Hi Liter Phoenix Raid
mark94
Arizona
Hi Liter is the best known club in Phoenix. It ranks high nationally, especially with regard to value ( $10 dances with some attractive women ).
For a couple years, the club, its owners, law enforcement, and the liquor board have had conflict. In a nutshell, there has been action against the club for various violations ( mostly dirty dancing ) while owners have been trying to get a liquor license to operate the closed down Centerfolds club.
This Monday, the conflict reached a new level. Two undercover police came in shortly after opening and got VIP dances. Around 2:30, police returned and arrested 3 dancers for prostitution ( that’s what bouncers told the remaining dancers ). Unlike past “raids”, the dancers were taken from the club by police to be booked ( I’m looking for their mug shots on the Maricopa County booking website ). I was there when the arrests took place.
I hung around for an hour after the “raid”. Most of the dancers stayed to learn what they could from bouncers and share info with each other. It was a surreal atmosphere. A few of the bold dancers continued working, but most gathered in the dressing room or on the floor to talk.
One of the 3 arrested was thought to be from another country and dancers assumed she would be deported. Some of the dancers seemed particularly shaken by this, perhaps because of their personal situation.
There is a hearing next month to consider the Centerfold’s liquor license. I assume this raid is closely related to that.
For a couple years, the club, its owners, law enforcement, and the liquor board have had conflict. In a nutshell, there has been action against the club for various violations ( mostly dirty dancing ) while owners have been trying to get a liquor license to operate the closed down Centerfolds club.
This Monday, the conflict reached a new level. Two undercover police came in shortly after opening and got VIP dances. Around 2:30, police returned and arrested 3 dancers for prostitution ( that’s what bouncers told the remaining dancers ). Unlike past “raids”, the dancers were taken from the club by police to be booked ( I’m looking for their mug shots on the Maricopa County booking website ). I was there when the arrests took place.
I hung around for an hour after the “raid”. Most of the dancers stayed to learn what they could from bouncers and share info with each other. It was a surreal atmosphere. A few of the bold dancers continued working, but most gathered in the dressing room or on the floor to talk.
One of the 3 arrested was thought to be from another country and dancers assumed she would be deported. Some of the dancers seemed particularly shaken by this, perhaps because of their personal situation.
There is a hearing next month to consider the Centerfold’s liquor license. I assume this raid is closely related to that.
Got something to say?
Start your own discussion
77 comments
Super bowl bidding and other sporting events are being courted, so these things are important to show to committees the commitment to public safety, and this is the easiest low hanging fruit to show action is being taken. Too bad these girls are being targeted as easy pickings for a witch hunt.
It usually only hurts the dancers. I doubt the owners felt any pain - at least not any long term pain (like a deported dancer would feel).
Damn damn damn that sucks. Hi-Liter is an awesome club.
1. How could someone know the names of dirty dancers unless they were customers ? Why would customers complain ?
2. How could anyone know the names accused on Silent Witness ? Isn’t that confidential ?
CP
I guess I won't be stopping by for my traditional surf and turf Thursday for $10.99
It’s one thing to pass a cop. It’s another thing to flip them the bird while you are doing it.
The fact that they actually arrested girls seems like they are targeting this club specifically.
I wonder if the management/owners asked LE to come in and look at a few specific girls. Playing nice if you will by cooperating with LE to show they are "serious" about cleaning up their act. All in order to more easily obtain the liquor license for the old Centerfolds?
Probably not, but stanger things have happened. And did the undercover cops partake in the fun or limit their "investigation" to solicitations from the dancers they arrested?
Damn! Lol...
Having said that, one of the dancers mentioned told me once that the bouncers know which girls generate the most bank for them (bouncers) and the club. So they have an incentive to give them some room to move.
I agree about withholding dancer names, but a certain amount of info needs to be put on reviews o/w they are not as useful - until it's known that TUSCL is the reason LE acts then at that point we need to change our reviews - my 2-cents
My apologies - I did not mean to insult the gay-community
:)
Depends how this statement is to be interpreted:
a) names attached to details
b) names and details not necessarily connected
I agree names should not be attached to raunchy-details, but that details should be included to a certain extent in order for the reviews to be of value vs generic - i.e. if TUSCL is the reason the club got busted it wasn't IMO necessarily b/c names were named; just putting the details would be enough - and again, I don't think TUSCL is the reason the club got raided, or the reason clubs get raided
To make an analogy... It is legal to possess marijuana in Washington DC, but not to sell it. However 5 minutes of Google go will quickly reveal where you can buy weed or have it delivered to you. There are busts. But the police only have the resources to go after flagrant violations where there was a complaint by the public.
I’d argue that HLs reputation just became too visible. Do you not think community activists, and other do-gooders, didn’t research HL and stumble on TUSCL ? Do a search on HL and see how soon a TUSCL review comes up. Cindy McCain is the Queen of human trafficking do-goodies. Dollars to Donuts, she is aware of TUSCL.
Don’t underestimate the power of TUSCL.
With that being said I do feel bad for those of you who do like going there and get action. It was always one of the best extras SC’s in town. I doubt if it’ll ever get back to where it was before the VIP remodel and first raid.
As this plays out, it would be helpful to know what other clubs were good alternatives.
Second, let's be clear about this: Hi-Liter management and ownership reads this website.
From my sources, there were two events that happened essentially simultaneously, and both the result of what was written in either the discussion board here or the reviews. First, it is correct that two "normal looking" plainclothes cops came in, solicited VIP lap dances from a well-known hard-working dancer, and then came back a couple hours later and arrested her. Some other received tickets. The dancer who got arrested has certain concerns about deportation because she believes that if she leaves the country for any reason, she will not be allowed back in, so she will fight tooth and nail to stay here, and should have the cash to do so.
What was the more upsetting event was the chatter on this board that a certain dancer had an STD, and perhaps even her companion as well. I'm told that a customer had actually come to HL to confront said dancer and management, as she had passed on the STD to him, who then passed it on to his wife, who is now filing for divorce. HL management was literally scared to death at how quickly this info spread on TUSCL, and they did not want any additional issues, so those dancers are no longer employed by Hi-Liter. My guess is they end up at Sugar44 or another second tier club similar in style.
Interestingly, the dancer who was arrested was actually welcomed back at the club, and was working her shift as usual. One change I did hear about: the floaters are now checking the dancers' purses for any party favors, and if they have any, they will be asked to leave that day.
Guys, let's not kill the golden goose here. Hi-Liter is the highest profile club in this town, and for good reason, It's not a coincidence that less than a week after an incredibly explicit review naming both a dancer and the acts she performed that HL was visited by LE. We all need to be a lot more circumspect if we want to continue to enjoy the fruits of our favorite dancer's labors. I was there today, got laps from six different dancers, and everything was copacetic.
I think it's time really to get serious about a private website just for the Phoenix mongers, not for LE, dancers or management to read. We need to share intel more effectively to keep the party going.
CP
FYI, there were at least two new dancers today (Saturday) I hadn't seen before. I lapped them both and both will fit in nicely with the Hi-Liter customer service ethos.
CP
It was YOUR discussion post. YOU are the one who posted it. You joined TUSCL last month, you are a newbie here. And your post, while possibly well meaning, may have contributed to the crap that went down (the recent raid)?
Then you named three or four dancers outright and claim they engage in "outright prostitution" with set prices and menus!
Chili Palmer's post contains some great up to date info. Your posts look to me like nothing but trouble on an open forum. Did you intend to cause all this trouble? Or perhaps you are just an idiot? Not sure I've ever called out anyone on this Board before, but you should attempt to explain yourself, because right now you are very suspect.
“This raid was in reference to more than 25 silent witness complaints about the Hi Liter with the dancers and acts being called out. My sources said that Amanda/Stephanie, Shelby, Butterfly, Amber and Angie were the majority of the complaints.”
Anyway, that’s my theory.
He should fuck wife first, then the stripper and wait a few days to see if he needs to visit a doctor. What a dummy! Lol
The dancer, whether engaging in questionable acts is bearing the brunt of this shit storm. She probably got the disease and didn't know, or else was desperate for cash and went forward. I do feel sorry fir the PL going through a divorce. That really is a PLs worst fear.
" I had a bad experience or have heard bad intel on dancer x. If you want further details I will provide a little more via PM if you are an established member. In any event, I will be steering clear of her going forward."
I agree, but his claim was, "Are we not supposed to provide detailed information for other PL’s to learn from? "
I'm either calling BS on the excuse (most probable) or idiocy on the method.
No, even though this forum is for info sharing, it is not a Suicide pact. Don’t share info that will damage the clubs and dancers we rely on. Posters need to act like they have half a brain.
So, this is me shrugging my shoulders, resolving to not over share about club activities, planning to reconnoiter at HL this week, and being willing to start going to other clubs depending on what I find.
Ten days later, 9/18 there's a TUSCL meetup in that same club. Apparently there's a group of at least a dozen of you who all frequent that club for obvious reasons. Although some of you are now outraged that "Chris" named names, I've seen numerous reviews from some of you that made it quite clear that there was sex going on in the champagne room. Anyways, the names of the TUSCL members who were at that meetup, or who frequent HiLiter, are pretty much all in that thread.
About a month later, 10/14 "Chris" creates an STD thread claiming that at least two TUSCL members have contracted an STD, implying that it happened during the meetup. Since no one at the meetup has publicly come forward, and since "Chris" started posting prior to the meetup, I would have to assume "Chris" was knowingly posting false info to stir up shit.
Nine days later, 10/23, there's an undercover sting at the HiLiter.
Neither management nor customers have any motive to post the types of details that "Chris" has posted. In addition, the average customer is not going to have access to the types of details posted by "Chris", and the staff who do would be too afraid of retribution to say anything on a public forum. There are other tells I'm not going to divulge. But for me the kicker is that the easiest way for someone to know details like the number of silent witness complaints, and the specific dancers being named, is if the people making the silent witness complaints are other dancers. Hence my conclusion that "Chris" is a dancer who might want to take up chess as it helps you learn the probable consequences of certain moves.
There are certain things that will bring heat to a club - an underage dancer is def a heat-bringer; violence (customer getting killed or seriously injured in the club or its parking-lot; or even leaving the club); etc - and also the recent stupid STD thread and associated reviews that seemed *intentional* and beyond the normal TUSCL threads/reviews (an STD outbreak that threatens the health of the customers is something one would imagine would raise LE's eyebrows beyond the typical things that go-on in a SC which they would rather not deal with unless someone (politician, church-group, etc) raises a stink - localities will usually let SCs be as long as their actions don't become a nuisance or danger to the community, IMO).
Owners, dancers, and customers became reliant on a business model that required a high volume of extras. Dancers who embraced the new model thrived while those who didn’t suffered. The model also attracted attention, including from law enforcement. The eco-system was out of balance.
Now, a process of rebalancing has begun. Law enforcement will continue to be involved until owners bring balance back. The fastest way to do this would be to remodel the VIP area, making it smaller and a little less private.
any help would be appreciated
Go get them Scrub.....I hold them down as long as your aim is good!!!
That's funny!!