Article found in a local NYC Daily Paper:
Police Shutdown illegal sex club Carousel Couple Club on the night of Monday, September 19, 2011
Undercover photos of risqué behavior and drug use at a problematic illegal sex club called Carousel Couples Club in Manhattan, lead police to shut down the venue and execute multiple arrests.
Neighbors have complained constantly about the drugs and prostitution occurring on their west 36th street block. “You would see dealers selling drugs in the lobby of the building and prostitutes taking their johns upstairs to do their business at the Carousel Club”, stated one concerned resident.
While touring the outside of the building, one could visibly see the used needles, used condoms, and empty crack vials strewn all over the lobby and outside.
They said on Monday nights, the club would hold "swingers parties" where mostly older men and paid women would come to either engage in or watch sexual activity. When police ran a sting operation last week, they said they witnessed it firsthand.
On the evening of Friday, September 16, 2011, police reported seeing 5 to 9 people inside the club. Mostly single men in their 40's and 50’s who paid $160 in cash to get in. Police witnessed people buying narcotics and paying women for sex acts in the open inside the club. They also witnessed unprotected male on male sexual intercourse in the back rooms.
Police arrested elderly Gerald Mara (from Little Falls NJ); also known as "Jerry" who organized these illegal and unsanitary "group sex parties". Mara faces charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, illegally distribution of a controlled substance, promoting prostitution, obscenity, public indecency, liquor law violations at the club including smoking in a public building, nudity, homo erotic sex acts, not serving proper prepared food and improper use of a service bar.
Mara had also been arrested a few months back in connection to the illegal Brooklyn prostitution sting in which he allowed pimps from one gang to force illegal immigrants to perform criminal sex acts in his club for a cut of the profit. He was able to sneak back into business by posting bail and changing the name of his club from the Carousel Couples Club to the Carousel Swing Club in his online ads.
Also arrested were three working women and one trans sexual of the club who stated they were paid a small hourly wage to service hordes of men in dim lighted back rooms of the club. Some of the working girls also stated they may have unknown sexual transmitted diseases and that Mara knew of them and opted not to inform his patrons of this information.
Mara was released on his own bail of 100K bond from Manhattan criminal court late Tuesday afternoon. He is due back in court in October to face more charges and violations.
