This just in from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix:
Brian Roehrich, the 40-year-old former owner of Sugar Daddy's, Dos Gringos, Trailer Park, and Joe's Apartment bars, has been sentenced to two years for tax evasion.
He's supposed to turn himself in by September 9.
Roehrich had a system at his Scottsdale and Tempe establishments in which he set aside the money from cover charges. The skimmed cash didn't show up in his tax returns over several years, the feds say. And it amounted to big bucks: Nearly $2 million.
Roehrich's getting off easy, in a sense -- he was facing up to 20 years.
According to a 2007 East Valley Tribune article by Jess Harter, Roehrich "maxed out his credit cards and mortgaged his house to open Scottsdale's Dos Gringos in 1996," and launched a "restaurant and nightlife empire."
Roehrich also owns the Cherry Lounge & Pit in Tempe, and was recently quoted in the Arizona Republic:
Brian Roehrich owns the Mill Avenue club Cherry Lounge & Pit, where he said now more of his guests opt for the discounted $3 cherry vodka cocktails than they used to.
"It's chic to be cheap these days," he said.
Roehrich also owns the Dos Gringos chain of Mexican restaurants across the Valley, where he lowered his prices to fight the drop in attendance he's seen, particularly at the Tempe and Scottsdale locations.
Roehrich pleaded guilty in December.