ICE raids NYC club.

25 comments

• steve_ny

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  13 years ago

  Anyone have more details on this??
• bossproducer

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  13 years ago

  I am glad to see raids like this happen. I may be in a minority and God know I love strippers, but the sex slave thing is unacceptable to me. This is a situation where these assholes are profiting off he work and suffering of others. Fuck that. This is why I almost prefer OTC. At least I know this beautiful creature is gettting the cash and not some mobbed up asshole or club owner.
• bossproducer

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  13 years ago

  Also this takes away the consenting adult aspect of the sex industry. Pretty much the only moral leg it can stand on.
• gatorfan

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  13 years ago

  I saw something on Dateline about this shit happening in Florida last year
• rickdugan

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  13 years ago

  These girls were not sex slaves. The whole thing was bullshit.
• georgmicrodong

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  13 years ago

  @rick: How do you know? Asking, not challenging.
• steve_ny

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  13 years ago

  Rick is right. Most are there voluntarily. They need to pay because of their visa situation. But not slaves.
• rickdugan

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  13 years ago

  I deal a lot with Russian girls working in the tri-state area and I can tell you that they most certainly do not seem to be held against their will and they are among the least likely to engage in dicey ITC or OTC activities. In fact, some of these girls are bonified sharks with strong hustles. They can, and often do, switch clubs as they see fit. They are also free to do whatever they want with their free time and nobody is telling them where they have to live, though many (but not all) of them choose to live in the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn as there is a vibrant Russian community there. The girls I deal with also travel, take vacations and otherwise live how they want to. They are also far from disconnected from the broader world and some of these girls are carrying smart phones that put my Blackberry to shame. The one additional point that I will add is that many of these Russian girls are well educated. In fact, many of them attended university in Russia, which allowed them to come over here on student visas under the guise of continuing their studies. Heck, just three nights ago I enjoyed time with a Russian girl who speaks 8 different languages and, last week, I dealt with another Russian girl who has traveled all over the world and was regaling me with tales of Tel Aviv. In a nutshell, these Russian girls are not unsophisticated, barely literate immigrants who are being exploited because they do not know any better. Further, most of them are certainly not whores and their "bosses" are most definitely not pushing them to do things that they are not comfortable with. They use their own form of an agency system whereby transportation (usually from Brooklyn) is included. The agency system is usually club-specific. If a girl wants to switch to another club, she coordinates with whoever the "boss" is for that club. If she doesn't like what she hears, she can stay at her existing club or find yet another option. It is interesting to note that they are now planning to press charges against some of these supposed "trafficked" girls. If these girls were really "victims" then why are they being charged with crimes? ;)
• bang69

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  13 years ago

  being a stripper is by choice not force
• bossproducer

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  13 years ago

  Just because your educated does not mean you cannot be coerced into doing something that you may not to. Just ask a few Asian massage girls how much they want to do there job. Listen I am not saying Rick is wrong but I suggest one waits until the particuliars of the case come out. IMO there was this type of thing at this club and many others. If you see a bus pull up and 10 girls get out its a pretty sure bet something fishy is going on. They won't do OTC because they are. It allowed. Working in the music biz has allowed me to see what money can buy, and this type of forced work is common in NYC and jersey unfortunately. These snakes Rick has dealt with we're probably "house moms" for some 3 bedroom place in Brighton beach that houses these girls, and the ones being charged.
• yankee428

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  13 years ago

  If it's true throw the fucking book at the bastards. But knowing several dancers in the area and having asked around before, I don't think it's true. From what I've heard the russians pay a hefty agency fee b'cause they are illegal, but they well and willing on their job. Maybe at some low-end dive up in bridgeport, but would be surprised if trafficking is true at cheetas or any of the midtown spots. [view link]
• steve_ny

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  13 years ago

  In NY, they are dreaming of the opportunity to US and strip. Not sure about other parts of the country but I haven't seen what I would consider trafficking. Maybe the russian sexual massage places I have heard about in NY/NJ
• rickdugan

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  13 years ago

  Boss, my point is that these girls are smart and know exactly what they are doing. Steve is right on the money in that they pay a certain chunk to work each night because they have status issues that the "agencies" allow them to work around, but these girls are not forced labor. And the girls I deal with are not "house moms" but rather regular dancers. Simply put, there is no comparison between these girls and the forced prostitution situations that one sometimes sees with uneducated Asian or Latin American girls. Trust me, NY/CT is my home turf and I talk to a lot of these girls.
• metaldude

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  13 years ago

  Rick's 100% right on this. Look at today's articles and there's no mention anymore about coercion. It's all about immigration.
• bossproducer

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  13 years ago

  See your point Rick. NY/CT is my home area as well.
• motorhead

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  13 years ago

  "These girls were not sex slaves. The whole thing was bullshit." Oh, but it HAS to be true. I think Stabler and Liv had a similar case on SVU
• georgmicrodong

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  13 years ago

  Thanks for the perspective, Rick. Makes a little more sense now. Motorhead: Yeah, because no woman would ever *willingly* have sex in exchange for money or other compensation. It's just...impossible!
• ThatOtherGuy

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  13 years ago

  I saw in a news aritlce that it wasn't just Cheetah's that was raided. Rouge, Perfection, Gallagher's 2000, and one Long Island club were also raided in this operation. Allegedly the management in some of the clubs claimed they were pressured by the mob to take part in the scheme.
• thesamurai

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  13 years ago

  I haven't read anything about this but if ICE is doing the raid, it is about immigration issues first and foremost.
• rickdugan

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  13 years ago

  Lol motorhead and gmd. But let me reiterate: The Russian girls are the last ones thst are having sex for money. When I get down and dirty with a girl from a club in Queens, it is usually a Latina chick. The Russian girls are high end hustle with almost zero ROI.
• ThatOtherGuy

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  13 years ago

  Here's the article I was referring to. It has a few more details: <a href="[view link] Or copy and paste this if the link doesn't work: [view link]
• steve_ny

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  13 years ago

  Didn't realize Rick was in my neighborhood. A lot of people go daytime for the Spanash girls because generally they will do more OTC. The Russians hustle, flirt and will dangle OTC as a possibility as long as they can, but for the most part they aren't going. I think it comes down to needing vs wanting money. Average person makes under $5K there so they can live it up pretty good here, travel and send some money back home. Almost all have been to college. They really don't need to perform extras to make some cash and they are not desperate. I was hanging out one night and a couple of them were arguing. Turns out new girl was kissing some guy in the lap dance area. They police that stuff among themselves because they don't want anyone raising the bar of expectations from customers.
• drachen

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  13 years ago

  Ricks right my ex is one of these supposed slaves and one of our mutual friends got arrested in this whole thing. and worked for one of these guys. they drove her to and from brooklyn to the club in long island in a van, she payed 50 dollars for the trip (dont remember if it was each way or not but dont think it was). She wasnt forced into anything and knew she was going to be a stripper when she came here, and when she got a car she quit working for the guy. Did'nt get beat or threatend just told if she ever needed to come back she's welcome.
• theguest

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  12 years ago

  This seems to be about about visa/marriage fraud more than anything.
• theguest

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  12 years ago

  Here's the indictment(middle of the page). Read it and weep. Don't forget to say goodbye.(Dasvidania) [view link]