As the march toward trial continues, several of the men indicted following a sting targeting Seattle strip club mogul Frank Colacurcio Sr. now say federal authorities have no business policing vice in the city.
The prostitution and racketeering investigation, now in its fourth year, saw indictments filed against Colacurcio -- operator of Rick's strip club in Seattle and three similar establishments around the region -- and five other men associated with his company, Talents West. In indicting the elderly Colacurcio, his son, Frank Colacurcio Jr., and the others, federal prosecutors alleged all conspired to profit from prostitution at the clubs.
Objecting to a new claim by prosecutors that prostitution is back at the clubs, attorneys for one of the accused now says the government's effort has turned the FBI into "a vice squad." An attorney representing another defendant has claimed that investigatory reports show one undercover officer spent at least $16,835 buying more than 130 lap dances without making a single arrest.....................
