Harris County (Houston) Trying to close DB Cooper's Mansion
County trying to shut down Spring nightclub
Managers deny business is an adult cabaret
Aug. 14, 2009, 10:39PM
A nightclub in Spring is fighting to stay open after Harris County attorneys launched a battle in court Friday to shut it down, claiming the establishment is a sexually oriented business operating without the required permits.
But managers for D.B. Cooper's Mansion at 22565 Interstate 45 say they are a food and alcoholic beverage business, not an adult cabaret, and argue they shouldn't be subjected to the rules imposed upon sexually oriented businesses.
State District Judge Randy Wilson could decide as soon as Tuesday whether the nightclub should be allowed to stay open. Testimony from witnesses will resume that day before Wilson makes his ruling.
On Friday, undercover officers from the Harris County Sheriff's Office testified that scantily clad dancers repeatedly violated sexually oriented business regulations, such as touching customers and touching themselves, violating the so-called “6 foot†rule by performing too close to patrons, simulating sexual acts and engaging in prostitution.
Undercover video shot by vice officers of women cavorting onstage and performing provocatively in various stages of undress also was shown in court.
The Harris County Attorney's Office filed a lawsuit in June, seeking to shut the nightclub down, alleging the business is a public nuisance and that laws have repeatedly been broken there.
“The fact is, they've never had a permit,†assistant county attorney Linda Geffin told the judge Friday. “They opened for business some time back in 2005. They have been operating illegally for 1,800 days.
“They've been using what appear to be delay tactics to keep this very lucrative business open. They have been operating so far outside the law,†she said.
Attorney Charles “Brad†Frye, representing Webworld Marketing Group, the owners of the nightclub, argued his clients don't need a sexually oriented business permit to run the establishment.
“We're not an adult cabaret,†Frye told the judge. “We're like a sports bar. We've got 50 flat screen TVs. Our primary business is selling alcohol and food.
“We have scantily clad women. The ordinance doesn't say we can't have scantily clad women to attract people there,†Frye said.
Frye denied that the nightclub's primary business is the sexual gratification of its customers. He said D.B. Cooper's is more akin to Hooters or any sports bar where female employees wear revealing clothes.
Harris County attorneys say the reality is far more serious. Their lawsuit alleges that concerned citizens have made numerous complaints about the nightclub and that investigators filed more than 20 criminal cases involving incidents that occurred on the premises in 2007 and 2008, including prostitution, indecent exposure, public lewdness, sexually oriented business violations and disorderly conduct.
Undercover officers testified Friday that dancers touched them while performing one-on-one in private rooms and described how the women offered to engage in sex acts for money. One officer testified that he saw a nude woman performing a sex act on a male customer in a private room.
Stephen E. Fischer of Spring, a consulting manager for the nightclub, said all dancers are expected to abide by a minimum acceptable dress code and a code of conduct. The dancers are contract employees and are not paid salaries, he said.
The nightclub applied for a sexually oriented business permit in 2001. The Harris County Sheriff's Office denied that application, a matter now tied up in the appellate courts.
Two unrelated lawsuits concerning the nightclub filed against Webworld Marketing are still pending in Harris County state district courts.
One lawsuit filed by a Dallas investor claims he was not paid as promised and alleges nightclub managers are not allowing investors to see certain financial documents. Frye called that lawsuit “factually baseless.â€
Another lawsuit, a wrongful death case filed in April, alleges an underage dancer who worked at the nightclub, Esther Alana Saenz, 18, was killed in a car crash in Conroe after she consumed multiple alcoholic beverages “in a couple of hours†at D.B. Cooper's Mansion. Frye said nightclub officials believe Saenz did not become intoxicated or drink on the club's premises, based on witnesses' reports.
Managers deny business is an adult cabaret
Aug. 14, 2009, 10:39PM
A nightclub in Spring is fighting to stay open after Harris County attorneys launched a battle in court Friday to shut it down, claiming the establishment is a sexually oriented business operating without the required permits.
But managers for D.B. Cooper's Mansion at 22565 Interstate 45 say they are a food and alcoholic beverage business, not an adult cabaret, and argue they shouldn't be subjected to the rules imposed upon sexually oriented businesses.
State District Judge Randy Wilson could decide as soon as Tuesday whether the nightclub should be allowed to stay open. Testimony from witnesses will resume that day before Wilson makes his ruling.
On Friday, undercover officers from the Harris County Sheriff's Office testified that scantily clad dancers repeatedly violated sexually oriented business regulations, such as touching customers and touching themselves, violating the so-called “6 foot†rule by performing too close to patrons, simulating sexual acts and engaging in prostitution.
Undercover video shot by vice officers of women cavorting onstage and performing provocatively in various stages of undress also was shown in court.
The Harris County Attorney's Office filed a lawsuit in June, seeking to shut the nightclub down, alleging the business is a public nuisance and that laws have repeatedly been broken there.
“The fact is, they've never had a permit,†assistant county attorney Linda Geffin told the judge Friday. “They opened for business some time back in 2005. They have been operating illegally for 1,800 days.
“They've been using what appear to be delay tactics to keep this very lucrative business open. They have been operating so far outside the law,†she said.
Attorney Charles “Brad†Frye, representing Webworld Marketing Group, the owners of the nightclub, argued his clients don't need a sexually oriented business permit to run the establishment.
“We're not an adult cabaret,†Frye told the judge. “We're like a sports bar. We've got 50 flat screen TVs. Our primary business is selling alcohol and food.
“We have scantily clad women. The ordinance doesn't say we can't have scantily clad women to attract people there,†Frye said.
Frye denied that the nightclub's primary business is the sexual gratification of its customers. He said D.B. Cooper's is more akin to Hooters or any sports bar where female employees wear revealing clothes.
Harris County attorneys say the reality is far more serious. Their lawsuit alleges that concerned citizens have made numerous complaints about the nightclub and that investigators filed more than 20 criminal cases involving incidents that occurred on the premises in 2007 and 2008, including prostitution, indecent exposure, public lewdness, sexually oriented business violations and disorderly conduct.
Undercover officers testified Friday that dancers touched them while performing one-on-one in private rooms and described how the women offered to engage in sex acts for money. One officer testified that he saw a nude woman performing a sex act on a male customer in a private room.
Stephen E. Fischer of Spring, a consulting manager for the nightclub, said all dancers are expected to abide by a minimum acceptable dress code and a code of conduct. The dancers are contract employees and are not paid salaries, he said.
The nightclub applied for a sexually oriented business permit in 2001. The Harris County Sheriff's Office denied that application, a matter now tied up in the appellate courts.
Two unrelated lawsuits concerning the nightclub filed against Webworld Marketing are still pending in Harris County state district courts.
One lawsuit filed by a Dallas investor claims he was not paid as promised and alleges nightclub managers are not allowing investors to see certain financial documents. Frye called that lawsuit “factually baseless.â€
Another lawsuit, a wrongful death case filed in April, alleges an underage dancer who worked at the nightclub, Esther Alana Saenz, 18, was killed in a car crash in Conroe after she consumed multiple alcoholic beverages “in a couple of hours†at D.B. Cooper's Mansion. Frye said nightclub officials believe Saenz did not become intoxicated or drink on the club's premises, based on witnesses' reports.
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6 comments
It was just a little too far with everything being spread out in the metro area. Can't complain about the places I actually hit, though. If it's still there next time I'm in town I'll check it out.
It sounds like their attorney is trying to argue that they are a sports bar more like Hooter's instead of a strip club so they don't need their sexually oriented business permit (that they were denied)...does any one who visited the club agree with him or is he full of BS?
They have a lot of TV's, but I think 50 is a little high, maybe more like 20. I will try and check it out this weekend as I live close by.
They use the hooters defense as the girls wear 3 three articles of clothing(I guess the minimum standard). The clothing is shorts, pasties and socks. I have been there when a dancer was not allowed on stage until she put her socks on.