WARREN, Conn.- A man who owned several bars and strip clubs in western Connecticut has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for tax evasion.

Vincent Mavilia also must pay $359,000 in taxes and fines that prosecutors say he avoided by placing the businesses and other assets in his daughter’s name between 1993 and 2003.

The 67-year-old Warren resident was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Hartford.

His attorney had argued for no prison time, saying Mavilia’s actions stemmed from “his exaggerated need to protect his assets” from creditors, and from employees and patrons who tried to sue him.

Mavilia owned several businesses before his indictment, including a Danbury strip club that operated under the names Wiggles, Bada Bing Bar and the Go-Go Joint.