Owner of Sayreville strip club embroiled in bribery case sues to reopen
A controversial Sayreville "gentlemen's club" has filed a lawsuit against the borough, claiming that the denial of its license to do business in Sayreville is a violation of the club's and owner's constitutional rights and is motivated by "personal malice, vendetta and other improper considerations."
The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Middlesex County, is the latest skirmish in the lengthy legal tussle between Sayreville and Club 35.
The club and Sayreville have had an "adversarial relationship" since it opened in 2007, according to the lawsuit, and the legal battle reached all the way to the state Supreme Court in 2012, which ruled the club could stay open.
As a result of that court decision, Sayreville was "forced" to issue the club an annual business license.
But, in 2022, after Doreen Acciardi, the club's owner; the club itself and others were indicted as result of investigations by Sayreville police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Superior Court Judge Colleen Flynn has not allowed to club to operate while the charges are pending.
All the defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges which include money laundering and prostitution.
Acciardi has requested Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone to allow the club to reopen with a court-appointed monitor. No order has been entered, but the club's attorneys have been in negotiation with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office on the conditions of the club's operation.
On April 29, 2023, the lawsuit says, Acciardi applied to the borough for the renewal of its annual business license. But two weeks later on May 15, the borough denied the license.
Among the reasons for the borough's decision, the lawsuit says, were 691 calls to the police department about the club in more than a decade.
Other reasons were the pending indictment, violations of borough ordinances and the finding that the club is a "nuisance."
But, the lawsuit argues, Acciardi filed an Open Public Records Act request that found other businesses in Sayreville had the same or higher number of police calls, including a killing and possession of an assault rifle, and those licenses have been renewed.
Acciardi then asked for the police records to show Sayreville's "discriminatory conduct," but was informed the cost of obtaining the reports would be in excess of $200,000, an amount the lawsuits calls an "extortionate demand."
The lawsuit also contends that no one named in the indictment has been found guilty, and the club has no pending violations of borough ordinances or has not been found guilty of breaking ordinances, including being a "nuisance."
Though the state suspended Club 35 for failing to file annual reports for two consecutive years, it has reinstated the club.
More: 'Sayreville's Tony Soprano': Explosive lawsuit alleges deep political corruption
Acciardi filed a new request for a license renewal on July 31, but the following day the borough's director of code enforcement informed her that he could not do it on orders from the police department, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit argues that only the mayor and council have the power to revoke the license following a hearing.
The lawsuit argues that the borough's actions, "in particular the actions of the Sayreville Police Department," are "primarily motivated by a vendetta against the club and the Acciardi family."
As an example of that vendetta, the lawsuit argues, Anthony Acciardi Sr., Doreen Acciardi's husband, has been publicly revealed as a source of information to the prosecutor's office that led to the arrest of Thomas Pollando, the former chairman of the Sayreville Democratic Party, on bribery charges.
The lawsuit claims that Pollando "maintained a close relationship and tight control" over the police department.
After Doreen Acciardi filed a tort claim against Police Chief Daniel Plumacker for allegedly making false statements about her, the lawsuit alleges, the police department contacted the state in an attempt to urge the revocation of the professional counselor's license of Doreen Acciardi's daughter, Angela Mancini, who is also under indictment.
And Doreen Acciardi's daughter-in-law, Brooke Acciardi, has a civil rights lawsuit pending against the police department, according to the lawsuit.
"Doreen Acciardi is being denied her constitutional right to make a living," the lawsuit argues.
Acciardi is asking the court to compel the borough to renew the club's license.
"The public has no interest in shutting 35 Club down," Jeffrey Bronster, Acciardi's attorney, writes in a brief. "It has not been convicted of anything, not even the violation of a local ordinance. There is simply no public interest in destroying a viable business."
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Club 35 in Sayreville NJ embroiled in bribery case sues to reopen
