New York- The owner of a seedy Sunset Park strip club, already charged with raping two dancers, was busted for allegedly dealing drugs there, authorities said yesterday.
During a six-month sting operation, investigators from the Brooklyn district attorney's office bought cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy from employees, including two strippers, at Sweet Cherry, a topless bar on Second Ave. and 42nd St., officials said.
"It's unfortunate that smut chambers like Sweet Cherry are allowed to operate," said District Attorney Charles Hynes. "For too many years, Sweet Cherry has been a blight on the decent hardworking residents of Sunset Park."
The probe began after the owner, Gabriel Bertonazzi, 44, was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl who came to the club seeking a job last October.
Later, area residents began coming forward with allegations of drug dealing and prostitution.
Hynes said he is still investigating the bar for prostitution after undercover detectives witnessed dancers and patrons openly engaging in oral sex.
While the club, which boasts weekly lesbian shows and charges a $10 cover, was open for business yesterday, Hynes said he expects to have it shut down permanently.
He said his office has started Narcotics Eviction proceedings against the owners and has asked the Legal Bureau of the NYPD to padlock the joint until the eviction is complete.
During the raid on Monday, investigators arrested four employees along with Bertonazzi and seized the financial records for the club. Prosecutors will inspect the books for evidence of tax evasion and money laundering from the drug sales.
Hynes said detectives also saw bartenders putting generic liquor in top-shelf bottles and overcharging patrons.
Two managers, Michael Arab, 40, and Alfredo Levenson, 58, and one dancer, Jennifer (Diamond) Soto, 19, have been charged with selling cocaine and marijuana. Arab also is charged with dealing ecstasy.
A second dancer, Antoinette (Gabriella) Elias, 36, was charged with selling cocaine and held on $7,500 bail.
Bertonazzi was charged with selling cocaine and marijuana. Bertonazzi already faces life in prison for allegedly raping the 16-year-old runaway from West Virginia after she refused to sleep with him - which authorities said was a requirement to work at the bar.
He was later charged in the rape of a second dancer.
Members of the Sunset Park community have long opposed the club and applauded the district attorney's action.
"We cannot tolerate these types of illicit businesses in the neighborhood," said Community Board 7 chairman, Joseph Longobardi. "I'm totally against any of these clubs, and I will stay firm with that."
