Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net
MEDIA ADVISORY, Jan. 29, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- A community of nuns who object to a strip club opened next to their residence hold a press conference with their attorneys to make new claims against the business, and plan to speak about prostitution, liquor license issues and a drunken driving crash.
WHAT:
Press conference to be held at the Convent of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo
WHEN:
Thursday, January 29, 2014, 3:00pm
SPEAKING AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE:
- Tom Brejcha, Thomas More Society President and Chief Counsel: addressing criminal allegations of prostitution at Club Allure, drunk driving incident and strip club's cover up, and liquor violations
- Sr. Noemia Silva, Missionary Sister of St. Charles Borromeo: addressing strip club's harmful secondary effects on the Sisters
- Dayana Moreno (16 years old) and Patricia Zito, Melrose Park Residents: giving testimony of dangerous environment created by Club Allure in their community
- Proyecto Accion de Suburbios Oeste (PASO) Representativo: addressing damage to local community
- Also expected:
Anthony Clarke – former boyfriend of the late Zaira Lugo, Club Allure employee killed in car accident after leaving intoxicated from Club Allure
WHERE:
Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo
Provincial House
1414 N. 37th Avenue
Melrose Park, IL 60160
DETAILS:
Thomas More Society today filed an amended complaint including new allegations to their lawsuit against Club Allure that criminal activity has been taking place at Club Allure – a strip club located just over the backyard fence from the Convent and Retirement Home for aged nuns of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo.
The participants at today's press conference will provide exclusive testimony and interviews about the following issues:
- prostitution taking place at Club Allure, which promotes an illicit, sexually and economically exploitative business model;
- ongoing harms and dangers to nearby residents, as evidenced by a fatal crash late last month, killing Club Allure's bartender, a single mom who left two young children motherless, after which Club Allure owner/manager Sean O'Brien made violent threats on Facebook's restricted employee page to promote a cover-up of the Club's own involvement in the death; and
- Stone Park residents filing a series of amended liquor complaints with Stone Park's Liquor Commissioner (Mayor Mazzulla).
"We have investigated and developed irrefutable proof that Club Allure has been engaging in the lucrative business of selling what constitutes prostitution under Illinois criminal law," said Tom Brejcha, Thomas More Society President and Chief Counsel. "Not only has Club Allure thumbed its nose at Illinois law mandating a 1,000 foot buffer zone between adult uses and places of worship or schools, but now, in addition to causing severe disruption and harm to the Sisters and nearby residents, Club Allure has pegged its entire business on its entertainers' providing prostitution services."
Prostitution
Club Allure aggressively advertises and sells "lap dances," "hump dances," "threesomes," "bed dances," all of which involve (and/or have been observed to involve) high friction bodily interactions for money, intended to cause sexual arousal or gratification. These interactions constitute prostitution within the meaning of the Illinois criminal prostitution statute, as construed by the Illinois Appellate Court.
Liquor Law Violation
Illinois law requires a 100 foot buffer between a business that sells liquor and a retirement home. The "Fatima House" run by the Missionary Sisters is a home for aged and infirmed nuns. Thomas More Society and Thomas J. Murphy, former Illinois Liquor Commissioner, are representing Stone Park residents in filing a liquor complaint with the Stone Park liquor commissioner (the Mayor) outlining Club Allure's violation of Illinois liquor law by selling liquor within 100 feet of the property where the Sisters' retirement home is located.
Because of the illegal activities of Club Allure, Thomas More Society calls upon the Court to take action, arguing that Club Allure must be suppressed and shut down.
About the Thomas More Society
The Thomas More Society is a not-for-profit, national public interest law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Based in Chicago, the Thomas More Society defends and fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way to the United States Supreme Court. www.thomasmoresociety.org
