Opinion ID: 3011502
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Extortion of Adult Cabarets in Philadelphia--

Text: Wizzards, Pin Ups, Tattletales and Teazers Between 1993 and 1995, Antico served as the Business Regulatory Enforcement Director for L&I, supervising the unit that enforced compliance with the zoning code. Most pertinent to this scheme, Antico was responsible for regulating adult cabarets and their compliance with the zoning code. The Philadelphia Code defines an adult cabaret as[a]n adult club, restaurant, theater, hall or similar place which features topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators or similar entertainers exhibiting specified anatomical areas or performing specified sexual activities. Philadelphia Code S 14-1605. A business that meets this definition is considered a regulated use and is prohibited from operating within 1,000 feet of another regulated use or within 500 feet of a residential area. According to L&I policies, all adult cabarets are required to be licensed or to receive a variance from the ZBA. In addition, the dancers at a licensed cabaret (or a cabaret permitted to operate as such while it sought a license) cannot perform in a lewd or obscene manner.3 _________________________________________________________________ 3. L&I incorporated the Philadelphia Code definition of obscenity in determining what constituted a lewd performance by a dancer. See Philadelphia Code SS 10-1100 through -1103. Dancers were thereby prohibited from touching patrons and participating in actual or simulated sexual acts on stage. Additionally, the dancers were required to wear bottoms and latex pasties to cover their breasts. 6
The scheme with respect to Antico's extortion of Wizzards began with John Messina, John Meehan, and Frank Antico, Jr. (Antico's son) forming Pan Enterprises, Inc. to operate Wizzards, an adult cabaret located at 38th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. Initially, Messina provided the start-up money and held 89% of the corporation. Messina gave 10% and the manager position to Meehan because of his experience in operating topless clubs. Meehan, in turn, introduced Messina to Antico, Jr. Meehan and Antico, Jr. told Messina that if Antico, Jr. received a 1% interest in Pan Enterprises and a position as a weekend manager, defendant Antico would use his position with L&I to help Wizzards operate. Messina agreed to this arrangement and to paying Meehan and Antico, Jr. part of their weekly salaries in cash without reporting it to the taxing authorities. Antico guided Wizzards through the permitting and licensing process at L&I. In addition, when Wizzards opened for business on September 23, 1993, Antico arranged to have two competing clubs shut down for code violations. After Wizzards opened, Antico frequented the club and received complimentary drinks, food, and parties for himself and his friends. While Antico was present, the dancers violated the code restrictions on lewd dancing, yet Antico issued neither citations nor cease and desist orders. After operating Wizzards for a few months, Messina and other investors began to quarrel with Meehan and Antico, Jr. over the club's management. Although the club was crowded and appeared to be doing well, the books did not reflect this success. When Messina and the investors tried to take a more active role in the club's management, Meehan and Antico, Jr. objected and threatened to have L&I shut the club down. In fact, in March 1994, Antico came into the club and closed it down because the dancers were performing in a lewd manner. A former employee of Wizzards testified that Meehan told that employee that he knew the club would be shut down, but would be permitted to reopen the next day. According to this employee, Meehan was flexing his muscles. 7 In June 1994, Eugene Johnson took over Messina's ownership interest in Wizzards as repayment of a debt. Johnson brought in Dorothy Davis from his New Jersey establishment to observe how Meehan and Antico, Jr. operated the club. Davis reported that most of the employees, including Meehan and Antico, Jr., were getting paid cash under the table, that Antico, Jr. was being paid a large salary for doing very little, and that the dancers were performing in violation of the L&I policies. Johnson instructed Davis to put all employees on the books, cut Antico, Jr.'s salary or fire him, and require all dancers to conform to L&I restrictions on dancing. When Davis informed Meehan of these instructions, Meehan responded that Antico, Jr.'s father was the head of L&I and that Wizzards was operating at his mercy. On June 16, 1994, Meehan and Antico, Jr. resigned their employment with Wizzards. Within two hours defendant Antico closed Wizzards for lewd dancing.
In August of 1995, Antico, Antico, Jr., and Meehan met with the owners of Pin Ups to discuss the sale of the club to Antico, Jr. and Meehan. At a follow-up meeting, the owners turned down the offer made by Antico, Jr. and Meehan. Two weeks later, on September 8, 1995, L&I inspectors arrived at Pin Ups, conducted an inspection and closed the club for electrical violations. Prior to the closure, some of the Pin Ups dancers knew the club was going to be shut down and arranged to dance at Tattletales, another topless club located nearby. The owners of Tattletales also knew that Pin Ups was going to be shut down and arranged for additional staffing and liquor for the night. On the night of the inspection, one of the owners of Pin Ups, suspecting that the closure was in response to their refusal to sell the club, told defendant Antico that if Pin Ups was not reopened the next day, he was going tocall the Feds. Antico permitted Pin Ups to reopen before the electrical violations were corrected.
Steve Owens and Greg Bertino opened Tattletales in July 1995. Antico was a regular customer and advised the two 8 on the Code and the obscenity rules. Antico took them to other topless clubs to view couch dancing and urged them to put a couch dancing room into Tattletales. Antico told them to call him if they ever had any problems. Despite Antico's advice, the dancers at the club did not follow the dancing restrictions or the Code. Antico, however, did not cite the club for violations. Instead, he was treated to free drinks, meals, and couch dances. Owens and Bertino did this to gain favor with Antico and to maintain good relations with L&I. The two also gave Antico $500.
Thomas Killeen was an owner of Teazers, a topless club located at 20th Street and Oregon Avenue in Philadelphia. In connection with the opening on September 23, 1993 of Wizzards, Antico closed Teazers and another bar owned by Killeen because the dancers were violating L&I restrictions. Subsequent to its reopening, Antico began to patronize Teazers. Killeen would socialize with Antico and give him free drinks. Antico eventually asked Killeen for, among other things, the repeated use of one of Killeen's limousines from his limousine company. Killeen acquiesced because of Antico's position in L&I and never billed him for the use. Killeen ultimately hired limousines from other companies because he did not want Antico to be seen in one of his vehicles. In addition, Antico asked for, and Killeen let him use, six field-level box seats for several Phillies games. Antico gave Killeen a list of games he wanted to attend and sent an L&I employee to pick up the tickets.