Charlotte strip club fined by state for drugs, drunk dancers, sex

shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
An investigation into the Leather & Lace strip club in University City by North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement agents led to uncovering drugs, alcohol and other violations, documents show.

A 22-page report filed with the North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control Commission shows 21 violations from October to February.

The club was one of 61 public hearing cases ratified during Wednesday’s regular meeting of the state ABC commission, with penalties over $73,000 or suspensions of permits for three days or more, according to the commission.

The Leather & Lace case followed a six-month long investigation by N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement of the Leather & Lace South Boulevard adult entertainment business, also penalized in April for drugs and dancers drinking on the job.

The clubs are part of MAL Entertainment Inc., owned by David “Slim” Baucom Jr. Baucom did not return messages seeking comment Wednesday.

Undercover ALE agents were following up at Leather & Lace North after a complaint about employees drinking on the job, illegal drug sales and violations of a sexually explicit nature

A team of eight ALE agents and Mecklenburg ABC officers visited the 7321 N. Tryon St. club six times during the four-month operation, reports show.

On each occasion, agents did not have to sign in or pay a membership fee, as required by private clubs, according to the reports.

REPORTS DETAIL CONCERNS
Agents said several customers were “heavily intoxicated” during visits. One man was visibly “unsteady on his feet.” Another man passed out at the bar and was “falling out of his chair,” according to the reports.

Strippers and club employees drank shots of Fireball, Crown Royal Apple, Patron and cocktails like “Dirty Shirley,” according to the report.

Some dancers were seen “stumbling” and one 24-year-old stripper “just laid on the stage rolling around and would go crawl on all fours” to get to her drink at the back of the stage, a report said. It is a violation of the liquor license for employees to work while or after consuming alcoholic beverages, according to the ABC commission.

Agents also purchased powder cocaine from a stripper named “Yummy” on three visits, including $200 for an “eight ball,” a 1/8th ounce of cocaine, according to the report.

Dancers also were too sexually explicit, the agents said in the report, including one “performing dancing services with her genitals exposed and allowing patrons to touch her during the dance.” In a private dance with “Ling Ling,” she showed too much of her genitals, an agent said.

To settle the violations, the club has until Sept. 4 to pay a $5,000 fine or face a liquor license suspension, according to the ABC commission.

17 comments

Latest

gSteph
4 years ago
I wonder how much crime these 8 wizards could have solved in the same time.
Cashman1234
4 years ago
I’m glad to see tax dollars being used to get to the bottom of this!

These investigators must have been very sharp to get all of this intel in only a few club visits!
doctorevil
4 years ago
Damn! That club wasn’t nearly that much fun when I visited.
rickdugan
4 years ago
I'm confused. Is it illegal for strippers to drink ITC in NC?
wallanon
4 years ago
I had some great times at Leather and Laces in Charlotte, but it's been a while since I was there. I'm "shocked" that LE would have found those things happening there. lol
whodey
4 years ago
I have never heard of dancers not being able to drink while working. I wonder how many other states have a law like this on the books that they can enforce if they want to harass a club.

At a regular bar in Ohio that I used to frequent I offered to buy the bartender a drink towards the end of a clearly rough day for her. She told me that she wasn't allowed to have a drink while on the clock. I just assumed it was a policy that the owner had put into place but now I wonder if it is actually a part of the alcohol license rules. If so, she's about the only bar employee that I have seen stick to the letter of the law.
Nidan111
4 years ago
Extortion money. Send in the Guidos when the mayor needs some vacation money. Cops are a joke. Heaven forbid they go after REAL CRIMINALS ... fuck, they might get hurt doing such ... so, they just go after consenting adults having fun. Fuckers!!
chattguy123
4 years ago
When I lived in Charlotte, I was like 15 mins from that club. I saw dancers drinking and even some pretty drunk, but never to the extent lol. And I was there alot. It was also really tough to get extras there. That was only like 3 years ago.
lexus45812
4 years ago
The harem in Dayton Ohio was closed down for this exact reason.
wallanon
4 years ago
"Also how much genital is too much genital? I thought it was binary, like you can either show or not show."

This isn't actually what you were getting at, but parts can slip out. Surely you've seen a lip peeking out on stage at the tip rail, right?
RTP
4 years ago
I do think there is a law in NC that strippers cannot drink. I never knew this and have seen lots of strippers drinking, I think that this was just a way to charge a place with something. Also, I saw an earlier report that said the drugs were sold to the officers by a patron, not a dancer, so I am not really sure what is real. In the end, it seems like a huge waste of time and they really did not find that much wrong.
whodey
4 years ago
Heaving even if there is no law in a given area regarding being heavily drunk in public there is a law in most, if not all, areas against a business with a liquor license continuing to serve someone who is clearly intoxicated. That is why the bar was charged and not the individuals that were drunk.
herbtcat
4 years ago
Well, that's just about the best review for Ling Ling I've ever seen! :p
Papi_Chulo
4 years ago
Seems they are targeting the club for some specific reason - what is alleged is what goes on in most clubs most days.
misterorange
4 years ago
As someone who hasn't bought coke since the 80's, $200 for an 8-ball sounds like a pretty good price to me.
goldmongerATL
4 years ago
So they spent 48-96 hours in the club, spent money, I'm sure spent many more hours on the investigation outside of club visits, all to generate a $5000 fine?
magicrat
4 years ago
See the thread about Cheetah in Atlanta. I'm guessing the same thing is going to happen in Charlotte, especially at the South End location.
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