has been cooperating in a federal probe of Atlanta government corruption.