Glad to see some Mayors aren't uptight. From todays NY Times
NEWARK, April 16 ? When the police raided an East Ward strip club last month and charged its owner with running a brothel, there was more than just the usual outrage over what Mayor Sharpe James described as "a den of iniquity." More than two dozen women were arrested, including a 16-year-old, and investigators found scores of photographs revealing that many club members also worked in law enforcement.
Mr. James expressed particular displeasure that an aide to Councilman Cory Booker, his opponent in the May 14 election, was detained while waiting in line outside the club.
But on Monday and today, five current and former employees of the club, including the owner, said the mayor himself had patronized the club, known as Sights, before the March 24 raid.
In separate interviews, the owner, the manager, a dancer and two security employees said the mayor visited the club in 2000 and spent about an hour watching a stage show featuring women in various stages of undress. "I think he enjoyed himself," said Shaquan Green, 25, a topless dancer who was not arrested the morning of the raid. "He looked like he was having a good time."
Mr. James refused to say on Monday whether he had ever visited the club, saying he did not want to dignify the allegation. "Records will show that in the past I had the Newark police close down the club," he said in a statement. He suggested that his mayoral rival was behind the accusations, a charge Mr. Booker denies.
In a speech to mark the beginning of his re-election campaign two weeks ago, Mr. James veered from his prepared text to obliquely criticize Mr. Booker for not taking action against the aide who was in line at the club. "If any member of my staff frequents a place of prostitution and narcotics that's illegal in the city of Newark, where 14-year-olds are doing live sex acts, they don't even have to touch them; I'm still going to fire them," he said indignantly with the governor and a coterie of elected officials at his side.
The allegations that the mayor visited the club first appeared today in The Star-Ledger of Newark.
The police have yet to release information about the boxes of video surveillance tapes that were seized during the raid, and Moses Wilson Jr., the club's owner, would not say whether his cameras captured the mayor's visit.
Although both candidates played down the matter as a distraction from the meat-and-potatoes concerns of voters, local political experts said that if true, the visit could pose difficulties for the mayor, who first injected the club into a campaign that has become increasingly contentious.
"If the mayor had left this alone, none of it would have mattered," said Walter Fields, a political consultant who is not involved with either campaign. "That's the danger of making morality a part of politics."
Sights remained shuttered today, and several employees, including the owner, still face charges of promoting prostitution and ******** prostitution. Those arrested deny the charges against them, saying that sex was not for sale on the premises.
In an interview Monday, Mr. Wilson, the owner, said the mayor had visited the club in May or June of 2000, the same night his son, John James, was there. The mayor, however, arrived with a man Mr. Wilson said appeared to be a bodyguard. "The first time he came, he didn't hide it," said Mr. Wilson. "He came in, shook hands with staff and members who recognized him." Mr. Wilson recalled that when he told Mr. James that his son had been there earlier, the mayor laughed and said, `Oh, he likes these places.' "
The mayor, Mr. Wilson and others say, returned a few weeks later, but left after learning that Mr. Wilson was not working that evening.
Martin Mathis, 34, the club's former security chief, said the mayor sat and drank a soda as several women approached. "He was definitely looking at the women that were there," said Mr. Mathis, who now works as a medical technician in East Orange. "The girls were coming over; they were just talking to him, touching him, although I don't think it was in a sexual manner."
The manager, David E. L. Melvin, 31, of Jersey City, said other patrons seemed honored by his presence. "He was just there like a regular meet-and-greet situation," he said.
The aide to Mr. Booker, Jermaine James, says he was singled out during the early-morning raid March 24 by officers who recognized him as Mr. Booker's chief of staff. Although he was not among the 31 people arrested, Mr. James and his employer were the only names that appeared in a Police Department press release that was distributed to the news media the following day. Jermaine James and Sharpe James are not related.
The city business administrator, prompted by the acting police chief, determined that Mr. James had not violated any rules of conduct, although Mr. Booker publicly chastised and privately disciplined his aide.
In an interview today, Mr. Booker said the mayor was paying the price for using the raid at Sights as a campaign issue. "If he really was there, it obviously speaks to the hypocrisy of the mayor," he said. "If he's putting forth certain ethical standards for others, he should apply them equally to himself. Leaders should be consistent and speak with integrity."
Many of the mayor's allies today said the story did not deserve comment, voicing a common belief that the entire affair was invented by the Booker campaign.
State Senator Ronald L. Rice, a James supporter, said the allegations proved that Mr. Booker, 32, a well-financed lawyer, was desperate, dishonest and prone to nastiness. "Cory's people are running frantic," Mr. Rice said. "In Newark, you have to expect this kind of stuff."
Whether or not the mayor stepped into the club, he added, was irrelevant because most voters want to hear about issues, not accusations. "The best thing Sharpe can do is not respond," he said.
At the Douglas Homes, a residence for the elderly a block from City Hall, there was mixed reaction to the suggestion that the mayor might not always practice what he preaches. Some, like John Terrell, 64, a retired machine operator, thought the issue was not important.
"He had a right to go over there and see what was going on," he said.
But Alma Hanks, a retired wire coil winder and a fan of the mayor, disagreed, offering the familiar aphorism about rocks and glass houses. "If he was there, he shouldn't say anything about anyone else," she said. Then, in a sentiment directed to both candidates, she added, "Instead of worrying about go-go girls, they ought to be worrying about the drugs."
NEWARK, April 16 ? When the police raided an East Ward strip club last month and charged its owner with running a brothel, there was more than just the usual outrage over what Mayor Sharpe James described as "a den of iniquity." More than two dozen women were arrested, including a 16-year-old, and investigators found scores of photographs revealing that many club members also worked in law enforcement.
Mr. James expressed particular displeasure that an aide to Councilman Cory Booker, his opponent in the May 14 election, was detained while waiting in line outside the club.
But on Monday and today, five current and former employees of the club, including the owner, said the mayor himself had patronized the club, known as Sights, before the March 24 raid.
In separate interviews, the owner, the manager, a dancer and two security employees said the mayor visited the club in 2000 and spent about an hour watching a stage show featuring women in various stages of undress. "I think he enjoyed himself," said Shaquan Green, 25, a topless dancer who was not arrested the morning of the raid. "He looked like he was having a good time."
Mr. James refused to say on Monday whether he had ever visited the club, saying he did not want to dignify the allegation. "Records will show that in the past I had the Newark police close down the club," he said in a statement. He suggested that his mayoral rival was behind the accusations, a charge Mr. Booker denies.
In a speech to mark the beginning of his re-election campaign two weeks ago, Mr. James veered from his prepared text to obliquely criticize Mr. Booker for not taking action against the aide who was in line at the club. "If any member of my staff frequents a place of prostitution and narcotics that's illegal in the city of Newark, where 14-year-olds are doing live sex acts, they don't even have to touch them; I'm still going to fire them," he said indignantly with the governor and a coterie of elected officials at his side.
The allegations that the mayor visited the club first appeared today in The Star-Ledger of Newark.
The police have yet to release information about the boxes of video surveillance tapes that were seized during the raid, and Moses Wilson Jr., the club's owner, would not say whether his cameras captured the mayor's visit.
Although both candidates played down the matter as a distraction from the meat-and-potatoes concerns of voters, local political experts said that if true, the visit could pose difficulties for the mayor, who first injected the club into a campaign that has become increasingly contentious.
"If the mayor had left this alone, none of it would have mattered," said Walter Fields, a political consultant who is not involved with either campaign. "That's the danger of making morality a part of politics."
Sights remained shuttered today, and several employees, including the owner, still face charges of promoting prostitution and ******** prostitution. Those arrested deny the charges against them, saying that sex was not for sale on the premises.
In an interview Monday, Mr. Wilson, the owner, said the mayor had visited the club in May or June of 2000, the same night his son, John James, was there. The mayor, however, arrived with a man Mr. Wilson said appeared to be a bodyguard. "The first time he came, he didn't hide it," said Mr. Wilson. "He came in, shook hands with staff and members who recognized him." Mr. Wilson recalled that when he told Mr. James that his son had been there earlier, the mayor laughed and said, `Oh, he likes these places.' "
The mayor, Mr. Wilson and others say, returned a few weeks later, but left after learning that Mr. Wilson was not working that evening.
Martin Mathis, 34, the club's former security chief, said the mayor sat and drank a soda as several women approached. "He was definitely looking at the women that were there," said Mr. Mathis, who now works as a medical technician in East Orange. "The girls were coming over; they were just talking to him, touching him, although I don't think it was in a sexual manner."
The manager, David E. L. Melvin, 31, of Jersey City, said other patrons seemed honored by his presence. "He was just there like a regular meet-and-greet situation," he said.
The aide to Mr. Booker, Jermaine James, says he was singled out during the early-morning raid March 24 by officers who recognized him as Mr. Booker's chief of staff. Although he was not among the 31 people arrested, Mr. James and his employer were the only names that appeared in a Police Department press release that was distributed to the news media the following day. Jermaine James and Sharpe James are not related.
The city business administrator, prompted by the acting police chief, determined that Mr. James had not violated any rules of conduct, although Mr. Booker publicly chastised and privately disciplined his aide.
In an interview today, Mr. Booker said the mayor was paying the price for using the raid at Sights as a campaign issue. "If he really was there, it obviously speaks to the hypocrisy of the mayor," he said. "If he's putting forth certain ethical standards for others, he should apply them equally to himself. Leaders should be consistent and speak with integrity."
Many of the mayor's allies today said the story did not deserve comment, voicing a common belief that the entire affair was invented by the Booker campaign.
State Senator Ronald L. Rice, a James supporter, said the allegations proved that Mr. Booker, 32, a well-financed lawyer, was desperate, dishonest and prone to nastiness. "Cory's people are running frantic," Mr. Rice said. "In Newark, you have to expect this kind of stuff."
Whether or not the mayor stepped into the club, he added, was irrelevant because most voters want to hear about issues, not accusations. "The best thing Sharpe can do is not respond," he said.
At the Douglas Homes, a residence for the elderly a block from City Hall, there was mixed reaction to the suggestion that the mayor might not always practice what he preaches. Some, like John Terrell, 64, a retired machine operator, thought the issue was not important.
"He had a right to go over there and see what was going on," he said.
But Alma Hanks, a retired wire coil winder and a fan of the mayor, disagreed, offering the familiar aphorism about rocks and glass houses. "If he was there, he shouldn't say anything about anyone else," she said. Then, in a sentiment directed to both candidates, she added, "Instead of worrying about go-go girls, they ought to be worrying about the drugs."