State regulators have posted a sign on the door of Envy that announces the club has been closed by the state liquor board. The state agency closed the club Jan. 10 after multiple rule violations.

Jill Torrance / Arizona Daily Star

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Envy is no more.

The liquor license for the club at 6211 E. Speedway was suspended indefinitely by the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control on Jan. 10.

It gave Envy's owner Larry Chanenson 90 days to sell his liquor license. The department further stipulated that whoever buys Envy's license may not open a bar or a club there.

Envy has been under increased scrutiny since November, when an altercation inside the club between three soldiers and another man led to a drive-by shooting that killed one of the soldiers and injured another.

Chanenson said his club was not responsible for that incident. "The shooting happened two hours after they left our club," he said.

Responsible or not, Chanenson said Envy paid for the shooting. "That bad press absolutely killed club Envy. Our business went from thousands a night to hundreds."

Not long after the shooting, Chanenson said he decided to change the club's name to Club Z. A few days after that, the club was shut down.

The state liquor board decided to suspend Envy's license after it discovered Chanenson had neglected to disclose the identity of certain business partners, said Lee Hill, an agency spokeswoman said.

That included Arturo Heuser, who was gunned down in August 2006 in front of his 19-year-old son and a woman when robbers invaded his home in the 7000 block of East Snyder Road, near North Kolb Road. Investigators said the robbers may have been looking for drugs.

Chanenson said Heuser was never a partner in Envy, but he did play a role in the club's 2006 remodeling and he recruited investors to help pay for that work.

"I didn't know who I was getting involved with when I got involved with Art," Chanenson said.

Envy has been the subject of frequent neighbor complaints. Tucson Police Department online call logs show 280 calls came in for 6211 E. Speedway in 2007. The reasons for several of the calls were listed as larceny, minors drinking and fighting.

John Keller, who lives nearby and has made many calls to the police over the years about Envy, said he won't be sad to see the club go.

"There have been a lot of problems at the club with gunfire," Keller said. "The first murder that happened there happened half a block from a friend's apartment complex."

Chanenson opened Envy in 2006 and has leased the building since the mid-1990s, when it housed Rock M Billiards, a pool hall and male review.

After neighbors complained last year of excessive noise at the club and hearing frequent gunshots, Chanenson increased security.

Measures included using a metal-detecting wand, photographing customers and their picture IDs, frisking men and searching the purses of women.

Other recent homicides police said involved patrons of Envy include an April altercation in the club's parking lot, which led to a drive-by shooting that killed a 22-year-old man.

In July, a man was thrown out of the club for being drunk and disorderly, before allegedly gunning down a 23-year-old mother and her 25-year-old boyfriend who left the club with the suspect.

Besides concealing a secret partner, the Department of Liquor License and Control cited Envy for the following violations: sale of liquor after 2 a.m., consumption of liquor after 2 a.m., change of ownership without notifying the department, false or misleading information on its application or other documents, failure to protect the safety of patrons and failure to maintain capability, qualification and reliability.

What's next for Envy?

Chanenson said he has held a few rap concerts at Envy since the club lost its liquor license.

And he wants to open an underage club at the same location, which would feature some live music but would not serve alcohol and would cater to the under-21crowd.

"I think that, with no alcohol and less of an emphasis on hip hop music and enforcing a tighter dress code, some of the problems will go away," he said.

Keller, the club's neighbor, said he'd rather see the club be converted to something quieter — like a pool hall.

"It all depends on if they're loitering and shooting guns," he said. "I don't think age matters. It seems like from day one that club drew a bad seed. I'm not sure why."