2 sentenced to prison in Yassine case

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Downtown nightclub owner Mike Yassine was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison on laundering charges on Friday and might be deported after that. His brother, Hadi Yassine, got a five-year sentence.

The Yassines were among 10 people arrested in a raid of several clubs last year. Mike Yassine will serve three years of probation after his 151-month sentence is served. He was in U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks' courtroom on Friday  morning

Hadi Yassine's sentence, which incudes $30,000 in fines, was at the high end of the federal sentencing guidelines .

Mike Yassine's sentence was the minimum range of the federal guidelines. Yassine will also have to pay $60,000 in fines, $15,000 for each count. He has 14 days to appeal the conviction and or sentencing.

Yassine addressed the court saying he was a case of an American dream gone wrong.

"I pray to God you'll have mercy on me," he said.

Hadi Yassine was allowed to remain free on bond and can turn himself in at a later date. His lawyers said he needs to be home with his family.

His son was born in October two months premature. His wife is under a doctor's care and her father is seriously ill, the lawyers said.

In the fall, Mike Yassine and Hadi Yassine were convicted on drug and money laundering charges. Their brother, Steve Yassine, was acquitted in the same trial but later pleaded guilty to a separate federal drug charge and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

The case stems from the March 22, 2012, raid at several Downtown Austin nightclubs owned by Yassine Enterprises.

Ten people rounded up in the that was a culmination of an investigation that started in 2007 into businesses owned by owned by the Yassines.

The clubs have been shuttered since the raid, but this month the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission issued four new permits at former Yassine locations.

• Bourbon Girl at 212 E. Sixth St., the former site of Spill    
• 413 Bar at 413 E. Sixth St., the former site of Treasure Island        
• Chicago House at 607 Trinity, the former site of Fuel    
• Castro's Warehouse at 213 W. Fourth St., the former site of Hyde

TABC was allowed to cancel four of the permits that Yassine held, which now allows other owners to obtain new permits. The state agency was allowed to cancel the permits for the other five locations: Malaia, Kiss & Fly, Roial, Pure and Stack Burger.