Taboo Strip Club Raided By Police

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

>To be more specific they kept

>referring to it as being illegal for a striper to be "hard" in

>a "bawdy house."

 

Again, I'm no expert but from what I have read here, and from my Canadian prostitution laws lay source (literal meaning here ) a 'bawdy house' is akin a 'house of prostitution' where sexual acts occur. Either of the acts of touching genitals (masturbation) or sucking (oral copulation ) make that environment a 'bawdy house'. Presumably, self masterbation and self sucking for that matter would fall under 'expressive dance' and not prostitution since there is no other party paying for sexual participation.

 

I believe that this is the line of separation between strip clubs with hard-ons like Campus and taboo where no touching is 'allowed' and a 'bawdy house' and that is why the clubs seek to impose the rules and have monitors . Of course, lax enforcement of the rules is good for business escpecilly for the dancers. Management is more concerned because it means their license or fines.

 

 

>TY do you know Gabriel? He seems like a sweet guy who

>apparently dances their on a regular basis.

 

I'm not getting a face with that name but I'm sure I would recognize him.

 

>Anyway, I just wanted to update you all on what I was able to

>find out from apparently somebody that was there that night.

 

Thanks, I appreciate your sharing the information.

 

 

>Not having been there myself it's hard to see the larger

>picture involved behind the raid .

 

It seems to me that it boils down to one of two reasons: most definitely the alleged underage kid if there was one -- which I find hard to fathom that the club would knowingly hire given the potential for penalty -- or if not, then the authorities decided it was time to send a message to Rue Ste. Catherine to clean up its act and picked one of the clubs to make an example. It could also be that the club was sacrificed for political reasons -- maybe big, maybe small.

 

I have been in contact with one of the dancers -- a real sweet young guy (22) -- gave me a cute stuffed animal on my Thanksgiving visit. He is quite demoralized, out of work, money problems, needs a lawyer, and just out of the hospital and back to work to boot when it happened. Swept up with all the other dancers for working in a 'maison de debauche'.

[Michael]

>

>Within the last year I have been there at times and commented

>to friends that if a certain dancer was 18, I was the King of

>Romania.

 

Does anyone know what the actual minimun age *is* in Montreal?

 

The reason I ask is that I remember a dancer in Toronto telling me that he was going to Montreal with a friend of his who was only 17 because his friend could work in the clubs in Montreal, but not in Toronto. Of course I don't know if he meant that it was actually "legal" in Montreal or just that the clubs didn't bother checking too carefully. Toronto reuqires dancers to have a license (which is issued by the city) but as far as I know there is no such requirment in Montreal so it probably doesn't take much more than a fake ID (which isn't exactly hard to get) to be able to work in one of the clubs.

[+ Lucky]

RE: Taboo Twink Fund

 

Twinklovers, you have had many a fun day reading about the fun times at Taboo. It seems only right now that you raise a defense fund to help these poor lads through the court process and to get back on their feet.

[marc anthony]

RE: Taboo Twink Fund

 

>Twinklovers, you have had many a fun day reading about the

>fun times at Taboo. It seems only right now that you raise a

>defense fund to help these poor lads through the court process

>and to get back on their feet.

>

 

I don't know if your post is serious or tongue-in-cheek, Lucky, but I REALLY hope that Club Taboo owners are helping the kids with their legal defense. Some of the dancers have been working there for 5+ years, and have helped turned that place into a success. Heck, they were even able to put several million dollars of renovation into that hotel that they own right next to the club (I am sure because of the profitability of Taboo, not of the hotel).

 

Taking care of their dancers not only makes business sense, it is the right and decent thing to do.

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

RE: Taboo Twink Fund

 

>>Twinklovers, you have had many a fun day reading about the

>>fun times at Taboo. It seems only right now that you raise a

>>defense fund to help these poor lads through the court

>process

>>and to get back on their feet.

>>

 

Sounds like a nice idea but not very pracitcal IMO. First, the kids need the money now not in month when the dust has settled. Also, a list of those affected needs to be obtained (police blotter info). Then assuming there is money to distrubute, how? By need -- whose to say, even shares, particular charges? Next is contact info for dancers if police blotter info unavailable. Many of these dancers don't even know one another well at all -- surprising but true. They tend to group in small klicks. Would the management be helpful? These issues would need to be resolved up front before money is collected.

 

Now issues about collecting. Assuming some are moved to give, there would be those that do not want to give up anonymity. That is easy enough to circumvent with money orders. But how would you return money if not all was distributed because some of the issues above aren't resolved or some other unanticipated reason. Then there is accountablity. Who is going to monitor the collector or will he be on his honor. I, for one, wouldn't collect money without some oversight. That's only rational business practice. Then the distribution would require someone in Montreal because cash disbursal is the only way to go. I don't think we'd want to see this effort immortalized in print, and a paper trail is imprudent. Also it might bring more light onto this site than is prudent. These are issues that occur to me off the top of my head. ;(

 

A little more practical but possibly less effective overall is to adopt a dancer. If there is someone you know then contact him and offer help. That requires contact info or a way to get it. This has some problems too but many fewer IMO. One would be duplication of 'help' making a central clearinghouse desireable -- easy enough to do via email. Check to see if help has been offrered/given to someone if so then pick another name. More thoughts off the top...

 

 

>

>I don't know if your post is serious or tongue-in-cheek,

>Lucky, but I REALLY hope that Club Taboo owners are helping

>the kids with their legal defense. ..Taking care of their dancers not only makes business sense, it

>is the right and decent thing to do.

 

Yes it is. I really whch I had more confidence in the club ownership on this one.:-(

[Luv2play]

My understanding is the kids have to be 18 to dance but in the specific case the other night one dancer was 17 but had shown ID to the club to the effect he was of legal age. I guess the club didn't check too closely as the police were able to determine he was only 17.

 

There have been comments about starting a legal defence fund, not sure if they are tongue-in-cheek, but keep in mind this is Quebec! We have social safety nets to beat all jurisdictions, except maybe Sweden or Norway. Anyone without the financial means can avail himself of legal aid, which will provide a lawyer, courtesy of the tax-payer.

 

Moreover, I would be surprised if any of the dancers were not collecting welfare while they work under the table. This is standard practice here. Not to say that there won't be financial hardship, however, since a good dancer can pull in big bucks. Many have sugar daddys though, or others that they can call on to make a few bucks so you may want to think again before sending your (now depreciating US dollars) to Montreal!:o

[+ Lucky]

RE: Taboo Twink Fund

 

Well, if I get to adopt a dancer, my post could literally be tongue in cheek!

[Samai139]

luv2play~~

Not really a relevant comment about the "raid" on Taboo, but you mentioned the deteriorating US Dollar. Could you be a little more specific? Do you know what the current rate is? When I was there in February, I didn't notice that it had declined very much.

Thanks.

[Michael]

>Not really a relevant comment about the "raid" on Taboo, but

>you mentioned the deteriorating US Dollar. Could you be a

>little more specific? Do you know what the current rate is?

>When I was there in February, I didn't notice that it had

>declined very much.

 

Most of the decline has been in the last 2 months.

 

This week's Economist lists the exchange rate as 1.40 compared with 1.57 a year ago.

 

The effective rate for exchanging small amounts will probably net out to about 1.35

[Luv2play]

Well, I was in Miami in February and the US $ was still trading around 1.57 to 1.59. Now it's 1.39. In case you haven't noticed, the greenback has declined 35 percent against the Euro since January 2002 and about 30 percent against the Canadian dollar. In the last two weeks, it has been dropping daily. Where it will end? Who knows? Maybe Alan Greenspan has an answer, but he ain't talking.:o

[Huey]

>>

>I hope this does not refer to Pierre-Luc

 

TY from my chat on MBL tonight I was able to confirm it was not Pierre-Luc it was Pierre who can be seen on Squirtz under March 2003. Sadly I was informed he is still in jail .

 

Also, again the "main players" who live in Montreal and some who work at Taboo keep referring a a brawdy house law and that was the reason for the raid. They said that the underage dancer hasn't even been confirmed and most feel this is only rumor ... that the real problem was sex in the private dancing area and that police had apparently been collecting evidence for about a week prior to the raid.

 

As for Gabe if you saw him most likely you would know him. About 6' smooth body, a few tats, dark short hair, great smile and such a sweet looking butt .

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

Thanks for the update Huey

 

>They said that the underage

>dancer hasn't even been confirmed and most feel this is only

>rumor ...

 

I hope so... it's just too dumb to hire someone under age and I don't think the management would have done it knowingly. The aren't dumb. They had a good business and they knew it.

 

>that the real problem was sex in the private dancing

>area and that police had apparently been collecting evidence

>for about a week prior to the raid.

>

I can believe that but from my experience the management made the most serious attempt of all the clubs to monitor the back room. They were rather strict. I suspect the other clubs are skating thin ice right now. Taboo may have been a victim of it's own attempt to keep things under control -- the openess of the back room.

 

Does anyone know if the club has reopened wIth dancers? If so, the present atmosphere in the front room? Customer attendance? This next weekend might be an indicator of how quckly it bounces back.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Thank you everyone for your reports.

I will be in La Belle Montreal next week(17-24)and I hope this does not put to much of a damper on my fun.

Was "mickey" busted?

I have a friend who was in the club at the time.Being am older black man he had flashbacks to earlier times when bars were raided all the time,and he was hassled a lot.

Have heard only sketchy,2nd hand reports from him-he was not detained.He says the padlocks came off the next night,and that a "new"management team is already in place.

Will post more when I have it.

[marc anthony]

>Thank you everyone for your reports.

>I will be in La Belle Montreal next week(17-24)and I hope this

>does not put to much of a damper on my fun.

 

I hope you have a great time, and that this unfortunate episode is just a small inconvenience rather than a major impediment.

 

He says the padlocks came off the next night,and that

>a "new"management team is already in place.

>Will post more when I have it.

 

Please let us know the status of the club, and each of the dancers if and when you find out. Hopefully, they are back at work, and the club is open for business as you suggest.

[Luv2play]

This is second-hand but I heard that the dancers who were arrested have been told by the court that they cannot dance at the club until their court cases are heard, I believe June 21. I was also told that there were lots of dancers when Taboo reopened, so obviously there is a good supply of dancers in Montreal. However, for those counting on seeing their favorites in the next few weeks, that may not happen, at least on stage at Taboo.:-(

[bigguyinpasadena]

Now this is a kinda"what if"situation---I just wonder if the boys wil be dancing at another club-or just hanging out at one of the clubs-coffeshops-parks?It is a loooooong time to go without some income.Since they will be out of their element maybe the price would come down also?

[ServeUncutUncle]

Sounds just like prohibition in the 20s and 30s, the club re-opens the following night in my "Mothers Maiden Name".

 

I wonder how may house breaks in's there were last Friday in Montreal whilst the Gendarmerie were busy arresting Stripper boys.

 

Still its good for the "Crimes Solved Figures" and saves having to protect the Tax Paying Citizens of Montreal, who after all only pay the wages of the "Gendarmerie".

 

You cant strip at 17 but you can buy a Kalashnikov 47, Its a Funny Old World.

 

Final Thought ' Why do they have Braille on Drive-In ATM Machines '.

[Luv2play]

RE: Taboo Back in Business (Sort of)

 

I dropped in on Taboo last night to see what the atmosphere was like following last week's raid. Albeit, since it was a Monday night, things were quiet but one of the dancers told me the usual crowd of professionals (lawyers, judges, priests, etc) were not in evidence as they were frightened to damage their reputations by being found in such an establishment. Your intrepid reporter persevered and ordered a drink, determined to see what was up (so to speak}( ).

 

Well, not much, as it turned out. Even the dancers seemed to have trouble getting it up and most of the dance routines I witnessed were rather demure, although pants in all cases came down. Just no raging hard-ons, as if the kids expected the cops to come barging through the doors at any minute.

 

The backroom was mostly deserted, except for one dancer who went in with a customer and still had his clothes on when I left (maybe they were just having a private chat). Anyway, my dancer friend joined me for a drink and told me that in his view the raid was because of the sexual acts that were occurring in the backroom, something he said he disapproved of since it made it harder for him to deny customers' advances when other dancers were openly conferring favors.

 

He also told me that the new rules for backroom dances are that the only touching that will be allowed is restricted to the legs of the dancer, no sitting on customers, and no kissing.

 

;( ;( What impact this will have on the other clubs is no known to me yet. Stay tuned.

[Jeff]

RE: Taboo Back in Business (Sort of)

 

So another hot places comes to an end.... anywhere else left in the world to go to?

[marc anthony]

RE: Taboo Back in Business (Sort of)

 

>

>The backroom was mostly deserted, except for one dancer who

>went in with a customer and still had his clothes on when I

>left (maybe they were just having a private chat). Anyway, my

>dancer friend joined me for a drink and told me that in his

>view the raid was because of the sexual acts that were

>occurring in the backroom, something he said he disapproved of

>since it made it harder for him to deny customers' advances

>when other dancers were openly conferring favors.

 

Well, if this is in fact true, it is great irony. Taboo has always had the most restrictive private dances due to the open nature of the back room. Though one could occasionally get to third base, it was pretty difficult with all the supervision around the place. The other clubs, on the other hand, well.... almost anything goes in those dark private cubicles.

 

In the end, it appears that the open nature of that back room was Taboo's demise. And I think that this issue will not be closed until after the court rules on whatever date it will be, as that will determine comfort level of dancers and customers. That, and time.

>

>He also told me that the new rules for backroom dances are

>that the only touching that will be allowed is restricted to

>the legs of the dancer, no sitting on customers, and no

>kissing.

 

No kissing? Sheez, that is an inalienable right... doesn't Canada have a constitution? x(

[Guest CTguy]

RE: Taboo Back in Business (Sort of)

 

This whole thing with Taboo is so tragic. Don't they realize what it will do to their tourist industry. Taboo was one of my favorite clubs in Montreal, hopefully this thing will pass with time and everything will be back to "normal." I will be going up to Montreal Memorial Day weekend so I will give you guys the dirt when I get back.

[Guest Tomcal_]

RE: Taboo Back in Business (Sort of)

 

<< So another hot places comes to an end.... anywhere else left in the world to go to? >>

 

RIO!!

[Guest buffroger]

RE: Taboo Back in Business (Sort of)

 

Just got back from Montreal tonight. In Sotck when a dancer informed me that Taboo was raided. Didn't quite believe it so I went anyway. Cops and police cars all over the place. Heard it opened the next day. Apparently due a good or well connected lawyer. Came back Sunday night and the place seems to be humming along. Back room seem to be operating tho I did not utilize it as the dancers seem to be incredibly young to me.

 

Good news is that the raid did not affect Stock and Campus. The back room pleasures are the same from my experience...pre raid and after the raid.

 

Now I need to recuperate from all of those delights.

[Guest nesmontreal]

RE: Taboo Back in Business (Sort of)

 

As a new member I have tried to read all of the messages about Taboo before sending my own so that I won't be completely redundant. I realize that this is old news by now, but maybe it will be of some interest and help to some of you. Last night I spoke for a long time with one of the dancers who was arrested and one of the customers who was there at the time. All but four of the customers were permitted to leave without giving their names etc. Among the staff who were arrested were the manager Ti-Guy Doux, the deejay Nick, the dance room doorman Fernand, the waiters Stefan and Jerry. Currently they are not permitted to work at the club. They may be back later, depending on the outcome of their court hearings.

 

All 23 dancers were arrested and given summonses to appear in court in August. They include: Ghislain, Chris, Anthony, Guillaume, Ben, Dominique, Pierre, Benoit, Andrea, Diego, Pierre-Luc, Francis, Damien, Justin, Philippe, and Jimmy (plus 7 more whose names I can't recall at the moment). Two undercover cops were already present when the 40+ uniformed cops arrived at about 10:30. They had invited some of the dancers (including the one with whom I spoke) to the back room and had encouraged the kinds of activities for which all the dancers were subsequently arrested. One of the dancers was discovered to be underage: Jimmy. He had successfully used a fake ID to get hired by the club. All of the other dancers are being permitted to continue to dance.

 

The club has continued to operate. The deejay Robert is running things, and there was also a new deejay in training last night. The formerly part-time dance room doorman Serge is not apparently full-time. Claude the waiter was working last night, and I understand that Sammy, who was not there the night of the raîd, continues to work.

 

Many of the dancers are back, but a few of them have decided to stay away for now. They are all somewhat dispirited, and at least some of them are pretty worried about what the outcome of their course cases will entail. They have been told explicitly not to appear on stage--and certainly not in the back room--with an erection. (This leads to some humor somewhat at the expense of someone like Diego, for example, who has never before been known to appear either on stage or in the back room without one.) There was a sizeable crowd last night, for a Wednesday. But there was very little activity in the backroom, and this is very discouraging to the dancers. Customers are encouraging them to hang in until things, one hopes, gradually begin to change or until customers get accustomed to and accept the now strictly enforced rules. But inevitably some of the dancers will leave and try to find work elsewhere in order to survive.

[firecat]

RE: Taboo Back in Business (Sort of)

 

Thanks for the fine report on current situation. I'm sure i speak for many here that we would welcome any news on how things are going at Taboo and especially for the Dancers.

 

Please keep us informed!!!