Savvis CEO Scores Stripper Suit

A day after a ho-hum earnings report, Missouri-based IT utility provider Savvis Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: SVVS) this morning found its CEO splashed on the cover of the New York Daily News, as a major credit card company is suing him for partying with strippers and then dodging the bill.

American Express is suing Savvis and its CEO, Robert McCormick, over a two year-old, $241,000 unpaid tab at Score's, a famous New York strip club, according to a suit filed in Manhattan Superior Court, says the News.

McCormick's wife insists that her husband's corporate credit card was stolen, and that's how the bill got so high, the paper reports. McCormick admits to going to Scores on the night in question but, according to the Daily News account, he didn't pay the bill when it was due because he was sure he didn't spend more than $20,000.

[Ed. note: $20,000? That's a lotta lap dances!]

Of course, it's nothing new for a strip club, especially Score's, to be accused of running up a customer's tab while the customer is otherwise engaged. So it'll be up to the courts to find out how McCormick went from spending what he claimed was less than $20,000 to allegedly spending more than $200,000.

Meanwhile, Savvis shareholders watch from the sidelines as the company's stock still isn't anywhere near the $1 mark. In early afternoon trading on Friday, shares of Savvis slipped $0.03 (4.41%) to $0.65.

On October 7, Nasdaq sent Savvis notice that it has until April 3, 2006, to regain compliance with The Nasdaq SmallCap Market's $1.00 minimum bid price rule. If the company doesn't stimulate its stock accordingly, it could face the possibility of delisting. (See Savvis Receives Nasdaq Warning.)

Savvis announced net losses of $13.7 million on revenues of $166.1 million during the third quarter. The company's net loss was higher and its revenues were lower a year ago. (See Savvis Reports Q3.)

The company's executives didn't return calls from Light Reading.

— Phil Harvey, News Editor, Light Reading