Scores is a

strip club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...

in New York City. In its early years, it was known for its celebrity clientele, which included Howard Stern,

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

and

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

. At its peak, it operated in two locations in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and licensed its name to strip clubs in five other cities. The club has been beset by legal problems over the years, which have included ties to

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

, tax evasion by its top executives, and club-sanctioned

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

History

Scores opened on October 31, 1991, and until December 1997 was run mainly by Michael D. Blutrich. In 1996, Blutrich, after being implicated in an unrelated $400 million fraud case in Florida, began to cooperate secretly with Federal authorities concerning alleged

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...

extortions from the club's officials and from its employees. Blutrich pleaded guilty to fraud charges in Florida and to making illegal payments to the Gambino family in New York. He subsequently became involved in the frauds that led to the collapse of the

National Heritage Life Insurance Company National Heritage Life Insurance Company (NHLC) was an insurance company based in Orlando, Florida. It collapsed as a result of a fraud scheme, and was liquidated in 1995. It is believed to have been the largest insurance company failure caused by ...

. In 1998, Scores filed for bankruptcy protection, citing $1.7 million in debts. Earlier that year, after reputed Gambino family mobsters were indicted on charges related to Scores, a new management team was installed. The club's new administrators attributed the losses to debts incurred by previous managers who were dominated by

, and to extensive renovation costs to comply with the city's new zoning regulations. In 2002, Scores formed a partnership with video game publisher Acclaim Entertainment, with footage of the club's employees being featured as unlockable content in the extreme sports title '' BMX XXX''. The game's lead designer Tin Guerrero postulated that Acclaim's decision was influenced by Howard Stern's popularity and his status as a high-profile club patron. As part of the game's marketing campaign, Acclaim launched a "Ms. BMX XXX" competition, in which female contestants submitted a digital photo of themselves or a friend, which was subject to a public vote. The winner was flown to New York City and escorted to Scores by

Gary Dell'Abate Gary Patrick Angelo Dell'Abate (born March 14, 1961), also known by the nickname Baba Booey, is an American radio producer who has been the executive producer of ''The Howard Stern Show'' since 1984. His autobiography, '' They Call Me Baba Booey'' ...

and

K.C. Armstrong Throughout its run spanning four decades and multiple media, ''The Howard Stern Show'' has been home to a number of staff members and contributors. Current staff These staffers currently work for and appear on the show on a regular, if not ...

of '' The Howard Stern Show''. In February 2006 a Manhattan

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

returned

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

indictments against Scores manager Harvey Osher, chief executive officer Richard Goldring, and a bookkeeper. Manhattan's District Attorney said that an investigation into customers' complaints of overcharging revealed a scheme by Scores managers involving

shell companies A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or s ...

, the pressuring of some

strippers A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. ...

into giving kickbacks, and the falsification of

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

returns. Goldring pleaded guilty, and Osher also admitted to his role in the scheme. At least three patrons sued Scores, saying their credit cards were overcharged by tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. One patron sued the club after he got a $28,000 bill, and another disputed $129,000 in charges. The New York State Liquor Authority took enforcement action against Scores in 2008, citing club-condoned

. The license of the Scores location in

Chelsea, Manhattan Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River and West Street to the west, and Sixth Avenue to the east, with its northern b ...

was suspended for two years, after undercover police found women selling sex in back rooms, VIP lounges and bathrooms. In 2009, a few months after it was closed, the Chelsea Scores came under new management. The original Scores location, on East 60th Street in New York City, closed in December 2008 due to a weak economy and loss of its license in Chelsea, which cut revenues, as well as threatened loss of the license of the east side location. In 2014, five members of a criminal ring were indicted for drugging men and bringing them to Scores and another strip club, where they ran up bills of hundreds of thousands of dollars while incapacitated. Prosecutors said the women received a percentage of the bills the men accrued. The owners of the clubs were not charged. The case became the basis for an article in ''New York'' magazine, which was adapted into the 2019 movie ''Hustlers''.

References

{{Reflist 1990s establishments in New York City 1990s in Manhattan New York City society Sex industry in New York (state) Strip clubs in the United States Women in New York City

History

See also

References