I-Team: Promoters Recruit Underage Women for NYC's Hot Clubs
New York City’s hottest nightclubs have clear policies at the door. No one under the age of 21 is allowed in.
But an I-Team hidden camera investigation found club promoters – working as independent contractors – offering to sneak underage women past bouncers and right into seats at expensive reserved tables. Over the course of a month, I-Team interns sent direct messages on Instagram, asking whether club promoters could get young women in, even without proper ID.
“We don’t have fakes. . could we still get in??” wrote one intern, who’s a local college student. A promoter, working to fill seats at the Chelsea nightclub “Avenue” wrote back, “Yeah . . I will walk u in. Just come w make up and heels.”
When I-Team interns arrived at Avenue to meet the promoter, he offered to provide them with fraudulent IDs he said would get them past the door security. He was surprisingly frank, when confronted about the scheme.
Chris Glorioso: “You just gave them fake IDs, right?”
Promoter: “Yes.”
Chris Glorioso: “Should you be giving people whom you believe to be underage. . . .”
Promoter: “No, but I mean the girls, they want to go out. So we try to help.”
Chris Glorioso: “I mean it’s illegal though, isn’t it?”
Promoter: “I know, I know. It’s illegal but if the girls want to go out. . it’s like . .we always try to help them.”
Avenue is owned by TAO Group, a company that also owns PHD Midtown, yet another club where two Instagram promoters boasted “vip access and drinks all night” to female guests. When our interns asked if they could enter without their driver licenses, the promoters slipped them fraudulent identification cards.
“We were just trying to do a favor for them,” said one of the promoters. He added that he didn’t really believe the I-Team interns were underage.
A TAO Group spokesperson sent the I-Team an email saying the business has cut ties with the promoters caught on camera peddling fake IDs outside PHD and Avenue.
“We have strict policies and procedures in place to prevent underaged individuals from entering our nightclub venues,” the email read. “We engage highly qualified security professionals who are trained to spot and confiscate fake IDs and deny entrance, which they do on a regular basis. We would never knowingly allow any promoter who works with underage clientele to engage in business at our venues.”
TAO Group nightclubs aren’t the only ones where rogue promoters have offered to sneak underage women beyond the velvet ropes. I-Team interns found promoters working for other clubs suggesting under-21 women can come in and drink. One promoter on Instagram promised the nightclub he worked for was “under-21 friendly” with “a private table and drinks.”
When asked if valid IDs were necessary at another club, a promoter wrote back, “No it’s fine. . . come in heels and dressed [hot] (fire emoji).
"This happened to my daughter four, nearly five years ago," said a Manhattan father who asked the I-Team to withhold his name to protect the identity of his daughter. Back in 2014, he says his daughter, then 17-year-old, was served alcohol after a promoter ushered her into PHD Downtown, another club owned by TAO Group. Sometime after leaving the PHD with a man she met at the club, the father says his daughter was raped at a Manhattan apartment. He believes she was drugged.
The father doesn't blame TAO Group - or the promoter - for the alleged rape, but he does believe his teenage daughter was improperly served alcohol and essentially used by promoters as bait for older men.
"They’re specifically targeting students because they’re vulnerable. They love free drinks and they have no money,” the father said. “I think the clubs know exactly what’s happening. Everyone knows exactly what’s happening.”
Club promoters working as independent contractors are typically paid in two different ways. They often get a standardized payment for every person they bring into the club. On top of that, they can get five to ten percent of the total alcohol tab at their reserved table. With liquor bottles ranging in the hundreds and even thousands of dollars.
As one promoter explained it, “we bring girls. Girls bring guys. Guys spend money.”
A spokesman for TAO Group declined to answer questions about the alleged rape in 2014, but did respond with a statement suggesting the company was never made aware of the incident.
"Our highest priority is to create a safe environment for all our guests. We would always cooperate with law enforcement in any such matter, however, we were not aware of these claims."
According to the father, his daughter reported the alleged rape to police, but the Manhattan DA declined to pursue the case after viewing surveillance video showing her leave the club willingly with a man.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to answer questions about the case.
In 2017, MSG, the owner of Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks purchased a controlling interest in TAO Group.
Photo Credit: NBC 4 New York
from NBC New York - Top Stories http://bit.ly/2DYawCM
No comments: