Owner of unlicensed "lap dance club" charged with prostitution

When I think of a reputable place filled with classy people, I think of an unlicensed strip club in a dark alleyway of Manhattan. So you can imagine my shock when the owner of such an establishment was charged with prostitution.

A lawyer who operated a New York City lap dance club has been indicted on charges of promoting prostitution and laundering money.
Prosecutors say 52-year-old Louis Posner ran the unlicensed Hot Lap Dance Club in Manhattan and made more than $726,000 there from January through June.
They say he split prostitution fees with some of the club’s dancers, who charged $20 and up for lap dances and up to $5,000 for sex.
Prosecutors say Posner was at the club nightly and sometimes had sex with the dancers.
Posner and his 57-year-old wife also are charged with falsifying business records. Prosecutors say Betty Posner helped hide cash generated by the club.

I guess you’d hope that a lawyer would understand the tremendous illegalities he’s undertaking with this venture, but when you’re a wealthy lawyer, why not set up a club that will make you a shitload of money and provide you with some scandalous stripper hole on the side? I dare say that’s the American dream…at least as presented to me through The Sopranos.

On the plus side, it’s nice to know that places like this still exist. Uh, not to frequent them. Too expensive. I mean, classless. Yes. Classless.

Joe S
September 7, 2008
#1

Just because the the lap dance club made a lot of money does not mean that the owner is guilty of any crimes. Ever since the Spitzer story, the prosecutors have been going after everyone, even legitimate strip clubs.
Mac38
February 12, 2009
#2

Talk to any of the dancers or customers from the Hot Lap Dance Club and you will hear that 98% of what was reported in the papers and by law enforcement is pure unadulterated BS. HLD was a very popular private membership strip club. The club charged $20 for membership and $50 admission at the door, and you were lucky to get in. The club had a lot of pretty girls and there were 4 large rooms just for lap dances. These girls made enough money that they did not need to resort to prostitution. There was no reason in hell why the owner of the club would need to get involved in prostitution to make more money.
Karen
April 18, 2009
#3

I was a dancer at the Hot Lap Dance Club on the night of the police raid and it was a horrible experience. I was just standing by the front door and all of a sudden dozens of Vice cops came storming in with full riot gear and shields, waiving loaded semi-automatic hand guns. I was scared to death and though I might get killed in the cross-fire from an accidental shoot-out. This police response was absolutely uncalled for and is another example of how this City has turned into a police state.
I also can’t believe how the cops and the press have smeared the reputation of Louis Posner and the Hot Lap Dance Club. The truth is that Lou was a nice guy and was well liked by the dancers and he never abused his privileges as the boss. The HLD Club was actually quite strict in its rules and I never saw any prostitution there. Also, I can’t believe that law enforcement went and seized all that money from the Posners. It is a really scary situation when the government goes and just takes money from a legitimate business and its owner without proving anything.