Hilighter and LE

623
Since 1963 ...
On reflecting about the recent LE activity at HL in Phoenix I had the following thought that I was curious about seeing if it holds water. I seriously doubt that LE reads these reviews for evidence of who to raid.

First, these reviews very rarely rise to any level of "evidence" and many (maybe most) are written by guys who learned in high school that exaggerating sexual exploits or relations with females makes them more manly. Some are even written by guys who never even visited a certain club.

Then there is the "whose got time for this" factor. LE has better things to do that to spend 30 min a day reading all of the reviews for AZ clubs on a dozen boards just to see who might be getting close to the edge of the law.

Finally, it is quite obvious that HL has been targeted, that usually means that someone pissed someone in power off. Could be as simple as a dancer who laughed at an official or more likely an owner that got arrogant and disrespectful at an official meeting. HL persecution feels more like the latter since it has been sustained over a long period and it will probably continue until the offender cowtows to the wishes or goes away. Like several great clubs in the past that were hounded into extinction, anybody remember Harmony club on Church street in New York City in the 90's? There was a great club!!!

10 comments

  • Mate27
    •
    7 years ago
    Everything written on this site should be considered fiction. No, LE has no use to read this site to determine what actions to take.
  • Salty.Nutz
    •
    7 years ago
    my opinion, all the cheap fucks on the floor should have taken their fun to the VIP.
  • Hank Moody
    •
    7 years ago
    While the reviews wouldn’t be evidence admissible in court, could they be used in conjunction with other facts to support a warrant? Maybe. Do you want to take a chance that every judge will say ‘no, TUCSL says all reviews are fiction so no warrant?’ It’s just not worth the chance. Not linking specific dancers with specific acts is just good practice.
  • Papi_Chulo
    •
    7 years ago
    Shit goes down in other clubs in the area and written about in reviews, yet other clubs do not seem to be suffering like HL.

    This has been happening for years where a SC or SC scene is humming along for a long-time then the powers to be decide they no longer want the SC or SC scene there, even though nothing had changed for years.
  • chessmaster
    •
    7 years ago
    I absolutely agree they dont need to read this site or any other board to get the low-down on whats happening in their own city. Hell in most extras clubs you get outright propositioned in explicit fashion.

    "my opinion, all the cheap fucks on the floor should have taken their fun to the VIP."

    Yeah extras on the floor in public view, and drugs(not at HL just in general), are pretty ballsy and asking for trouble in most cases. Of course papi chulo makes a good point as well. They could just decide one day they had enough. Best not to contribute and draw attention by pissing off the wrong people, blatant and rampant extras, drugs, etc.
  • azrookie
    •
    7 years ago
    If you are LE or liquor control in a city, why wouldn't you monitor this forum and others (Rubmaps, backpage, etc.)? You could never get a warrant from the info on this board (well, maybe in a FISA court). But it is inexpensive to have access to tuscl, to get indications of what is going on at the club and then make a reconnaissance visit. Particularly when mongers show no subtlety about their experience and name dancers specifically.
  • Papi_Chulo
    •
    7 years ago
    Not as much of a point in having reviews if they are gonna contain partial info - kinda takes a lot of usefulness out of the website
  • ppwh
    •
    7 years ago
    I would guess that an indiscreet review would carry about the same weight as an anonymous tip, as in "acting on an anonymous tip, police..."
  • mark94
    •
    7 years ago
    All other things equal, raiding strip clubs are a low priority for LE. But, there are a lot of things that could push it to the top
    - Community outcry
    - Specific accusations from whistleblower
    - Poltical pressure from on high
    - Blatant disregard for standards
    - Ownership involvement in organized crime, laundering, drugs

    With regard to HL, there have been indications ( unproven) for everyone of these circumstances. Personally, I’ve always thought the new VIP booths were a factor.
  • azrookie
    •
    7 years ago
    ^^^m94: all valid points. One more factor that I would mention is an abundant pipeline of federal grant money to LE depts that can generate a "human trafficking" story. The syllogism is "if you are involved in any part of the sex trade, you must be a victim of human trafficking." Seems like the story about busting a strip club or AMP or whatever always has a note about shutting down human trafficking. With every city in the US facing big budget problems related to unfunded pension liabilities, free grant money from the feds is highly prized. The problem is they'll have to report back with results in return. Hence the raids, stings, etc.
You must be a member to leave a comment.Join Now
Got something to say?
Start your own discussion