San Bernardino seeks to bounce strip club

San Bernardino seeks to bounce strip club


In case anyone is confused, Ryan Welty likes to point out that the Flesh Club is not a Christian Science Reading Room, nor is it a church or high-minded civic organization.

"We are not a sympathetic member of society," the club owner concedes. "There are naked ladies in there. It's a very sexually charged atmosphere."


That's putting it mildly, San Bernardino officials say. They allege the strip club is little more than a front for a brothel. Patrons go there for sex, they say, not to see a show.

"I don't think any city would tolerate that, and neither will we," said San Bernardino City Atty. James Penman.

But proving it is something else. For 12 years, San Bernardino has targeted the Flesh Club, and for 12 years the club has escaped largely unscathed. The latest legal effort, a criminal prosecution, to close the place is scheduled to wrap up in court this week.

The red brick club sits in the middle of busy Hospitality Lane -- arguably the nicest commercial street in an otherwise struggling town -- with a big sign proclaiming "Flesh Showgirls, Total Nude, Open 7 Days."

Its very presence seems to taunt a city that has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and launched many covert operations to expose illicit sexual activity within its dimly lighted rooms.

Over the years, according to court testimony, authorities have tried repeatedly to trip up the club:

* Undercover police officers, sometimes in wheelchairs to hide cameras, filmed dancers who appeared to be having sex together;

* A former porn star-turned-private eye was recruited to get a job as a stripper and gather intelligence. After three days she concluded the club was "a house of prostitution";

* A former Flesh Club dancer was successfully persuaded to testify in court last year and boasted of being called the "top ho" for making $1,000 a day. Asked how often she traded sex for money, she said, "I would say for every customer."

As in all spy craft, agents were sometimes compromised.

Duane Minard, a private investigator and former Riverside County sheriff's deputy, was hired to find out what services the club's women would offer for cash.

According to his court testimony, Minard went into a VIP room with a stripper for a private $120 dance. By the time it finished he had shelled out $800 for sex.

"I told him when they start asking for money, excuse yourself and skedaddle," said Joseph Arias, the lawyer representing the city against the club. "But he goes out and gets more money then goes back in. When I asked him why, he said, 'It was the heat of the moment.' "

Penman wasn't amused.

"He clearly crossed the line and won't be reimbursed by the city," he said. "But the fact that he did it so easily shows what kind of business it is and how much money is involved. This is no $50 romp in the backseat with a hooker, it's $800."

The story came out in court last month as part of San Bernardino's latest attempt to rein in the club. This time it is using California's Red Light Abatement Act, essentially trying to prove the business is a brothel. If the city is successful, a judge can close the club for a year.

"An occasional act of prostitution is not enough to shut the place down; we have to show more than that," Arias said. "Exactly what the burden is remains an elusive question."

The Flesh Club has survived so long because it's hard to prove wholesale prostitution and, more important, stripping is often viewed as constitutionally protected speech.

Club lawyer Roger Jon Diamond never lets anyone forget that.

Diamond has been defending adult businesses since 1969. His clients throughout Southern California include Temptations, Barely Legal, Imperial Showgirls, Sahara Theater, Spicy's and Club 215.

He concedes that such places are unpopular, that local officials rarely "give them the key to the city" or ask them to "sponsor Little League teams," but he sees them as legitimate businesses.

"It's the right of free expression versus the city's attempt to censor," he said. "San Bernardino is like most cities; they try to suppress freedom they don't like, especially when it involves erotic material."

Diamond has an encyclopedic knowledge of adult entertainment. He knows how close, measured in feet and inches, a patron can get to a topless dancer as opposed to a nude one. He knows the delicate legalities of lap dancing. If sexual contact occurs, Diamond said, it's no reason to penalize an entire business.

"At hockey games many people go to watch the fights, but theoretically public fighting is a crime, so allowing them to go on is breaking the law," he said. "You don't shut down the game because of that. In our situation, dancers are not told to be prostitutes but they do act as independent contractors, and sometimes there is some hanky-panky, but that isn't reason to close the club."

Despite spending $587,496 in legal fees, San Bernardino has racked up a dismal record against the Flesh Club.

Its one victory came in 1995 when a local judge issued a restraining order against the club, saying its location wasn't zoned for nude dancing. The club shut down. A Superior Court judge overruled the decision a year later. The city appealed, and in 1999 a state court ruled San Bernardino had not proved that the club negatively affected the neighborhood. It also declared that the city ordinances used to close it were unconstitutional.

The Flesh Club reopened in 1999 and sued for lost revenue. A jury awarded it $1.4 million in 2004 despite finding that prostitution had occurred inside. The case is being appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Welty, who also owns strip clubs in Upland and the City of Industry, denies running a brothel and says he's a convenient target for political opportunists.

"It's easy to kick people like us, and there is little price to pay," he said. "Acts of prostitution occur in every strip club in the country. It would be ignorant for us to believe or claim that the place is pure as driven snow, but the fact of the matter is that prostitution is rare."

Witnesses in the latest case dispute that. They allege that management knows prostitution happens and simply urges employees to be discreet.

Raquel Gomez, who danced at the club before becoming a Christian evangelist, testified to routinely having sex with customers.

She said almost every dancer did, and the patrons expected it. Her price was $200. Most women had a sliding scale of fees depending on the sex acts, she said in court.

Gomez said the inauguration of private rooms several years ago made things even easier. Dancers now didn't have "to fight for the darkest corner" where they often had sex just inches away from other couples, she testified in July.

The privacy "gave me more freedom," she said. "It impacted me financially because I made more money."

The small rooms are dimly lighted by red lamps and covered with heavy curtains. Patrons spend $120 for three dances inside. On a recent visit, barely clad dancers led men into the rooms while the stage was mostly empty.

Sandra Margot-Escott, who spent 20 years as a stripper and also starred in porn films as Tiffany Million, testified she was hired to work undercover as a dancer in the club by Arias, the city's attorney.

Now a bounty hunter and private investigator, Margot-Escott testified that club managers said whatever she did in the VIP room was between her and the patron as long as they got their $45 cut from the $120 fee. She also said that one dancer, who identified herself as a high school student, was charging $800 for sex.

"My experience at the Flesh Club was unlike any I had ever had working in this industry, and it was the first time I've ever worked at a club where there were not only no ground rules

Club dancers are even rated on an Internet site where patrons critique their experiences.

Yet it's not just what happens inside the club that irritates the city so much, it's also the club's location.

In economically depressed, crime-plagued San Bernardino, Hospitality Lane is a narrow island of restaurants, office buildings and a few upscale hotels in a sea of gritty neighborhoods.

"That is our commercial hub; it is the economic engine of the city," said City Councilman Tobin Brinker, who represents the area. "It's a little embarrassing to have the club there."

Diamond describes the street, somewhat sardonically, as the Rodeo Drive of San Bernardino.

"The solution would have been a long time ago to sit with me and my client and say, 'Look, we don't want you on Hospitality Lane, but you can go elsewhere,' but they wouldn't do it," he said.

Penman said the city did offer to find another location but the club preferred to go to trial.

"They think they have a winning case," he said. "But the 1st Amendment doesn't protect prostitution."

Diamond is optimistic about this latest court battle, scheduled for closing arguments today. And he hopes people will someday revise their view of strip clubs.

"I think they are a positive for a community," he said. "They bring in a lot of money. The women who dance are supplying a need. There are a lot of lonely guys out there who basically want to talk to someone. They want companionship. They just want a hug."

*

david.kelly@latimes.com

"THEY JUST WANT A HUG"

NYTE RYDA wrote:The red brick club sits in the middle of busy Hospitality Lane -- arguably the nicest commercial street in an otherwise struggling town -- with a big sign proclaiming "Flesh Showgirls, Total Nude, Open 7 Days."

I never thought about it this way, Hospitality is the nicest damn street in the whole city LOL.

NYTE RYDA wrote: "San Bernardino is like most cities; they try to suppress freedom they don't like, especially when it involves erotic material."

That's why there's 5 "Adult shops" throughout the city huh?

NYTE RYDA wrote:In economically depressed, crime-plagued San Bernardino, Hospitality Lane is a narrow island of restaurants, office buildings and a few upscale hotels in a sea of gritty neighborhoods.

Ain't that the truth! LOL @ "Rodeo Drive" of San Bernardino

This joint has been a undercover brothel from the time it was built. I never been inside, heard plenty of stories, but always pass by and see the billboard outside on the side of the building saying shit like "get your booze and boobs here" or other times it will say some shit aimed at the city. That's crazy though, I didn't know they went that far with all the investigation.

Paid_in_full wrote:

NYTE RYDA wrote:The red brick club sits in the middle of busy Hospitality Lane -- arguably the nicest commercial street in an otherwise struggling town -- with a big sign proclaiming "Flesh Showgirls, Total Nude, Open 7 Days."

I never thought about it this way, Hospitality is the nicest damn street in the whole city LOL.

The city has always dreamt of having a Hospitality lane in the Downtown area, they take pride in that one street because it is the only street like that in the entire city. I personally don't think there is anything special about place. Bunch of generic restaurants and even cheap dirty places like King Buffet LOL. Still good though.

Paid_in_full wrote:

NYTE RYDA wrote:In economically depressed, crime-plagued San Bernardino, Hospitality Lane is a narrow island of restaurants, office buildings and a few upscale hotels in a sea of gritty neighborhoods.

Ain't that the truth! LOL @ "Rodeo Drive" of San Bernardino

What upscale hotels?? LOL. The hilton? Alot of those resturants have went bankrupt on that street too. Like I said there is nothing special about that area, but for SB standards I guess I can see what all the fuss is about.

NYTE RYDA wrote:

Paid_in_full wrote:

NYTE RYDA wrote:The red brick club sits in the middle of busy Hospitality Lane -- arguably the nicest commercial street in an otherwise struggling town -- with a big sign proclaiming "Flesh Showgirls, Total Nude, Open 7 Days."

I never thought about it this way, Hospitality is the nicest damn street in the whole city LOL.

The city has always dreamt of having a Hospitality lane in the Downtown area, they take pride in that one street because it is the only street like that in the entire city. I personally don't think there is anything special about place. Bunch of generic restaurants and even cheap dirty places like King Buffet LOL. Still good though.

I don't know why but everytime I go eat at King Buffet, I leave feeling kind disgusted, but I don't know why my ass keeps on going back. It has to be that damn MSG they slippin in our food. Ryda is a regular at King Buffet LOL. Walks out holding 2 ice cream cones in his hands, trying to get it all in LOL. I've always wanted to try that Japanese fancy resteraunt, right next door to the 76, looks expensive as hell though. I think Hospitality Lane is the only place in SB that has these generic known resterants...Chilli's, Olive Garden, Black Angus, Claim Jumpers, Outback, Soup Plantation, etc. Other than that, it's just mama and papa and whole it the walls all around SB.

Paid_in_full wrote:I don't know why but everytime I go eat at King Buffet, I leave feeling kind disgusted

LOL!!!

[quote="Paid_in_full"]I've always wanted to try that Japanese fancy resteraunt, right next door to the 76, looks expensive as hell though.[quote]

That place is gone now!! They tore it down it went under I think.

Really? Crazy. That joint been there for a long ass time. It's understandable why they had to close their doors for good, nobody is trying to cough up fifty bucks for a meal everytime.

NYTE RYDA wrote:

Paid_in_full wrote:

NYTE RYDA wrote:In economically depressed, crime-plagued San Bernardino, Hospitality Lane is a narrow island of restaurants, office buildings and a few upscale hotels in a sea of gritty neighborhoods.

Ain't that the truth! LOL @ "Rodeo Drive" of San Bernardino

What upscale hotels?? LOL. The hilton? Alot of those resturants have went bankrupt on that street too. Like I said there is nothing special about that area, but for SB standards I guess I can see what all the fuss is about.

LOL! The Hilton is the so called "upscale hotel" of the Rodeo Drive of San Bernardino. Other than that, all we got left is high class 5 star resorts like Super 8 and La Quinta Inn.

paid i think you are talking about yamazato's. I still see people go into that place but half the time it looks like its closed down. I don't know what the deal is. The other place called the Lotus on hospitality is an alright spot...expensive chinese food. Who doesn't go to King Buffet? Desparate times call for desparate measures! With them tiny ass plates. I think those plates are tiny to play a trick on you mentally. Can't fit much food on the plate but you fell full as fuck in 2 bites right? Thats why when i go there, i already know...fuck it...i'ma pig out! And they start coming to your table giving those "are you ready to go" looks. Hell naw i ain't ready to go...better be glad i ain't runnin out on yaw. like those people in the pictures they hang up of people running out w/o paying!

niners wrote:paid i think you are talking about yamazato's. I still see people go into that place but half the time it looks like its closed down.

Yeah it's yamazto's. It's not there any more, in fact there is nothing there but an empty bulldozed lot. I was in that area and passed by just last week. It used to sit rite next to the 76 gas station. You might be seeing ghost niners! LOL.

lol...damn. Bulldozed now huh? It wasn't all that great of a place anyway...my mother used to go there alot when they had kareoke back in the 90's. Remember the movie theater they had over there where concorde is now? Damn, the theater downtown is closed too...this city is going thru another 1992 all over again...or was it 94' when they shut down the base? Anyway, yeh hospitality lane isn't what it used to be thats for sure. Although i gotta mention Harleys. Great place to watch football.

Yeah, it's pretty bad. I think what the city is going through now is worse than what happened in the early 90's. I read an article the other day that said San Bernardino (the city) is reaching near a 20% unemployment rate now. For a city this size that's terrible. Everywhere I go now it seems more than the usual, I see more boarded up/abandoned houses. I saw a small cut street off of F street on the East side where one entire block had almost every house boarded up.

Some other places over there that went under, craby bobs, and Guadalaharry's. Comp usa and of course circuit city too. Who's next? King buffet been looking real empty, even on weekends now.

i know exactly where you're talking about. Same go's for some kut streets off of arrowhead and sierr way...all over the east side really. shit, you know its bad when the weed man is letting his weed get dark and crispy looking because he can't get rid of it fast enuff.

niners wrote:paid i think you are talking about yamazato's. I still see people go into that place but half the time it looks like its closed down. I don't know what the deal is. The other place called the Lotus on hospitality is an alright spot...expensive chinese food. Who doesn't go to King Buffet? Desparate times call for desparate measures! With them tiny ass plates. I think those plates are tiny to play a trick on you mentally. Can't fit much food on the plate but you fell full as fuck in 2 bites right? Thats why when i go there, i already know...fuck it...i'ma pig out! And they start coming to your table giving those "are you ready to go" looks. Hell naw i ain't ready to go...better be glad i ain't runnin out on yaw. like those people in the pictures they hang up of people running out w/o paying!

I went to go eat at Lotus Garden recently with the family. We ordered the whole Peking duck and probably ate like not even half of it and tell them we want the rest to go...they take it to the back and wrap it all up all fancy...just to find out that there was nothing but bones when we opened it at home LOL. Scandalous motherfuckers. I wouldn't doubt if they recycled all the food we threw away and served it to the next person. High class resterant with roaches and rats running around the kitchen (from what my homie told me, who does inspections on their fire equipment). LOL I seen those pictures of people running out at King Buffet....they post that shit right at the front, so you can see it while your waiting for your table....fuck running from them, they'll put ya on blast. I get full quick at Chinese Buffets because of all the damn mayonaise they mix in with the food.

NYTE RYDA wrote:Some other places over there that went under, craby bobs, and Guadalaharry's. Comp usa and of course circuit city too. Who's next? King buffet been looking real empty, even on weekends now.

I noticed that. I used to always eat at Guadalaharry's too. Chillin upstairs, eating on the balcony. Damn, I wanna go get some King Buffet now LOL.

I barely found out last week that ALBERTO's on Baseline closed down....I was thinking to myself...how the hell can this happen? I thought the place was doing but I guess I thought wrong. I guess it's still some Mexican resterant, but with a different name like Alberitas or some shit. Trying to trick people in believin it's the original. Ain't even open 24 hour now more, I had to settle for bitch ass Taco Mexico, nobody even answers you over there when you try to order some food, gotta pull up to the window and start knocking for them to take your order LOL.

Paid_in_full wrote:I barely found out last week that ALBERTO's on Baseline closed down....I was thinking to myself...how the hell can this happen? I thought the place was doing but I guess I thought wrong. I guess it's still some Mexican resterant, but with a different name like Alberitas or some shit. Trying to trick people in believin it's the original. Ain't even open 24 hour now more, I had to settle for bitch ass Taco Mexico, nobody even answers you over there when you try to order some food, gotta pull up to the window and start knocking for them to take your order LOL.

ITS PROBABLY THE SAME OWNERS PEOPLE RUNNING IT, THEY PROBABLY GOT TIRED OF GETTING TAXED SO MUCH FOR USING THE ALBERTOS NAME. BUT YEAH THE ONE IN COLTON ALSO CHANGED ITS NAME.

Paid_in_full wrote:I barely found out last week that ALBERTO's on Baseline closed down....I was thinking to myself...how the hell can this happen? I thought the place was doing but I guess I thought wrong. I guess it's still some Mexican resterant, but with a different name like Alberitas or some shit. Trying to trick people in believin it's the original. Ain't even open 24 hour now more, I had to settle for bitch ass Taco Mexico, nobody even answers you over there when you try to order some food, gotta pull up to the window and start knocking for them to take your order LOL.

GO TO KING TACO.

The Albertos off Highland is still there though as far as I know. But Yea King Taco is way better.