Strip club sting foreshadows possible federal charges

Fox’s in Parkland among locations tied to prostitution, officials say

SEAN ROBINSON; sean.robinson@thenewstribune.com
Last updated: June 30th, 2009 06:29 PM (PDT)

Monday's federal raids at four Puget Sound-area strip clubs, including Fox’s in Parkland, reflected a shock-and-awe broadside aimed at Frank Colacurcio Sr., 90-year-old patriarch of a reputed criminal empire.

The searches, coupled with a restraining order freezing properties and assets owned by Colacurcio and his associates, are a prelude to possible charges of racketeering, money laundering and mail fraud, federal authorities said.

Agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service; police agencies in Seattle and Everett; and sheriff’s departments in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties participated in the investigation. On Monday, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said the inquiry began five years ago.

Prostitution runs rampant at the four clubs – owners and managers endorse and encourage it, federal investigators said. In detailed affidavits, they described a system where customers at the clubs used credit cards to buy tokens. Customers exchanged the tokens for sex acts with dancers.

“For far too long, the Colacurcio organization has made big money operating their clubs as fronts for prostitution,” said U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan in a prepared statement. “The Colacurcios have designed the clubs, the payment methods and the policies to encourage prostitution and to ensure they are the ones getting rich off of these illegal sex acts.”

Dancers at the clubs typically pay a daily price to dance – the fee, known as “rent,” is $120 at Fox’s. The arrangement creates an incentive for prostitution, authorities said: If dancers try to stay legal, if they don’t perform sex acts on patrons, they don’t make enough to cover their cost.

Affidavits named the key players in the organization: Colacurcio Sr.; his son, Frank Francis Colacurcio Jr.; Leroy Richard Christiansen (a nephew of Colacurcio Sr.); John Gilbert Conte (driver for Colacurcio Sr.); David Carl Ebert, a co-owner of the four clubs; and Steven Michael Fueston, also a club co-owner and primary manager of Fox’s.

Using information gleaned from undercover officers and confidential informants, investigators recounted scores of illegal sex acts at the clubs, typically performed in “VIP” sections of the businesses, where translucent walls and low light limit what other patrons can see. One description in court filings gives a typical example of the routine investigators observed at Fox’s.

“On Sept. 5, 2007, dancer H.Y. told UC#2 (undercover officer) that it cost $100 to go into the VIP area,” the statement reads. “She assured him, ‘Anything goes back there. I will make you happy.’”

Fox’s ranked second among the four clubs in terms of overall revenue, generating more than $3.9 million from January 2006 to April 2007, investigators found. More than $2 million of that money came from credit card and ATM transactions.

Dancers at Fox’s offered sex acts to undercover officers at least 10 times, according to affidavits. The officers did not accept the offers at Fox’s or any of the clubs, authorities said.

Only Rick’s in Seattle, the largest of the Colacurcio clubs, made more money than Fox’s. The other two clubs are Honey’s in Everett and Sugar’s in Shoreline. The restraining order includes the Seattle offices of Talents West and Accurate Bookkeeping, where the clubs’ business records are kept.

Fox’s is the only club among the four not mentioned in the restraining order, chiefly because Colacurcio’s organization does not own the property. The organization owns the buildings that house the other three clubs, authorities said. The Fox’s property is leased from another individual, but the business is owned and operated by Colacurcio’s organization.

The restraining order was filed before criminal charges – a step Sullivan, the U.S. attorney, called unusual.

It won’t shut the clubs down – they can still operate legally, according to local ordinances – but the owners can’t sell the properties or borrow money based on their value. If criminal charges and convictions follow, the clubs and the buildings could become federal property.

Meanwhile, investigators can keep searching for evidence. Sullivan said he expected a hearing on the restraining order within 10 days, or an agreement by Colacurcio’s organization not to fight it.

Why not shut the clubs down immediately and arrest the key players? Sullivan said it’s not that simple.

“It’s a classical prosecutor answer, but we have to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said. “This will be a hard-fought battle.”

He noted that individual acts of offering and agreeing to prostitution fall into a lower criminal category than the racketeering charges his office hopes to file. He intends to meet with prosecutors in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties to discuss details of the investigation and possible elements that might fall into local hands. Gerry Horne, Pierce County prosecutor, said he hadn’t heard from Sullivan, but that he’s looking forward to it.

“I am pleased to see them moving in,” Horne said. “I’m pleased to see that apparently they’re tying some of this to Colacurcio.”

On Monday, police tape blocked access to Fox’s. A Pierce County sheriff’s deputy interviewed three women outside the club who wouldn’t identify themselves or give interviews.

Nearby, Kristy Allen watched the activity. She worked at Fox’s as a bartender in March. She said she needed a job and answered an ad.

The job lasted one day before she was fired, she said. A male manager took one look at her and told her to leave.

“He told me I’m not the kind of girl men want to look at,” said Allen, 28. “He said I might have had a chance when I was 18 and looked better.”

Sean Robinson: 253-597-8486

 • The FBI is interested in speaking to anyone who can assist in its investigation. People can call a toll-free tip line, 1-877-774-8889.

Originally published: June 3rd, 2008 01:24 AM (PDT)