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Porn Star and Stripper Fight Prostitution Charges
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 23, 2009
Modified Nov 23, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 23, 2009
Modified Nov 23, 2009
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In July 2008, the Vice Enforcement Squad raided Big Daddy Lou's Hot Lap Dance Club on West 38th Street, which was ranked as the best of all strip clubs in the world by AskMen.com. Prosecutors say it was so beloved because the club offered much more than erotic dancing to its upscale clientele, including on-site cocaine sales, and private rooms with beds for $250 an hour (plus whatever customers gave "dancers" behind closed doors). During the raid, police arrested some dancers, including porn star Alexia Moore, on alleged prostitution charges, as well as staff members and club owner Louis Posner, a lawyer who started a voter reform advocacy group after the 2000 election.
Moore, whose real name is Cassandra Malandri, and topless dancer Falynn Rodriguez, rejected a plea deal that would result in no jail, no probation, no community service, and no criminal record—provided they admitted to prostitution. It's uncommon for a prostitution charge to go to trial; the women insist they aren't prostitutes, and say prosecutors are aggressively pursuing them so they can convict Posner and his wife of running a brothel. (Before being shut down, the club was also sued by an investment broker who was injured during a lapdance when a stripper hit him in the eye with the heel of her shoe.)
An undercover officer says the two women agreed to have a threesome with him for $5,000, off-site and at a later date. The strippers say they played along with the proposal but never took it seriously, and when they were arrested a month later, the ménage à trois hadn't happened. Rodriguez's lawyer tells the Post, "They thought it was a joke! I mean, $5,000." Judging by their photo in today's Post, 5K does seem sort of laughable.
Tagged
Big Daddy Lou's Hot Lap Dance Club
erotic dancer
nyc
prostitutes
strippers
trial
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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