SEATTLE, WA — The story sounds like something out of HBO’s mob drama, The Sopranos: A collection of strip clubs, a talent agency, a bookkeeping service, and private residences owned by alleged racketeers have been raided and the owners have been enjoined from selling or otherwise “devaluing” the properties until several criminal investigations have been completed. Among the allegations are that the clubs served as fronts for prostitution and failed to report legitimate income.Frank Colacurcio Sr. and his son, Frank Colacurcio Jr., are under federal investigation for running “a criminal enterprise,” according to a Monday news conference during which federal prosecutors and the FBI revealed they are seeking to freeze the Colacurcios’ assets. Court documents named the cabarets as Rick’s in Seattle, Sugar’s in Shoreline, Honey’s in Everett and Fox’s in the Tacoma area as the businesses under injunction. In addition, the Talents West talent agency and Accurate Bookkeeping in Seattle also were named.
“For far too long, the Colacurcios’ organization has made big money operating their clubs as fronts for prostitution,” U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan told assembled media. “The Colacurcios have designed the clubs, the payment methods, and the policies that encourage prostitution and to ensure they are the ones getting rich off these illegal sex acts.”
The government also is investigating the Colacurcios for money laundering and mail fraud, Sullivan said.
The City of Seattle claims it has been harmed directly by the Colacurcios’ alleged misconduct. According to city investigators, a surveillance camera counted nearly 14,000 customers entering just one of the Colacurcios’ establishments during the month of July 2006. The establishment reported only 7,929 guests that month, for a net loss to the city of $3,000 monthly in tax revenues, investigators estimated.
Rick’s also has been accused of “skimming” employees by redeeming at less than face value the house-issued tokens used to tip dancers. The establishment allows dancers to be tipped only with tokens, not with cash.
“[This is] the most significant organized crime investigation we have ever undertaken,” Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske told reporters. “It’s an organization that has made its money on the backs of women. It’s about violence and organized crime. It’s not about the morals police.”
It’s also not the first time Frank Colacurcio Sr.’s name has surfaced in a criminal investigation. According to court and police files, in the 1950s Colacurcio Sr., 90, was named a racketeer by a U.S. Senate committee investigating organized crime, although he has not been linked to any of the major “mob” families in New York or Chicago. In January 2008, both Colacurcio Sr. and Colacurcio Jr. pleaded guilty to felony charges in “Strippergate,” a Seattle campaign-finance scandal during which about $36,000 in campaign contributions were funneled secretly into the re-election campaigns of three City Council members.
Representatives of the Seattle Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the IRS and the FBI participated in Monday’s news conference and indicated the government plans to seize all of the Colacurcios’ assets under provisions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Criminal charges are pending, according to spokespeople for the various agencies.
