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TagsBY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Police in Philadelphia arrested 11 people at the Downtowners Fancy Brigade clubhouse in South Philadelphia Tuesday night on prostitution charges. The group is part of the Philadelphia Mummers' Parade.
Deputy Police Commissioner William Blackburn told the Philadelphia Daily News that around 50 patrons were inside and some of the women were naked or provocatively clothed and engaging in sex acts. He said two undercover vice cops entered the club. and were approached by several women of ages between 20 and 47.
According to Blackburn, the police had received an anonymous tip that women were solicited for sex in the building every second Tuesday of the month between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. The undercover officers were approached by at least 10 women inside of an hour.
Ten women have been charged with solicitation for prostitution, and Lawrence Crovetti was charged with promotion of prostitution.
According to 6abc.com, two men who were arrested, Alfred Sanborn and John Murray of the Downtowners Fancy Brigade, were allegedly serving as bartenders though the Brigade did not have a liquor license. Police also found some drugs and a gun on the premises.
UPI.com reports that the Downtowners Fancy Brigade group was formed in 1959. They perform every year with the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia on New Year's Day.
