As clubs go, that’s what you call a hot spot.
ARDEN, NC – from www.citizen-times.com – Agents raided an Arden nightclub where investigators believe the owner allowed patrons to openly engage in sex.
At least one neighbor of the allegedly tawdry tavern said they had no idea what went on in the apparently low-key establishment.
N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement arrested Aaron Gabriel Dean, 39, owner of the Blu Lounge at 18 Business Park Circle off Glen Bridge Road, according to warrants.
Dean, of Dundee Street, Hendersonville, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of allowing sex acts at an establishment licensed to serve alcohol. His unsecured bond was set at $500.
According to a search warrant application, undercover ALE and Asheville police investigators witnessed people having sex during three trips to the club while Dean was present.
Dean could lose his permit to serve alcohol at the business, said John Pace, ALE assistant special agent in charge in the Asheville office.
A violation report will be submitted to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission in Raleigh documenting the events that occurred at the club, he said. The commission could revoke or suspend Dean’s permit or issue a fine.
In the meantime, Dean is free to operate the club, Pace said.
The investigation was prompted by a complaint from a confidential source that Dean allowed patrons to engage in sex at the club on Saturday nights, according to the warrant application. The source provided video and photographs of condom wrappers scattered on the floor and people having sex on a couch. The source also said the events were advertised on a sexually oriented website.
Undercover investigators visited the club on June 13 and saw sexual activity in an upstairs area accessible to anyone inside the establishment, the application states. They also saw Dean observe a variety of different sex acts, some involving multiple groups of people.
Investigators visited the Blu Lounge again on June 20 and heard Dean asking females to “bare their breasts.” One woman complied, investigators said. Agents visited a third time on July 18 and again saw patrons engaged in sex acts, according to warrants.
Several business owners in the same park as the Blu Lounge declined comment or did want to be identified in this story.
Richard Pease, president of a hardware company, has been a tenant at K’s Airport Business Park for about two months. Pease said he was unaware of what allegedly took place at the Blu Lounge.
“It was a very quiet place,” Pease said. “I’d never seen anyone go in or out of the place. I never knew what they did.”
The warrants were served.