Nicholas J. Turco, 31, of Mount Holly, and Lief J. Olson, 27, of Windsor, have both been charged with one count each of kidnapping, carjacking and disorderly conduct. Both men denied the charges and were released $2,500 cash bail.
According to prosecutors, just before 11 p.m. on Friday the two men tried to force their way into the Castaway Lounge on routes 5 and 10 in Whately, where they had been refused entry because they appeared to be drunk…
Shortly after leaving the area of the strip club, according to police, one of the two men ran out into the road in front of a car and forced the driver to slam on his brakes.
‘One of the men jumped into the back of the car and then the other man got into the front passenger seat and they demanded to be taken to Connecticut, ‘or else,’ the prosecutor said…
Faille [the alleged carjacking victim] told police that, as he drove south, the two Vermont men had been discussing a ‘kilo of (cocaine)’ that they had left in their vehicle. He said that their actions and their mention of drugs made him fear for his safety.
Faille was able to pull into the Castaway Lounge parking lot, where police were still present. Turco and Olson ran off but were captured.
In this incident, we notice themes that have appeared in other reports on secondary effects: rowdy patrons, patrons who don’t live in the community, and impacts on innocent bystanders.
When secondary effects reach a certain threshold, citizens can make a case to their local officials that the enterprise in question should have its liquor license revoked or be shut down as a public nuisance.
See also:
Springfield Republican Reports on Strip Clubs and the Mafia
NoPornNorthampton Reaches Out to Springfield Neighborhood with Advice on Adult Enterprises
Springfield police dispatch reports from December 1998 through April 2007 paint a picture of burglaries, panic alarms, ambulance calls and altercations in and around the Amazing.net store at Apremont Triangle.
State of Minnesota, Report of the Attorney General’s Working Group on the Regulation of Sexually Oriented Businesses, Office of the Attorney General (June 6, 1989)
This is a seminal work which investigates the secondary effects of adult businesses from a number of different research perspectives. Not only is the effect on crime included, so is the effect on neighborhood disorganization and disorder, as are the effects on property values addressed. The New York study also concluded that business locations with adult-oriented businesses had a significant loss of sales tax collections (42%) as compared to control areas. Studies of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Indianapolis, Phoenix, and Los Angeles are cited. RICO and organized criminal elements of the industry are also discussed. It was found that dramatic increases in crime rates were directly associated with the introduction of adult-oriented businesses into any community studied. Evidence is articulated indicating that property crimes were forty to fifty percent higher, and sex-related crimes were found to be seventy to as much as 500 percent higher–depending upon the municipality. Other non-crime community issues are also discussed.
Crime, Nuisances Motivate Cities to Regulate the Location of Adult Entertainment Uses
The City of Kent, Washington had similar experiences with the Roadside Inn Tavern. Prior to its forced closing, the Roadside Inn offered topless dancing and table dancing in conjunction with its selling of alcoholic beverages. Kent police investigations conducted in the summer of 1981 revealed a very high incidence of criminal activity at the Roadside, related primarily to sex crimes (prostitution) and drug related offenses. As a result of 57 hours of on-premise investigation, 162 charges were brought against 21 persons by the Kent Police Department. The report filed by the police stated: “The total time involved, and the number of charges, break down to a time expenditure of slightly more than 20 minutes per charge, attesting to the relative ease by which the subject of prostitution arises within an environment such as the Roadside.” In September, 1981, the Roadside Inn Tavern was closed by the City of Kent.
Bothell’s experiences with Mama Hoopah’s in 1982 demonstrated similar association between the use (an adult dance hall) and the occurrence of crime. Research by the Bothell Police Department also demonstrated the regional attraction that such an establishment can have. In one investigation of the 321 vehicles checked, 8 were registered in Bothell with most of the remainder from the Puget Sound region, though others had out of state registration. This is potentially significant in that nonresidents of an area may be less inhibited in their personal behavior when away from their community. Nonresidents may also be unaware of the needs or concerns of residents/owners of areas adjacent to the adult entertainment use…
Seattle, WA, 1989 (PDF)
Seattle had eight such dance halls (termed “adult cabarets”), six established since 1987…
The increased number of cabarets resulted in citizen complaints, including phone calls, letters (from individuals and merchant associations) and several petitions with hundreds of signatures. Protests cited decreased property values; increased insurance rates; fears of burglary, vandalism, rape, assaults, drugs and prostitution; and overall neighborhood deterioration. The report noted that patrons of these cabarets most often are not residents of nearby neighborhoods. Without community identity, behavior is less inhibited. Increased police calls to a business, sirens and traffic hazards from police and emergency vehicles are not conducive to healthy business and residential environments.
Report to the Rome City Commission–Adult Entertainment, Police Department, City of Rome, Georgia, (March 6, 1995) (PDF)
This report includes crime data from the city of La Grange, Georgia… Located in that small suburb of Atlanta, is a three-year-old “adult nightclub.” In just one year (1994) that single adult-oriented nightclub generated 141 calls-for-service, with thirty-five of those calls being criminal in nature. Those crimes included such violent crimes as: eight criminal batteries and eight aggravated assaults (knives, baseball bats, and firearms with shots fired). The report also includes many of the other municipal studies articulated elsewhere in this digest.
Secondary Effects Across America: 1977-1999
Austin, TX, 1986: Of 81 license plates traced for owner addresses, only three lived within one mile of the sexually oriented business; 44 percent were from outside Austin…
Prosperous Minneapolis Commercial Area Blighted by Proliferation of Adult Enterprises
The adult bookstores and theaters which now line Lake Street have indelibly marked the character of the business community. Once a prosperous commercial area, East Lake Street now is characterized by decline an
d deterioration. Many legitimate businesses have moved out of the neighborhood and new ones have not replaced them. Business owners are frightened by the real possibility of business failure. When women do not feel safe on the streets, they will not come to the stores to shop. Legitimate businesses do not want to subject their employees, especially women employees, to harassment from the customers of the adult bookstores and theaters.
Testimony in Minneapolis: Secondary Effects Around Adult Theaters; Police Suggest that Concerned Citizens Move Away
The police have gone to the Flick and tried to bust it time and time again. Finally the police in our residence have said, forget it, we are giving up, nothing has been done. We are not going in there and taking the chance of having our heads blown off. Us, the people that live in the neighborhood, we have to fear that day in and day out, especially the women…
US Appeals Court Upholds Daytona Zoning and Public Nudity Ordinances; No Grandfathering for Lollipop’s Gentlemen’s Club; Rebutting Daniel Linz
The opinion describes the harms that adult theaters impose on Daytona Beach, the city’s drive to regulate these enterprises, dodges and arguments employed by theater operators, and the standards by which the constitutionality of adult-use zoning is evaluated. The court affirms that cities may draw upon anecdotal evidence and common sense when drafting laws, in addition to scientific studies.