NYC cops raid illegal swingers club with 80 revelers in a room with 'a buffet, DJ, and boxes of condoms' and shut down a speakeasy with 120 people in COVID crackdown
New York City sheriffs busted an illegal swingers club in Queens early Sunday morning, in which officers found upwards of 80 revelers crammed into a secret location without masks in violation of the Big Apple’s pandemic orders.
The illicit underground club Caligula, which bills itself as ‘the Hottest Swingers Club in New York’, was raided just at 12:05am after officers received a 311 complaint about a party on 20th Ave. near 41st Street, in Astoria.
When deputies arrived they found a swath of mostly maskless carousers unlawfully drinking and disregarding social distancing protocol in a room that featured a buffet, a DJ and several boxes of condoms, according to police.
Three couples were also found having sex in a small back-room that had been lined with mattresses, police said.
The illicit underground club Caligula, which bills itself as ‘the Hottest Swingers Club in New York’, was raided just at 12:05am after officers received a 311 complaint about a party on 20th Ave. near 41st Street, in Astoria
Three couples were found having sex in a small back-room that had been lined with mattresses
Police said party was in violation of the city’s 25-person gathering rule in place for businesses located in yellow zones.
In addition to the lack of social distancing, Caligula - which gets its named from the famously debauched Roman emperor - also didn’t have the proper licenses to sell or store alcohol on the premises, police said.
Photos taken by the sheriff’s department show four white beds and a black leather couch crammed together in a small room with a basket containing what appears to be condoms on one of the beds.
Another image shows a cardboard box filled with condoms, with a lacy black bra draped over the top of it. There's also a white laminated sign in shot that appears to show prices for a VIP room, starting at a rate of $30 for 10 minutes, up to $500 for ‘ALL NIGHT!’
The manager of the business, 37-year-old Roy Bacoy, was charged with violating an executive order, violating an emergency measure, operating an unlicensed bottle club and unlawfully warehousing alcohol.
Bacoy received a $1,000 failure to protect health and safety fine while the business was given a $15,000 fine, the sheriff’s office said.
One patron Jennifer Hayes, 47, of Lynbrook, was also charged. She was cited with disorderly conduct and for violating an emergency measure.
In an interview with the NY Post, Hayes denied she was at the club to partake in any debauchery, instead she was there only for the live music.
‘[The chief] kept saying how long have you been working there… I didn’t work there. I heard them laughing and making fun of everybody,’ Hayes told the outlet, adding she will be appealing the violations. ‘I got angry, I mouthed off… they kept me there for four hours.’
Another image shows a cardboard box filled with condoms, with a lacy black bra draped over the top of it. There's also a white laminated sign in shot that appears to show prices for a VIP room, starting at a rate of $30 for 10 minutes, up to $500 for ‘ALL NIGHT!
Police said party was in violation of the city’s 25-person gathering rule in place for businesses located in yellow zones
When deputies arrived they found a swath of mostly maskless carousers unlawfully drinking and disregarding social distancing protocol
Hayes insisted she was wearing a mask the whole time and didn’t witness anyone having sex.
‘I just wanted to dance and see and hear a DJ play music, that was it!’ she said. ‘There’s no other options. You can’t go anywhere.’
The 47-year-old added that she didn’t believe the place was crowded and said she thought people were stood apart at an adequate distance. She said she didn’t believe there to be as many as 80 people inside, though she wasn’t sure of the exact size of the crowd.
‘We were trying to do it safely, we were wearing masks, we just wanted to hear music, that’s all,’ Hayes said. ‘We weren’t trying to put anyone in danger, we were maintaining our distance from other people.’
Sheriff’s meanwhile, accused Hayes of engaging in ‘tumultuous or threatening behavior and made continual unreasonable noise,’ during the bust.
Despite the police being alerted to the party via a 311 call, Saturday night’s event had been blatantly advertised on Facebook in the days prior.
‘PANDEMIC RE-DO’, a graphic posted to the club’s now defunct Facebook page read, showing a photo of a scantily clad woman in a mariachi hat in reference to the event's ‘Cinco de Mayo in November’ theme.
The graphic stated that only ‘couples and single ladies’ were permitted to attend.
Similar advertisements on the club’s page dating back to July had indicated that the club may have been hosting potentially illegal parties for the last several months.
Since July 4, the club had been advertising indoor events that promised DJs and boasted themes such as ‘bikinis and whipped cream’ fest on August 22, and a ‘tricks for treats’ party on Halloween.
Despite the police being alerted to the party via a 311 call, Saturday night’s event had been blatantly advertised on Facebook in the days prior
A second large illicit party was bungled elsewhere in the city on Sunday night, when the sheriff’s office moved in on an illegal club on the third floor of a building in Midtown Manhattan, on W. 36th St. near Eighth Avenue.
Police reportedly watched bouncers usher around 75 in guests from 11:30pm, until 2:00am. Officers claimed the bouncers then patrolled the sidewalk to make sure it didn’t seem as if a party was underway inside, according to the Daily News.
Police then moved in just after 2:00am, and found over 120 people dancing, smoking, and drinking without masks on.
The building was not licensed to sell alcohol, police said.
Five people were arrested, including the two bouncers, the event organizers, and a DJ. In total, fines amounting to $75,000 were handed out to the group.
A second large illicit party was bungled elsewhere in the city on Sunday night, when the sheriff’s office moved in on an illegal club on the third floor of a building in Midtown Manhattan, on W. 36th St. near Eighth Avenue
More than 120 people were found inside, drinking, dancing and smoking police said
Five people were arrested, including the two bouncers, the event organizers, and a DJ. In total, fines amounting to $75,000 were handed out to the group
Last week saw police bust three different parties across the city that were collectively attended by 600 people, including an underground boxing event in the Bronx.
New York City, once the US epicentre of the virus, has been experiencing a steady rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
On Sunday, the Big Apple recorded 1,394 new cases of coronavirus, with the city’s seven-day rolling average positive test rate now at 3.09 percent.
NYC has recorded more than 299,000 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began, with 24,206 deaths.
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