Phoenix sex clubs fight back

PHOENIX: 95
azcentral.com navigation More Weather

The Arizona Republic

Sections Republic Sections E-mail Newsletters

Republic Services Click to receive
letters

Site Search
Republic Phoenix sex clubs fight back
Go Owners file claim for $15 million after last week's raids and
• Advanced search, • Community
arrests
tips • Obituaries
• Traffic Info
By Dennis Wagner • AZ Neighbors
The Arizona Republic
Sunday Sections Sept. 28, 2002 02:16 AM
A&E
Jobs AZ
Travel Claiming their constitutional
Viewpoints rights were violated by police
raids, owners of two Phoenix sex
Feature Sections
clubs filed a $15 million claim
AZ Home against the city Friday and
Good Life
Preview defended their patrons' rights to
Wheels
express the swinger philosophy.
Local Sections Christine Keith/The Arizona Republic
Ahwatukee Nicholas Hentoff, a lawyer for Club Chameleon has about 10 theme bedrooms that can be
Chandler Club Chameleon and Encounters, used privately or opened for voyeurs to watch through
Tempe said 30 police officers wearing windows. The club's owner, Milo Fencl, said police raids on
Mesa his club have increased publicity and attracted new clients.
Gilbert bulletproof vests swept down on
North East Valley
Scottsdale the clubs Sept. 20, conducted "unlawful, warrantless searches" and arrested managers
North Scottsdale for misdemeanor citations akin to walking a dog without a license.
Sun Cities / Surprise
Glendale / Peoria
North Phoenix "They not only did an assault on the clubs," Hentoff said, "they also assaulted the
Central Phoenix
South West Valley Constitution of the United States."

City prosecutors say their actions were justified,

On azcentral legal and necessary to protect public health and Rules at Club Chameleon and
The Rep morality. Sex clubs would "spring up like Encounters
Calendars
Travel mushrooms" if nothing was done to stop them,
Community Deputy City Attorney James Hays said. Members must be 20 or older,
Golf
Home and Garden with valid photo identification.
Comics
Obituraries Among the issues covered in years of court
wrangling: whether sex clubs are public or private, No drugs, alcohol, weapons,
whether voluntary acts among patrons are cameras or recording devices
"indecent," and whether they endanger the public's allowed.
health and morality.
A patron cannot pay another for
Hays, who deals with sexually oriented any form of entertainment or sex
businesses, said Phoenix has won the legal war in act.
municipal, state and federal courts. Sex among
swingers, he said, is not protected expression - No baseball caps, shredded or
even in a consensual gathering. tattered jeans, bib overalls, overly
baggy clothing or gang-related

file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/HP_Admi...NING/Phoenix%20sex%20clubs%20fight%20back.htm (1 of 3) [10/13/2010 7:56:56 AM]

Phoenix sex clubs fight back

"They are not private membership clubs," Hays attire.

declared. "They are open to the public."
Hays said the businesses were raided after
undercover officers observed members engaging
in sex where other patrons could view them.
Phoenix ordinances are designed to uphold
morality and prevent the spread of sexually
transmitted diseases, he said. None of the
swingers were arrested for public sexual
indecency because their behavior would not be
considered offensive given the clubs' clientele.
However, the conduct by members placed club
managers in violation of city ordinances,
prosecutors believe.
Members must sign a statement
saying they are not employed by
law enforcement, a government
agency or the news media.
Members must sign a form that
says they will use condoms, are
disease-free and believe in a
"socially and sexually liberated
view and philosophy of the
world."

During a Friday news conference at Club Chameleon, owner Milo Fencl and Frank
Magarelli, proprietor of Encounters, said Hays and police targeted their businesses in
retaliation for legal challenges. They are mounting a national legal defense fund and
had talked of starting an initiative campaign to overturn Phoenix's ordinance.

Hentoff, who referred to Hays as the city's "director of homeland morality," claimed
Phoenix wasted thousands of taxpayer dollars to make improper arrests over
misdemeanors.

In a letter to Hays, Hentoff threatened slander lawsuits against officials who insinuate
that sex clubs are unclean or unhealthy, and he complained of selective enforcement
because gay sex clubs were not targeted.

Hays countered that gay sex clubs were investigated but not raided because sex acts
occur in private rooms.

Club Chameleon, surrounded by industrial buildings on a dead-end section of 29th

Avenue, has the ambience of an upscale strip club with dim lighting and mirrored
walls. Fencl said his 27,000 clients pay an annual membership fee of $25 plus nightly
entrance fees of about $35 for catered food, soft drinks and an erotic environment.

The club includes about 10 theme bedrooms where couples may engage in sex
privately or allow voyeurs to watch through windows. As Fencl conducted a tour, he
explained how bedding is changed, disinfectants sprayed and condoms provided.
Attractions include the Infinity Room with endless mirror reflections, an animal-
themed Jungle Room, and the Fish Bowl with gaping windows and a nautical theme.

Noting that publicity from Phoenix's campaign has attracted new clients, Fencl said,
"We appreciate the city being a market ploy for us."

Guys & Dolls, another sex club, closed Thursday because of the fight with Phoenix,
according to a message left on its phone line. The fourth club raided last Friday,
Discretions, could not be reached for comment.

But Fencl and Magarelli vowed to remain open with new rules designed to ensure
protection under the First Amendment. Among the changes: Members are now
required to sign sworn statements, under penalty of perjury, declaring that they believe

file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/HP_Admi...NING/Phoenix%20sex%20clubs%20fight%20back.htm (2 of 3) [10/13/2010 7:56:56 AM]

Phoenix sex clubs fight back

in a swinger philosophy and are not law enforcement officers or agents.

Reach the reporter at dennis .wagner@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8874.

Republic Front Page | Local | Sports

Arizona Living | Business | Opinions

Subscribe to The Republic

Terms of Service

Help Center | About us

Copyright 2002, The Arizona Republic. All rights reserved

Gannett Co. Inc.

file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/HP_Admi...NING/Phoenix%20sex%20clubs%20fight%20back.htm (3 of 3) [10/13/2010 7:56:56 AM]