13 dancers, manager arrested at Rick's strip club

In one of its largest recent crackdowns at a strip club, Seattle police arrested 13 dancers and a manager at Rick's on Lake City Way this week, alleging violations ranging from prostitution to ignoring illegal activity.

Police spokesman Sean Whitcomb described the Wednesday night arrests as a typical vice operation using undercover officers who were sent into the club.

But the arrests come as the FBI, Seattle police and the King County Sheriff's Office conduct a major investigation into Rick's and other strip clubs long run by Frank Colacurcio Sr., his son, Frank Jr., and others.

Both Colacurcios have criminal records, primarily for skimming cash from clubs to avoid taxes.

The FBI-local investigation, which grew out of the 2003 "Strippergate" campaign-contribution scandal in Seattle, is focusing on allegations of prostitution, criminal profiteering, political corruption and past turf battles with competitors.

As part of the investigation, detectives have arrested three people in the past year in separate cold-case homicides. The killings, which occurred in King and Yakima counties in the 1970s, have been investigated for ties to the strip-club industry.

In one of the cases, a Pierce County woman pleaded not guilty to murder Thursday.

The Colacurcios have not been implicated in the killings.

In Wednesday's operation, officers arrested and booked 13 dancers and a manager, Whitcomb said. In all, the dancers were cited for 18 counts of illegal touching during lap dances; 16 counts of off-stage nudity, which is prohibited; 18 counts of accepting money for illegal acts; and four counts of prostitution. All are misdemeanors.

The prostitution arrests were rare for a club, involving allegations that dancers offered to perform sex acts in exchange for money.

The manager was cited for reckless managerial conduct, a misdemeanor, for allegedly being aware of illegal activity and taking no action.

Gil Levy, the club's attorney, said that he couldn't comment on the allegations without seeing the police reports and that he was not aware of a larger investigation.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com