New attack on sexual minorities in Phila

[BrianR]

By now, most of you who have met me or who know me by reputation know that I am actively
into the leather lifestyle and support any organization or group that does not hurt our public image
or which works for the greater good of the community.

Therefore, I am reposting this letter from a friend in Phila with her permission.
There are two more parts to this message which I will post here when I receive them.

***

hi gang

i am going to break down all the information i need to share into 3 emails:

what happened
what we are going to do about it
personal comments

WHAT HAPPENED

on friday night (4/5/02) at approx 30 minutes after midnight we got a visit
from L&I, Vice, the narcotics task force, ATF, a petty crimes unit? and other
law enforcement officers who refused to identify themselves (between 30 and
40 officials).....an all out guns drawn everyone stop spanking each other
raid.....at the time there were about 40 members in the club and only one
couple actually engaged in SM activities (happened to be our lawyer)...there
were no warrants, they did not ask to enter, they did not identify
themselves...they just drew guns and said "we are coming in".....they frisked
security who had no time to push the call button and alert us on the inside
of the building and were actually ordered not to touch their radios......they
were asked why they were here on several occasions during the raid and we
were told "we dont have to tell you that"....everyone was told to stay
put...the person Topping was told "step away from the woman".....she got
dressed....most people were either in the lounge or in the dungeon....the
people in the kitchen were sent to the lounge....the people upstairs were
kept there....there was a girl with a broken leg (lorie) in the bathroom who
was actually roughed up....michael who was upstairs identified himself as
part owner and responsible for everything....he was interrogated (this is an
accurate description) by L&I officials who were armed....he produced all the
legal paperwork....(he also asked where anna and the club lawyer were and
they told him we left which was a lie and i believe they were trying to get
him to become upset).... a vice officer at the scene who was totally offended
they were there and who spoke to a member who happens to be a federal law
enforcement agent called it PBS (political bullshit) and said it was from a
call from Rep Dwight Evans (local politician) who told them to go in and find
something to shut us down with...we have no idea if that is true or not.
...the vice officers also indicated they did not know they were coming to BTS
when they were picked up for this raid and couldnt understand why .....the L&
I official in charge told me they had no idea what we (the club) were doing
there and didnt know anything about us...i told him we have been dealing with
you since we opened and have the records to prove it....they were shocked
when we produced all our paperwork and notes detailing our conversations with
them over the last 18 months including names, certified letters, and the
paperwork from our most recent inspection which was 6 weeks ago....quote from
an L&I official - "we are a beauracracy, we dont know what we are
doing".........they said they are going to cite us for some electrical
violations but said it would take a few days for them to get back to us....in
the mean time they closed the club and evacuated everyone here except
staff....during the visit we had a few issues with one officer in particular
making inappropriate comments about the sexual orientation and gender status
of a few of the gay and transgendered members at the club.....we intend to
bring that up with Vice this week and already have the LGBT liason to the
police dept working on it.......there were also some issues with us selling
stuff on the 2nd floor...we have licenses to sell and all our tax info and
that was shown to them also....they did not confiscate anything....no one was
arrested....BDSM did not seem to be the issue and i was specifically told by
an L&I official that they didnt care what we were doing there...they just
wanted to make sure everyone was safe....duh...so do we!!

L&I is trying to say we did not do what we were supposed to in notifying them
and making sure we had a safe location....well we DID notify them before we
ever opened, we got info on our certificate of occupancy and were told it was
sufficient...we made appointments ....we got licenses...we sat here and
waited for them to show up......we were inspected....we fixed the violations,
which were all minor......we have acted in good faith....they on the other
hand failed to train their staff...failed to supervise...failed to give us
the right info....failed to show up for appts....failed to inspect
properly....and now have interupted our business and are causing us financial
harm..not only that but since when does L&I do an inspection with 30 law
enforcement officers with guns drawn?

Our records include the name of the L&I official i originally talked to who
gave us the go ahead on our Certificate of Occupancy and explained how we
were categorized, our inspection info from 2/02/02, receipt from a certified
letter sent to Dominic Verdi, the head of L&I in February in reference to the
club, copies of all our licenses to operate and do business in the state of
pennsylvania and the city of philadelphia...plus we have a record of an L&I
visit to the building in 1997 where no electrical problems are cited.....good
thing i am anal and keep records of everything.

as for Vice i know they have had undercover officers in the club in the past
and found no problems...this was told to me by Sean Carr (former head of
philly vice) in the summer....he also was quoted on the front page article in
the daily news in july i believe as saying BTS was legal....he even agreed to
come and do a community meeting here....he went to a training program in
virginia during the summer and when he got back was transferred to the police
training academy....Lt Greene took over and i talked to him as late as a
month ago....he indicated to me there were no problems with the club....i
also have continued my very good relationship with the 14th district police
dept....they came by that night as everyone was leaving and had no idea what
was going on.

after about an hours inspection of the club which included a thorough drug
sweep by the narcotics task force with guns drawn....everyone was asked to
leave....the only person whose ID was asked for or whose name was taken was
michaels since his name is on most of the paperwork with L&I......no one
asked for club records (which arent kept at the club anyway).......they didnt
want to confiscate our computers (which dont have any club info or passwords
on them anyway...they just run the music and keep inventory of
supplies)....they never really asked us any questions about what goes on at
the club except they wanted to know who runs the massage concession....i
explained that no one runs anything or gets paid for any services
here....they were pretty bored except for lots of porn magazines to read
(which they did) and many obzines were taken out with individual
officers....several officers made a point of telling jeff on their way out
they would like to come back (without L&I) and become members if they are
still welcome.

everyone was asked to leave the club except staff....we can have staff
meetings at the building and we can have volunteers here to work on it....we
just cant have parties till further notice (which i hope is wed)

as for the neighbors...many have come down to tell us they support us....we
have made their neighborhood safer and cleaner and they have no problem with
what we do.....they have offered to go to community meetings and make phone
calls and write letters for us....we also have several members including
myself who are looking to purchase houses up the street, rehab them, and live
here....if anything we are increasing the value of properties in this
neighborhood and the city should be kissing our butts cause there arent that
many people rushing to live here and invest in the community.....

yesterday a few staff members covered the outside of the building with gay
pride, leather pride, american, and dont tread on me liberty or death
flags....we also covered the door with ACLU and NCSF information....i guess
if we have to be out we might as well be all the way out.

a few other notes;

last week there was an article in the local paper (Germantown Courier) with a
front page picture of the club....i sent this report to NCSF last week;

on monday a local neighborhood paper ran an article on sex clubs moving into
the neighborhood...i dont have the article and havent seen it yet....members
who live in the neighborhood have read it to me and described it....the club
picture is on the front page...but no address, name, or info on the club is
in the article....mainly it talks about a house in a neighborhood down the
street from the club someone is using as a sex party house complete with
alcohol and dancers etc....the article is not well written and contains
erroneous info although its all very subtle.....several neighbors came down
today to the club including the block captain to tell us they were never
interviewed for the article, dont agree with the article, have no problem
with the club, would support the club if meetings are called, and to let them
know what we need.....i am not sure what to do...ignore the article?....get
letters sent in to the paper in support of us?....we are in good shape with
the city but as you know the one thing that can take you down is neighborhood
pressure put on politicians.

then later the following was sent to ncsf also;

well i spent the morning (thursday) in the office of state rep John
Myers....talking to his aide Larry Simmons...i contacted him at the advice of
the block captain who is on our side and likes us (and helps run a local
speakeasy down the street)....when i told Larry i was the owner of the club
on Amstrong St he invited me to come on down right then...very nice guy...i
was accompanied by my partner Michael (who had been in his office months
earlier talking about some business plans Michael had for the
neighborhood)....Larry told me a long convoluted story so follow me
here....the real issue isnt the sex clubs...its a halfway house for
recovering drug addicts and alcoholics that someone wants to put in the
neighborhood...the neighbors dont want it....the aide to rep Myers has been
arguing with them about it for months ...he feels this is where it belongs
because the people being sent there are FROM the neighborhood...recently he
was at McDonalds and someone handed him a nice 4 color postcard for a sex
club called The Dungeon.....a residential home about 4 blocks from my club
(on the same block coincidentally that i am trying to buy a house to rehab
and live in).....this club had a website and advertised sex with girls in
private rooms, alcohol for sale, etc.....pretty ballsy...this Larry Simmons
guy was on the phone asking the neighborhood group representative if he knew
about the sex club on his block and he said sure...no problem there...well
Larry was pretty pissed off....you have a problem with a halfway house but
not with an illegal sex club?.....at the same time he had a friend visiting
his office listening to this conversation and the friend asked him if he knew
about the SM club on Armstrong St....Larry was like what SM Club?......the
guy pulled out his BTS membership card and showed him and told him he was a
member and a regular and that it was a very nice club.....Larry was like
great now we have 2 sex clubs in the neighborhood, not knowing anything about
the legal status of BTS at that point....when the neighborhood newspaper guy
showed up to do a story on it he told them about the 2 clubs and what he knew
and made comments to the effect that they would be doing what they could to
close them down....the newspaper reporter guy actually came to the club last
thursday night (i wasnt there)...we were open but we dont let anyone in who
isnt a member or doesnt have a password indicating they have talked to me or
gone thru the rules page on the website.....so the door person refused them
entry.... the article had no info at all in it about BTS.....just our picture
on the front page....the Larry Simmons guy told us he doesnt know what to do
right now....he has no desire to go head to head with us....he has no legal
reason to shut us down....many neighbors have called him to support us....he
did ask us not to have anyone write letters to the editor of the paper....he
seems to hope it will all die down....he asked if he could come by next week
for a tour....

as far as my conversation with him....i felt i presented the whole SM thing
very well....i didnt have alot of time to prepare and would you believe i had
no NCSF brochures to give him (i will have AJ send me some right away).....i
told him we had been there for 18 months, had all the proper licenses, had
been inspected recently by the health dept and L&I and passed....that we had
over 2700 members (he almost died when he heard that)....that many of our
members lived in the neighborhood....that several more were hoping to move
into the neighborhood and who the realtor was we were working with (he called
her a few minutes after we left to check on this info)....i told him that
there is a 500 member african american internet SM group in the city that
meets in the club once a month (that also impressed him because there is a
perception that we are an all white people thing)....i told him i do not
support any SM club that breaks all the laws or has anything to do with
alcohol and i hoped he saw the difference between us and them.....i told him
about our front page article in the daily news in july and the quote from the
head of the vice squad saying he knew about BTS and in his opinion we were
totally legal......i framed us as a sexual minority, mentioning the old
kinsey studies of 5 to 10% of the population engages in SM and the newer
studies indicating that it might be even higher ....i mentioned many of our
members are gay and transgendered (which is true) and that i had a
responsibility to protect their safety also which is one of the reasons we
keep a low profile (he REALLY got that in more ways than one)......i think i
presented myself as intelligent and knowledgeable and articulate...and
confident and friendly....he really liked michael also (he and michael are
both retired army officers and disabled veterans).....i am hoping this is as
far as all this will go.

well so much for that effort.......

back to the story at hand;

i think this may all be related as both Dwight Evans and John Myers are local
state reps.

we have spent the weekend contacting people who can help us including
politicians and lawyers....we are getting ALOT of support....people are
flabbergasted this happened....it is so obviously a harrassment issue or else
they made a huge mistake thinking they were going someplace where there were
drugs and prostitutes running rampant....i mean they tried to figure out if
selling merlins sword was a federal offense (i told them they could buy it at
the mall but we sell it cheaper).....they asked what the coffin is
for....someone should have told them its where we hide the bodies of the
people we beat to death....they couldnt find an ounce of anything, not
alcohol or drugs ....i even had to ask one officer not to smoke in the
building...he was not happy....neither was i.

Seems like some narrow minded political leader aka terrorist decided he
doesnt agree with what we are doing and sent in suicide bombers to shut us
down......well
as the president said we are in a war to protect our freedoms and you are
either with us or you are against us.......

of course this is all about sex......if we were holding boxing matches that
would be ok....joe frazier is a philly icon even though he made a living
beating people to a pulp....we dont even hurt each other but because what we
do is considered perverted by a few narrowminded morons we are a target and
will be persecuted....when is Vice going to raid the catholic churches and
root out the pedophiles?...why havent they confiscated the records at the
dioscese offices and arrested the criminals who are sexually molesting our
children?.....not to mention the criminals who are protecting
them?........why are they harrassing consenting adults who have the right
guaranteed by the constitution to express themselves and assemble
peacefully....and IN PRIVATE!!!!!!......

they want a war...they got a war.....

BTS has over 2700 members now.....lawyers, doctors, judges, grandmothers,
plumbers, and housewives....educated tax paying citizens....there is alot of
power in that and its time to weild it....even if many people have to stay in
the closet there are more than enough who dont and can fight the battle for
everyones benefit.

goal #1 is to reopen asap....i am confident that is going to happen within
days without too much screaming....if that happens we wont have to sue the
city and we can go back to our quiet life....in the mean time we need phone
calls made and letters written....the next email outlines that effort.

to respond to this email either call me at the club at 215 438 1946 or email
me at jrsygir1@aol.com

Anna and Mike

PLEASE NOTE;
THIS EMAIL CAN BE REPOSTED...in fact you should repost it and send it to
anyone who might help us.....just make sure you repost the whole thing.

[jaguar]

well, waht cna i say? fight.
Sadly there will always been bigoted fools.

[BrianR]

Behind The Scenes
501 Armstrong St
Phila Pa 19144
www.phillyfetish.com (the website is back up)
215 438 1946
btsphilly@aol.com

ok so this is what i will be doing in the next few days....plus what i need
other people to do to support us....if you call anyone or write letters be
brief and to the point...dont give any info on anything you know about the
club...dont talk about people or what goes on there specifically....just give
your opinions and feelings and be really nice.....stress its a private club
for consenting adults ...no alcohol is allowed....and everything is Safe,
Sane and Consensual....if you send faxes or snail mail and you are
comfortable with it put it on letterhead....you DO NOT have to use your real
name....send me copies of anything you send that is written and let me know
if you call anyone.

so far i have talked to several individuals from several groups;

Pennsylvania Lesbian and Gay Task Force ...i sent them an accounting of all
that has happened and they have been a wealth of info for me.

on monday i will contact Stacy Sobel and Tiffany Palmer from the Center for
Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights looking for advice, action and possible legal
help. I believe that is where Andrew Parks is also and he has already
contacted me offering help.

i am supposed to send a 2 line letter to Rep Myers and Rep Evans asking for
clarification on whether the rumors were true that they gave the order to L&I
to come to the club and find a reason to shut us down.

you can help by writing letters to them or calling their offices expressing
support for the club;

Hon John Myers
5847 Germantown Ave
Phila Pa 19144
215 849 6896
fax; 215 560 1824

Hon Dwight Evans
7174 Ogontz Ave
Phila Pa 19138
215 549 0220
fax; 215 549 8965

i will contact Larry Frankel at the Pa ACLU on monday

i will write a letter to Sylvester Johnston, Acting Police Commisioner, and
Lt Greene, Vice Unit, detailing what we perceived as unacceptable negative
attitudes from some of their officers directed at members of the club related
to their status as a sexual minority....overall their officers were courteous
and really should be thanked....we had a problem with a few of them and that
will be dealt with....we will try and get them to participate in some sort of
BDSM and sexual minority sensitivity program....does anyone know of one that
other groups in other cities have used?

i COULD file a complaint with Hector Soto , police civilian review committee
however i am going to hold off on that until the LGBT liason to the police
dept (who we met with today) meets with Officer Taino and discusses this
issue.

I will also hold off on filing a lawsuit until we hear from the liason.

We will be meeting with a representative from Councilman DiCiccos office....i
am trying to set up a meeting between us for tomorrow to discuss the L&I
issue...DiCicco is the city council liason to L&I and also writing the
transgendered legislation for the city and is considered LGBT friendly...the
goal here is to get the club open without filing lawsuits asap. it is our
contention that we have been in compliance with L&I and anything else they
want us to do will be done but in the mean time we should be allowed to open
and operate.

if that doesnt get us open immediately we will file a lawsuit.

the landlord wants to file a lawsuit against the city immediately to get us
open.....i am supporting him in anything he wants to do as the landlord....he
is working with us and will make sure violations are taken care of
properly....he is also amenable to helping us out financially speaking as we
cant really pay the bills right now if we arent open....however we are going
to do everything we can to make sure he does get paid rent and
utilities....he is an old man (sorry harold but you are older than God) and
this building is his only income and he depends on it.

we will contact L&I on tuesday (at their request) to find out what the
violations are....if you are a licensed pa electrician we will need help with
the permit and work....we have lots of volunteers to help with anything else
that needs to be done....anyone who wants to help volunteer should contact
the volunteer coordinator at beth@bethx.com

i will be giving an interview with the Phila Inquirer and the Phila Daily
News asap

i will not be talking to anyone from the tv press unless they do a crappy
report...they can read about us in the paper.

i have been referred to several attorneys to see about getting
representation;

Hetznecker, Rudolfski and Kairys, Larry Krasner, Andi Erba and Gloria
Guard...if you know any of these attorneys and can use your relationship with
them to encourage them to help us pro bono please do.

we need to write letters to the district attorneys office THANKING her for
her progressive and enlightened attitude towards private members only sex
positive clubs in the city that are operating legally...like BTS....and
encouragng her to help enlighten other city officials.

District Attorney Lynne Abraham
1421 Arch St
Phila, Pa 19102
215 686 8000
fax 215 563 0047
da_webmail@phila.gov

we need to encourage Councilman DiCicco to support BTS and allow us to reopen
asap....mentioning that 40 gun toting law enforcement officials sent to
check on wiring is overkill....and thanking him for supporting sexual
minorities....tell him how important BTS is to you....that its our community
center as well as a safe place for us ....

Councilman Frank DiCicco
City Hall
Room 332
Phila, Pa 19107
215 686 3458
215 686 3459
fax 215 686 1931

We need to raise some money while we are closed to pay the bills we already
have and the new ones we are about to have...donations can be sent to;

BTS
P O Box 150
Pennsauken, NJ 08110

you can use PayPal sent to btsphilly@aol.com

if you want to have your donation be creditied towards a new membership or a
Foundership we will do that....just let us know that....memberships are $50
per person for a lifetime membership....$35 per person if part of a couple or
a member of another dues paying alternative lifestyle organization....$1000
for a Foundership which means you get into all BTS events free forever plus
other perks.

also dont forget we need to support NCSF (our raffle friday night got
interrupted and we had great prizes too....we will continiue it when we
reopen dont you worry).....become a member or send them a donation if you
can....www.ncsfreedom.org

if you see anything in the media please let me know right away

if you hear anything on call in radio shows let me know right away and try
and get the phone #....feel free to call in if you feel you can have a
positive effect on the discussion.

if you were at the club on friday night and heard or saw anything you feel i
should know send me the info asap....especially if it pertains to how our
members were treated.

if you need to talk to me and its an emergency and you cant get thru on the
club phone, call mikes cell phone at 609 760 1749

thanks guys)

Anna and Michael

any other suggestions of things to do please let us know

and by the way L&I means Licenses and Inspections and ATF is Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms (none of which are allowed at the club)

[BrianR]

ok here is the final part of today's rant....from here on you will be able to
get info and updates only on the BTS website (www.phillyfetish.com) or from
the BTS mailing list (www.yahoogroups.com/group/behindthescenes)...i dont
want to burden the lists with news from BTS.....and i am too busy to monitor
the lists so if you have something you want me to see or answer please email
me directly...as always anything i post is available to be reposted anywhere
you think it helps people without direct permission from me.

********************

This is from Michael my business partner, BTS partner, and life partner....he
has only been with us a short time so not many people know him;

My feelings

I have no regrets over what I am doing or what I will continue to express. I
am proud of Behind The Scenes and my function as part owner and loyal
submissive to Anna. I have had to go through the motions over the past
months about my public presence. I make no bones about it, I am Bisexual and
partake in S&M play. My personal life has changed though. My family did not
take well to my sexuality or even my support of it. My three year long
divorce has taken a new turn as now my activities are public. I have lost
most of my rights in that case. A call was made by someone angry with Anna
to my Veterans of Forein Wars post outing me . They learned of my lifestyle.
It was hard for me becuase my post is on the edge of bankruptcy, at the
point of dissapearing, and now they had to deal with the fact that one of
their members was openly Bisexual and in the S&M scene. For their betterment
I have resigned my membership and hope that the issue will fade away for
them. I have personally taken out loans to support BTS and ensure that there
will be ways for the club to be self supporting someday through for-profit
efforts. But I am a Retired Army Officer. From the day I put on the "Bars"
I carried the Constitution in my side pocket. I used it to help me make
desisions and guide me in handling myself and to remind me that I was only an
instrument of the people of this country. That meant all people. I sat
halfway around the world getting shot at because I represented a country that
"in theory" had its freedom. I am now a civilian and am now reminded of the
voices that must be heard no matter how small or distasteful. I am now
active openly to support gay, bi, transgender voices. Everyone has a voice
in this country. I am not going to sit by and let bigots, religious morons,
racial hate, or misled police powers squelch these voices. I have my family
here at BTS and they love me for who I am.

Julius M Tarr
CW2, USA
(retired)
***********************************
From Anna;

i always knew this could happen....always thought someday it probably
would....was sure that if it did it would be exactly how it went down (this
was my 2nd raid...i was at KFE for my first and it was similiar although we
had more guns drawn on us friday night)....all i could do to protect BTS was
exactly what i did from the beginning....make every effort to be proactive
with every city agency, the neighbors, the press...do everything legal....and
have emergency plans as far as communications and aid.....i am proud of the
way the volunteers and members handled themselves friday night...i am
overwhelmed with all the supportive letters and phone calls and offers of
help....i am particularly happy to see the local community, which has its
share of infighting like every other community, putting aside personalities
and coming together so quickly for the cause.

i know there is no good time for this to happen but this is really one of the
worst times for me to have to deal with this...as many of you know i am still
married and have a 12 yr old at home ( my 19 yr old daughter was at the club
friday night and was kept away from me by the police thru the whole ordeal
till she went out thru the front door and snuck in thru the back).....my
totally vanilla husband has continued to support me financially and
emotionally as well as with the club thru the past years even though we arent
really married in spirit anymore....we are actually moving in less than 3
weeks and my and michaels new house( i mean old house that needs to be
totally rehabilitated) in philly isnt even ready yet so i will be continuing
to live with my husband for the coming months in nj part time when i am not
at the club....it has been my husbands financial support and michaels army
pension that have made it possible to put so many hours into running the club
....we dont need real jobs to survive....anyone who thinks owning a BDSM club
means we are rolling in cash should think again....we are carrying alot of
personal debt for the club and work hard to pay the bills every month....add
to that the amount of time it takes and the stress and aggravation, the
attacks from the people you piss off....the flak from the decisions you make,
the unforgiven mistakes, the lies and disinformation from people who will do
anything to destroy you and its no wonder there arent more clubs out
there....no good deed will go unpunished....and there is always that little
feeling that tomorrow it could all be gone thru no fault of your own.

i NEVER had that feeling friday night....i am sure if you were there you
noticed how peaceful i seemed....and as everyone was being herded out and
people were breaking thru the police line to come hug me goodbye and whisper
their support in my ear i was filled with the feelings i have come to
experience every weekend.....the same feelings i have gotten as i have read
thru hundreds of emails from well wishers in the last few days ( i have
answered every single one too).....its that feeling of being lifted up and
knowing you will be taken care of by something very powerful....that the
universe is right on schedule....that its not the building that is important
but the people...the family.....the feelings they have for each other....i
believe the club will be open in a few days but even if it isnt, the feelings
and the family arent going to go away...we will open again somewhere else and
do the whole thing all over again.....i started BTS from literally nothing
and i know we can do it again.

so BTS RAID PART 3 is about thanking you all for being part of the family
even if you have never been to the club, but have extended and expressed
those feelings to someone in our community at some place and time...and its
about making sure everyone knows whats important in all this....the part they
cant destroy no matter how hard they try.

Anna