Several managers of a gentleman's club that Harris County attorneys are trying to shut down testified Monday they try to follow the law and said some dancers -- such as those who bared their breasts or engaged in sex acts with customers in private rooms -- violated in-house rules by acting inappropriately.,tiffany watche
The managers of D.B. Cooper's Mansion, a 20,000-square foot nightclub located in a wooded area on Interstate 45 between Spring and The Woodlands, said the dancers must be constantly monitored and they have fired some entertainers for not following the rules.
Harris County's lawsuit, which seeks a temporary injunction to close the nightclub,tiffany cuff Links for sale, alleges that criminal activity, including narcotics offenses and prostitution, has occurred at D.B. Cooper's. But managers said they don't condone illegal acts.
"They're not doing it with our permission ... We have discharged and fired many people for not complying with our regulations," testified D.B. Cooper's consulting manager Stephen E. Fischer.
Attorneys on both sides rested their cases Monday, clearing the way for a judge to rule on the matter as soon as next week.
The Harris County Attorney's Office said the nightclub has been operating without a sexually oriented business permit since its doors opened in 2006. They argue the nightclub is an adult cabaret violating the county's sexually oriented business regulations. But a lawyer for D.B. Cooper's told state District Judge Randy Wilson that the establishment does not sell or provide any services to sexually gratify its customers.
Fischer said the nightclub tries to ensure all dancers comply with the dress code, which requires entertainers to wear bikini bottoms fully covering their buttocks and pasties on their breasts.
"We've seen since the first of the year close to 900 entertainers coming through there," Fischer told the court. "These entertainers entertain all over town. They may work at D.B. Cooper's one or two days a month, then work at other clubs. Many of the clubs have a different standard. So it makes it difficult for us to comply, and we have to watch them."
Nightclub managers told the court that 85 percent of their revenue comes from the sale of alcoholic beverages and food, but assistant county attorney Linda Geffin noted that D.B. Cooper's is not listed in the AT&T Yellow Pages under restaurants and can be found under the gentlemen's clubs category.
County attorneys have argued dancers are breaking the law by dancing semi-nude, exposing themselves completely to customers in private rooms, violating the so-called "6 foot rule" by touching patrons and sometimes touching themselves.
"It doesn't matter if you have a snowsuit on -- if you're touching customers,money clips, they're touching you -- they're a sexually oriented business," Geffin told the judge. "You can call yourself a restaurant, you can call yourself an ice cream truck, but if your drawing card is topless dancers, you're an SOB,thanksgiving teacher gifts, and you have to comply with the rules."
The nightclub's attorney, Charles "Brad" Frye, disagreed and is fighting to keep the establishment open.
"Merely having attractive women, scantily clad, isn't against the law ... We don't derive any revenue from it,tiffany Pendants on sale," Frye said.
Attorneys on both sides will submit final briefs to the court later this week.
peggy.ohare@chron.com
