Sunday, May 27, 2007

Pump’s Gentleman’s Club Steps into Hot Water with Prostitution Sting


A stripper looks to be baring more than just her skin at the Pump’s Gentleman’s club on route 15.

On March 1st, after an approximate two month investigation, the Jefferson Township Police Department assisted the NJ Division of Criminal Justice Alcohol Beverage Commission (ABC) in an undercover prostitution sting.

Dancer Rozilda Flusa Braganca, 39, of Newark, offered up her services to an undercover officer for a fee and was arrested, processed, and released pending a March Court Appearance. The manager of the club, who refused to give his name, said amidst loud music in the background: “This is a first.”

Though, police from the Jefferson Police Department admit that this ISN’T the first time they’ve been eyeing the place, as there have been murmurs of this nature regarding the club, as well as other establishments in the area, for quite some time.

“There have been complaints in the past about solicitation of prostitution,” said Police Spokesperson, Lt. Eric Wilsusen, “And somebody made a complaint just recently, so we forwarded it to the ABC.”

On the day of the arrest, the club was shut down at 2 p.m. for a thorough investigation by the Jefferson police and the ABC, and re-opened at 4:30 p.m. for business after they had concluded their search. “We made our arrest, closed it down, and were back out,” said Lt. Wilsusen.

Being a 4th degree crime, the stripper herself will have to go through the winding court system on the county level, and much is determined on whether she’ll plead guilty or not guilty.

But whether the club itself is in trouble is still up in the air, as the ABC has to do their own investigation to see if this could affect their license.

Lt. Wilsusen speaking on behalf of the ABC: “That’s what they do, that’s their job.”

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