1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,306 ♪ 2 00:00:05,344 --> 00:00:07,782 -We went to Scores, my favorite strip club. 3 00:00:07,815 --> 00:00:09,285 -In the '90s, Scores becomes 4 00:00:09,317 --> 00:00:11,856 the most successful gentleman's club in the country. 5 00:00:11,890 --> 00:00:14,795 -I had the most beautiful girls in the country. 6 00:00:14,829 --> 00:00:16,766 -I was treated like a star. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:18,704 -It was the marquee place to go. 8 00:00:18,736 --> 00:00:20,172 -The club attracts the famous. 9 00:00:20,207 --> 00:00:22,210 -I had a lot of celebrities come see me. 10 00:00:22,243 --> 00:00:23,414 -And where there's fame... 11 00:00:23,446 --> 00:00:25,850 Demi Moore was spotted here at Score 12 00:00:25,885 --> 00:00:28,324 studying for her new lead role as a stripper. 13 00:00:28,356 --> 00:00:30,225 -...there's fortune. -Scores nightclub 14 00:00:30,260 --> 00:00:32,865 during its peak was making a lot of money. 15 00:00:32,899 --> 00:00:35,036 -$20 million, $25 million a year, something like that. 16 00:00:35,070 --> 00:00:37,774 -But huge money from women stripping down... 17 00:00:37,808 --> 00:00:40,146 -The high end can be $20,000. 18 00:00:40,179 --> 00:00:41,982 -...soon leads to a shakedown. 19 00:00:42,017 --> 00:00:44,856 -You're opening up this type of a business, 20 00:00:44,889 --> 00:00:46,792 you're going to pay. 21 00:00:46,826 --> 00:00:48,463 -The Gambino crime family was probably one 22 00:00:48,496 --> 00:00:50,432 of the most powerful families in New York City. 23 00:00:50,468 --> 00:00:53,005 I [bleep] beat him so bad. 24 00:00:53,039 --> 00:00:56,045 -But the Gambinos are small time crooks compared 25 00:00:56,078 --> 00:00:58,350 to the swindlers who own Scores. 26 00:00:58,384 --> 00:01:01,155 -I told the FBI the mob guys are not your criminals here. 27 00:01:01,188 --> 00:01:03,960 -This was an enormous fraud. 28 00:01:03,993 --> 00:01:05,463 -And when the feds cast a net, 29 00:01:05,498 --> 00:01:08,135 everyone is at risk of getting caught. 30 00:01:08,168 --> 00:01:11,876 -They're going to tell on everyone. 31 00:01:11,909 --> 00:01:13,012 -[ Whistles ] 32 00:01:13,045 --> 00:01:21,897 ♪ 33 00:01:21,930 --> 00:01:24,501 [ Dial-up modems screeching ] 34 00:01:24,536 --> 00:01:29,745 ♪ 35 00:01:29,778 --> 00:01:35,323 ♪ 36 00:01:35,356 --> 00:01:37,126 -Life after dark in New York City 37 00:01:37,159 --> 00:01:39,865 in the '90s is in transition. 38 00:01:39,899 --> 00:01:43,406 The artsy, drug fueled clubs of the '70s and '80s are gone, 39 00:01:43,439 --> 00:01:46,278 victims of AIDS in Wall Street. 40 00:01:46,311 --> 00:01:48,281 The newly minted masters of the universe 41 00:01:48,316 --> 00:01:50,554 are searching for their next new thing. 42 00:01:50,587 --> 00:01:52,891 They find it inside a gentlemen's club 43 00:01:52,924 --> 00:01:54,962 on the Upper East Side. 44 00:01:54,995 --> 00:01:57,200 -Scores was a playground for the elite. 45 00:01:57,233 --> 00:01:59,572 It was the marquee place to go. 46 00:01:59,605 --> 00:02:02,209 You know, studio 54. I'd already gone. 47 00:02:02,243 --> 00:02:05,382 That was the new studio 54. 48 00:02:05,417 --> 00:02:07,921 It encompassed anything that anybody 49 00:02:07,954 --> 00:02:11,496 that was anybody would want to come there. 50 00:02:11,530 --> 00:02:15,135 -Charlie Sheen and Motley Crue. 51 00:02:15,169 --> 00:02:18,276 -Kate Moss, Leonardo DiCaprio. 52 00:02:18,308 --> 00:02:20,781 -Sting came a lot with his wife. 53 00:02:20,813 --> 00:02:23,252 -Vince Neil, Madonna. 54 00:02:23,286 --> 00:02:25,389 -A lot of politicians were in there. 55 00:02:25,423 --> 00:02:28,997 -You know, whoever was in town would always stop by. 56 00:02:29,031 --> 00:02:31,301 -But what these famous patrons may not know is 57 00:02:31,335 --> 00:02:33,472 that the club is financed with dirty money, 58 00:02:33,507 --> 00:02:36,145 and its ongoing ties to organized crime 59 00:02:36,177 --> 00:02:40,587 will soon make the FBI the club's most vigilant visitor. 60 00:02:40,621 --> 00:02:44,026 -At the height, which lasted a really long time. 61 00:02:44,061 --> 00:02:46,465 I was taken anywhere between $40,000 62 00:02:46,498 --> 00:02:49,337 and $50,000 a week out of the place. 63 00:02:49,371 --> 00:02:53,580 I'm Steven Sergio, and I extorted 64 00:02:53,612 --> 00:02:56,151 Scores Gentleman's Club. 65 00:02:56,185 --> 00:02:59,024 It just wasn't another strip club. 66 00:02:59,056 --> 00:03:00,961 Had it been another strip club, 67 00:03:00,995 --> 00:03:04,033 I would never be here talking to you right now. 68 00:03:04,067 --> 00:03:05,536 -Scores is the creation 69 00:03:05,570 --> 00:03:07,473 of an ethically challenged attorney turned 70 00:03:07,507 --> 00:03:10,346 entrepreneur named Michael Blutrich. 71 00:03:10,379 --> 00:03:12,349 -He was Georgetown Law School. 72 00:03:12,383 --> 00:03:15,890 Michael Blutrich was a highly educated guy. 73 00:03:15,924 --> 00:03:17,895 -Michael Blutrich was a corporate lawyer. 74 00:03:17,927 --> 00:03:19,831 He was also a boxing promoter. 75 00:03:19,866 --> 00:03:21,603 He had his own boxing promotion company. 76 00:03:21,635 --> 00:03:24,508 He was involved in a nightclub in New Rochelle. 77 00:03:24,542 --> 00:03:26,078 My name is William Ready. 78 00:03:26,110 --> 00:03:27,981 I'm a retired special agent with the FBI. 79 00:03:28,014 --> 00:03:32,056 I was the case agent for the Scores investigation. 80 00:03:32,090 --> 00:03:34,562 -Michael Blutrich's idea is to build an upscale club 81 00:03:34,594 --> 00:03:36,532 for Wall Street traders, 82 00:03:36,566 --> 00:03:39,270 with female strippers as an added attraction. 83 00:03:42,143 --> 00:03:44,549 -They built it basically as a sports bar. 84 00:03:44,581 --> 00:03:47,921 A lot of green basketball courts, 85 00:03:47,955 --> 00:03:50,593 high tables for people to drink and eat burgers. 86 00:03:50,627 --> 00:03:52,664 They just built it all wrong. 87 00:03:52,698 --> 00:03:55,169 -Blutrich also builds it in the wrong place. 88 00:03:55,203 --> 00:03:57,574 -That particular block that they were on 89 00:03:57,608 --> 00:04:01,483 was a Gambino controlled block. -In the early '90s, 90 00:04:01,514 --> 00:04:04,320 the Gambinos, led by the dapper Don John Gotti, 91 00:04:04,354 --> 00:04:08,027 are the most powerful of the five crime families in New York, 92 00:04:08,062 --> 00:04:10,032 profiting off drugs, gambling, 93 00:04:10,066 --> 00:04:14,274 prostitution and the extortion of legitimate businesses. 94 00:04:14,306 --> 00:04:16,043 -They control the garbage industry. 95 00:04:16,077 --> 00:04:19,084 They control the Fulton Fish Market. 96 00:04:19,117 --> 00:04:22,624 They controlled a lot of construction unions. 97 00:04:22,658 --> 00:04:26,130 They controlled the Teamsters in New York. 98 00:04:26,165 --> 00:04:31,543 So their foothold in Manhattan and the boroughs was -- 99 00:04:31,576 --> 00:04:35,918 was solid, very solid. 100 00:04:35,951 --> 00:04:38,990 -When Michael Blutrich decided to open up in this location, 101 00:04:39,024 --> 00:04:41,194 and it was just a natural evolution, 102 00:04:41,228 --> 00:04:42,529 that anything that went on there 103 00:04:42,564 --> 00:04:44,535 had to be approved by the family. 104 00:04:44,569 --> 00:04:49,211 -If you're opening up this type of a business in New York, 105 00:04:49,244 --> 00:04:51,314 you're going to pay. 106 00:04:51,348 --> 00:04:55,055 You're paying for the peace of mind 107 00:04:55,088 --> 00:04:57,995 that nobody else is going to come here 108 00:04:58,028 --> 00:04:59,999 and wreck this whole place. 109 00:05:00,031 --> 00:05:03,038 -It's extortion in the guise of providing a service. 110 00:05:03,072 --> 00:05:05,209 But Steven Sergio isn't a so-called 111 00:05:05,242 --> 00:05:07,581 made man in the Gambino family, 112 00:05:07,615 --> 00:05:10,019 and claims he didn't have John Gotti's permission 113 00:05:10,052 --> 00:05:12,189 to force Scores to buy protection 114 00:05:12,223 --> 00:05:18,435 when he shows up to the club's grand opening on Halloween 1991. 115 00:05:18,468 --> 00:05:23,177 -I walked into the place totally on my own. 116 00:05:23,211 --> 00:05:25,415 I was in financial duress. 117 00:05:25,449 --> 00:05:27,721 I was dead broke. 118 00:05:27,754 --> 00:05:31,161 It was two free drinks and free admission. 119 00:05:31,194 --> 00:05:33,298 -And there's no other Gambino wiseguy 120 00:05:33,331 --> 00:05:35,435 there extorting the club. 121 00:05:35,468 --> 00:05:38,375 Maybe because in 1991 they were a little distracted. 122 00:05:38,408 --> 00:05:40,980 -Chuck Gomez is covering John Gotti's trial, 123 00:05:41,014 --> 00:05:42,317 and he reports that... 124 00:05:42,350 --> 00:05:45,322 -The Gambino family was in an upheaval 125 00:05:45,355 --> 00:05:48,428 at that particular time. -The upheaval begins 126 00:05:48,461 --> 00:05:51,168 when John Gotti orchestrates the assassination 127 00:05:51,201 --> 00:05:54,473 of Gambino boss Paul Castellano. 128 00:05:54,507 --> 00:05:56,244 Gotti takes his place. 129 00:05:56,278 --> 00:05:58,449 That prompts an FBI investigation 130 00:05:58,482 --> 00:06:02,089 that sends Gotti to prison soon after Scores opens. 131 00:06:02,122 --> 00:06:04,627 -So that means the investigation was heated up. 132 00:06:04,661 --> 00:06:06,733 Nobody's paying attention to the strip club 133 00:06:06,766 --> 00:06:08,970 that opened in Manhattan. 134 00:06:09,004 --> 00:06:11,742 Now no one's even talking to anybody anymore. 135 00:06:11,776 --> 00:06:14,146 -So at the Scores opening party, 136 00:06:14,180 --> 00:06:17,754 Steven Sergio makes a move on the club's owner. 137 00:06:17,788 --> 00:06:19,423 -I pulled Michael Blutrich on the side 138 00:06:19,456 --> 00:06:21,127 at the end of the night. 139 00:06:21,161 --> 00:06:23,232 I asked Michael, "who do you go to 140 00:06:23,264 --> 00:06:25,403 if you have a problem here?" 141 00:06:25,435 --> 00:06:27,206 He didn't even know what I was talking about. 142 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,379 As soon as he said that, I knew that they 143 00:06:30,413 --> 00:06:33,151 had not already approached him. 144 00:06:33,185 --> 00:06:37,192 So I'm at least going to get my foot in the door. 145 00:06:37,225 --> 00:06:39,463 Now, what's going to happen after I get my foot in the door? 146 00:06:39,497 --> 00:06:44,307 I don't know. I just took a chance. 147 00:06:44,339 --> 00:06:46,211 -What happens is Michael Blutrich agrees 148 00:06:46,244 --> 00:06:49,584 to pay Steven $1,000 a week as head of security, 149 00:06:49,617 --> 00:06:52,824 mistakenly believing Scores is now under the protection 150 00:06:52,858 --> 00:06:54,494 of the Gambino family. 151 00:06:54,526 --> 00:06:56,398 -What Michael Blutrich believed, 152 00:06:56,430 --> 00:07:01,540 they believed the mob got nothing. 153 00:07:01,574 --> 00:07:05,281 -But Steven Sergio isn't the only Sergio extracting money 154 00:07:05,315 --> 00:07:07,452 from Michael Blutrich. 155 00:07:07,487 --> 00:07:10,225 It turns out his dad, Mike, is already extorting Blutrich 156 00:07:10,259 --> 00:07:13,766 before Steven first visits Scores. 157 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,471 -Mike Sergio dropped the Gotti name in order 158 00:07:16,504 --> 00:07:19,276 to extort money out of the owners of Scores. 159 00:07:19,310 --> 00:07:21,447 Steven Sergio has an explanation 160 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,220 and how this father and son routine works. 161 00:07:24,254 --> 00:07:28,228 -I'll clear up your confusion. Okay? 162 00:07:28,262 --> 00:07:32,670 I didn't know that my father knew Michael Blutrich. 163 00:07:32,704 --> 00:07:35,276 Michael is not putting two and two together 164 00:07:35,309 --> 00:07:38,548 that that's my father. -Whether that's true or not, 165 00:07:38,581 --> 00:07:40,819 the Sergio's are now eating with two hands 166 00:07:40,853 --> 00:07:43,391 without giving a taste to the Gambinos -- 167 00:07:43,425 --> 00:07:46,096 Mike from Scores corporate office and Steven 168 00:07:46,130 --> 00:07:49,637 from the nightclub itself. 169 00:07:49,670 --> 00:07:53,211 -You know, he did his thing and I did my thing. 170 00:07:53,245 --> 00:07:55,850 The only person that could have told 171 00:07:55,884 --> 00:07:58,387 the Gambino family what was going on 172 00:07:58,422 --> 00:08:00,526 was Michael Blutrich. 173 00:08:00,559 --> 00:08:03,365 And Michael Blutrich didn't even know that to talk to them. 174 00:08:03,398 --> 00:08:06,605 -But while Michael Blutrich is paying out to the Sergio's, 175 00:08:06,637 --> 00:08:10,278 his new club isn't bringing in like he expected. 176 00:08:10,312 --> 00:08:11,848 So after 12 months, 177 00:08:11,882 --> 00:08:14,120 when Blutrich's original partner gives up, 178 00:08:14,153 --> 00:08:18,262 Blue Chick recruits a business associate named Lyle Pfeffer. 179 00:08:18,295 --> 00:08:20,798 -Lyle Pfeffer was a mortgage broker. 180 00:08:20,834 --> 00:08:23,237 Uh, he was a finance guy. 181 00:08:23,271 --> 00:08:25,274 -Pfeffer shows up with a strategy -- 182 00:08:25,309 --> 00:08:27,146 find someone with clever ideas on 183 00:08:27,178 --> 00:08:30,754 how Scores can finally score some customers. 184 00:08:30,786 --> 00:08:34,761 -Lyle Pfeffer brings in a guy named Craig Carlino 185 00:08:34,793 --> 00:08:38,735 to be the general manager of the club. 186 00:08:38,769 --> 00:08:40,471 -What should I say? 187 00:08:40,505 --> 00:08:41,841 I made Scores famous? I created Scores. 188 00:08:41,875 --> 00:08:44,179 My name is Craig Carlino, 189 00:08:44,212 --> 00:08:50,158 and I had the management contract to make Scores famous. 190 00:08:50,192 --> 00:08:51,796 -Carlino, a New Yorker, 191 00:08:51,828 --> 00:08:54,500 is down in Florida building family pizza stores 192 00:08:54,533 --> 00:08:56,303 when he stumbles into a strip club 193 00:08:56,336 --> 00:08:58,708 and discovers his true calling. 194 00:08:58,743 --> 00:09:01,313 -I just had never seen beautiful girls 195 00:09:01,346 --> 00:09:03,485 like that walking around naked. 196 00:09:03,518 --> 00:09:07,493 Then I bought a beer and it was $4.50, 197 00:09:07,525 --> 00:09:09,297 which was a lot of money for a beer then. 198 00:09:09,330 --> 00:09:11,701 I was selling ravioli dinners with salad 199 00:09:11,735 --> 00:09:15,576 and garlic bread for $4.50. I said, you know what? 200 00:09:15,609 --> 00:09:17,580 I gotta stop working with my relatives 201 00:09:17,614 --> 00:09:19,517 that basically look like cavemen 202 00:09:19,549 --> 00:09:21,254 and go work with these pretty girls, 203 00:09:21,287 --> 00:09:23,926 because this seems to be where the money was. 204 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:25,696 -Carlino ditches pizzas 205 00:09:25,730 --> 00:09:28,168 and works his way up to managing Florida's 206 00:09:28,201 --> 00:09:32,610 top strip clubs before moving back to New York City in 1993. 207 00:09:32,643 --> 00:09:34,947 When he interviews for the Scores job, 208 00:09:34,981 --> 00:09:37,854 he makes them an offer they can't refuse. 209 00:09:37,888 --> 00:09:39,590 -I said, you know what? 210 00:09:39,624 --> 00:09:41,927 Don't pay me until we do $80,000 a week, 211 00:09:41,961 --> 00:09:44,267 which is a lot of business back then. 212 00:09:44,299 --> 00:09:46,270 So I really kind of bet on myself. 213 00:09:46,303 --> 00:09:48,542 -It's a big gamble because Scores is only bringing 214 00:09:48,575 --> 00:09:50,479 in about 20 grand a week. 215 00:09:50,511 --> 00:09:54,620 So Carlino gets to work, starting with a remodel. 216 00:09:54,653 --> 00:09:57,259 -They didn't understand the science 217 00:09:57,293 --> 00:10:00,599 of having the girls or entertainers walking around. 218 00:10:00,631 --> 00:10:03,904 No main stage. They had a game room. 219 00:10:03,940 --> 00:10:05,809 You know, you don't want to have a game room 220 00:10:05,842 --> 00:10:07,947 and a strip club is ridiculous. 221 00:10:07,980 --> 00:10:10,251 You want the guys spending their money on the girls. 222 00:10:10,284 --> 00:10:11,889 I put in a main stage. 223 00:10:11,922 --> 00:10:13,993 I moved the champagne room down to the main floor. 224 00:10:14,025 --> 00:10:16,498 I closed the game room, made it a dressing room. 225 00:10:16,530 --> 00:10:18,368 I got rid of the basketball court, 226 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,974 made it a VIP bar to create revenue. 227 00:10:21,005 --> 00:10:23,410 We put marble in the entrance. 228 00:10:23,445 --> 00:10:26,884 I did everything as close to Vegas as I can get it. 229 00:10:26,918 --> 00:10:29,857 -He also goes on a stripper talent search. 230 00:10:29,890 --> 00:10:32,996 -There are sets of girls that came in from out of state, 231 00:10:33,030 --> 00:10:37,405 you know, out of the country, you know, to dance at Scores. 232 00:10:37,438 --> 00:10:39,309 My name is Gina LaMarca. 233 00:10:39,342 --> 00:10:41,648 I was an adult entertainer in the '90s. 234 00:10:41,681 --> 00:10:45,621 I've been in every adult magazine known to man, 235 00:10:45,655 --> 00:10:50,465 but dancing for Scores was the best time that I've ever had. 236 00:10:50,499 --> 00:10:52,836 The average night for a dancer 237 00:10:52,870 --> 00:10:57,046 in Scores, the low end would be $1,000 night. 238 00:10:57,078 --> 00:11:01,321 It was the most money. It had the best clientele. 239 00:11:01,354 --> 00:11:04,293 The girls were treated like royalty. 240 00:11:04,326 --> 00:11:07,767 -Soon after revamping the club, Carlino's bet on himself 241 00:11:07,799 --> 00:11:09,836 pays off. 242 00:11:09,870 --> 00:11:13,043 I went over $80,000, probably after eight or nine weeks. 243 00:11:13,077 --> 00:11:16,417 -But to transform Scores into the king of all strip clubs 244 00:11:16,451 --> 00:11:18,721 and a destination for Hollywood A-listers 245 00:11:18,755 --> 00:11:21,025 and sports stars alike, 246 00:11:21,059 --> 00:11:22,962 Carlino will need to enlist the breast obsessed 247 00:11:22,998 --> 00:11:24,734 king of all media. 248 00:11:24,767 --> 00:11:27,105 -The two of you are great, I swear to God you're great. 249 00:11:31,780 --> 00:11:32,950 -In the '90s, the greed and corruption of Wall Street 250 00:11:32,984 --> 00:11:35,589 hits new heights thanks to a fresh batch 251 00:11:35,621 --> 00:11:38,695 of overwhelmingly White male stockbrokers. 252 00:11:38,727 --> 00:11:40,698 -It's actually going to be the biggest month we ever had. 253 00:11:40,731 --> 00:11:43,638 -Their hedonistic behavior gets later memorialized 254 00:11:43,671 --> 00:11:45,909 in films like "Boiler Room" and "The Wolf of Wall Street." 255 00:11:45,942 --> 00:11:50,951 -25 grand for the first cocksucker to nail a bull's eye! 256 00:11:50,986 --> 00:11:53,024 -And that's exactly the clientele 257 00:11:53,057 --> 00:11:55,528 that Scores strip club targets. 258 00:11:55,562 --> 00:11:57,166 -Wall Street guys and Wall Street's in New York, 259 00:11:57,198 --> 00:11:59,470 and that's where the money is. 260 00:11:59,503 --> 00:12:01,640 So we focused a lot of our marketing towards that. 261 00:12:01,673 --> 00:12:03,846 So, you know, even four 25-year-old guys, 262 00:12:03,878 --> 00:12:05,981 between the four of them, they're working together, 263 00:12:06,017 --> 00:12:09,389 they make $50,000 in one day. Between the four of them, 264 00:12:09,423 --> 00:12:12,929 they'd come out and drop $20,000, $25,000 a night. 265 00:12:12,964 --> 00:12:15,701 -But Scores is an equal opportunity provider 266 00:12:15,735 --> 00:12:17,572 of male sexual stimulation. 267 00:12:17,605 --> 00:12:19,945 -So what we used to say was 21 to 80. 268 00:12:19,976 --> 00:12:22,081 Anyone with testicles is our customer. 269 00:12:22,115 --> 00:12:23,918 That's what we kind of focused on. 270 00:12:23,952 --> 00:12:25,889 I mean, that's just really what it was. 271 00:12:25,922 --> 00:12:28,727 -To wring every drop out of his clientele, 272 00:12:28,763 --> 00:12:30,865 Craig Carlino comes up with the clever way 273 00:12:30,899 --> 00:12:33,171 to boost the club's profit margins. 274 00:12:35,741 --> 00:12:37,745 -I called it Funny Money. 275 00:12:37,779 --> 00:12:39,549 They would be like Scores dollars 276 00:12:39,582 --> 00:12:41,520 or whatever they called it back then. 277 00:12:41,553 --> 00:12:43,490 -I called it Diamond Dollars. 278 00:12:43,524 --> 00:12:45,895 So basically we printed up our own monopoly money, 279 00:12:45,929 --> 00:12:48,168 so to speak, in $20 increments. 280 00:12:48,201 --> 00:12:50,905 -And it had their logo on it or their name on it. 281 00:12:50,938 --> 00:12:52,743 -The money could only be used for tipping. 282 00:12:52,775 --> 00:12:55,982 It could not be used for food or beverage or anything. 283 00:12:56,015 --> 00:12:58,620 The guys would order 500 or 1,000 at a time, 284 00:12:58,654 --> 00:13:00,927 and we put a 20% markup on it. 285 00:13:00,958 --> 00:13:03,730 So the 1,200 on his credit card. 286 00:13:03,764 --> 00:13:05,634 And the girls to cash it in, 287 00:13:05,668 --> 00:13:07,907 at the end of the night, we charged them 20%. 288 00:13:07,940 --> 00:13:09,844 So we, you know, 289 00:13:09,876 --> 00:13:12,448 making 40% a day on the money is pretty profitable. 290 00:13:12,481 --> 00:13:14,519 The second year I was there, 291 00:13:14,552 --> 00:13:18,528 in '94, we sold close to $16 million in that funny money. 292 00:13:18,561 --> 00:13:20,197 -That's over $6 million in profit 293 00:13:20,231 --> 00:13:23,203 from a trip down to Kinko's. 294 00:13:23,238 --> 00:13:26,777 But Carlino has a new problem he can't buy himself out of 295 00:13:26,811 --> 00:13:28,681 with funny money. 296 00:13:28,715 --> 00:13:31,120 A city ordinance that prevents topless dancers 297 00:13:31,152 --> 00:13:33,457 from showing their nipples in a business 298 00:13:33,490 --> 00:13:36,630 where alcohol is served. 299 00:13:36,663 --> 00:13:39,101 -The legal definition is the areola had to be covered 300 00:13:39,135 --> 00:13:41,640 with an opaque cover. 301 00:13:41,673 --> 00:13:43,811 -Instead of using traditional pasties, 302 00:13:43,845 --> 00:13:46,650 which date back to the late 1800s, 303 00:13:46,683 --> 00:13:48,587 Carlino finds a more subtle way 304 00:13:48,620 --> 00:13:51,826 to comply using translucent theater makeup. 305 00:13:51,860 --> 00:13:55,134 -It was a liquid latex which was put on the nipple 306 00:13:55,168 --> 00:13:57,605 with a little sponge, and then it dried. 307 00:13:57,639 --> 00:13:59,008 -To help supervise the dancers 308 00:13:59,043 --> 00:14:01,647 and monitor their nipple coverings, 309 00:14:01,681 --> 00:14:03,650 Craig Carlino hires his own mother 310 00:14:03,684 --> 00:14:05,654 in the role of house mom. 311 00:14:05,688 --> 00:14:08,059 You just covered the nipple, and then half the night 312 00:14:08,094 --> 00:14:10,932 was over, it would come off, you know? 313 00:14:10,965 --> 00:14:13,203 So they'd have to come back into the dressing room 314 00:14:13,236 --> 00:14:15,774 and I would just do it and say, it's going to stick. 315 00:14:15,808 --> 00:14:19,482 Don't worry. Look at me, I'm going like this. 316 00:14:19,515 --> 00:14:24,960 I'm Marsha Carlino, and I was the house mom at Scores. 317 00:14:24,994 --> 00:14:27,732 I just would have to make sure that they look presentable 318 00:14:27,765 --> 00:14:30,270 when they walked outside on the stage, 319 00:14:30,304 --> 00:14:34,580 that they were in a fairly decent mood to party 320 00:14:34,613 --> 00:14:39,221 and have some fun with their guy. 321 00:14:39,255 --> 00:14:40,991 -Along with covering their nipples, 322 00:14:41,025 --> 00:14:43,663 the dancers have to cover the rest of themselves 323 00:14:43,697 --> 00:14:45,668 pursuant to a dress code. 324 00:14:45,701 --> 00:14:47,239 -So they had to basically wear a dress. 325 00:14:47,272 --> 00:14:49,176 I didn't want them in those little short, 326 00:14:49,208 --> 00:14:52,615 tight little hooker skirts I used to call them. 327 00:14:52,649 --> 00:14:54,919 -The way we had to dress was top notch. 328 00:14:54,953 --> 00:15:01,265 I had a sequins emerald green gown from Bob Mackie. 329 00:15:01,299 --> 00:15:04,138 Everybody's dress made a statement. 330 00:15:04,173 --> 00:15:06,943 Everybody looked like movie stars. 331 00:15:06,976 --> 00:15:09,014 -The statement dresses keep things classy, 332 00:15:09,048 --> 00:15:11,253 but Scores is still a strip club 333 00:15:11,287 --> 00:15:13,924 that caters to men desperate to see the dancers nipples 334 00:15:13,957 --> 00:15:16,230 without the required latex coverings. 335 00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:22,073 So Blutrich hires a team of lawyers to fight the nipple law. 336 00:15:22,107 --> 00:15:24,113 -The lawyers were in court. 337 00:15:24,144 --> 00:15:25,982 They went in there with some kind of evidence. 338 00:15:26,014 --> 00:15:27,986 Can you tell the girls wearing something or not? 339 00:15:28,019 --> 00:15:29,722 It really made no difference. 340 00:15:29,755 --> 00:15:31,125 It just got thrown out somehow and said 341 00:15:31,159 --> 00:15:33,331 we don't need the latex anymore. 342 00:15:33,364 --> 00:15:37,171 -Now that Carlino can honestly boast beautiful topless dancers, 343 00:15:37,205 --> 00:15:40,979 he sets out to attract the who's who of New York City. 344 00:15:41,011 --> 00:15:43,350 -So the idea was to get into the Gossips and Page Six. 345 00:15:43,384 --> 00:15:45,922 -In the '90s, Page Six is a must read 346 00:15:45,955 --> 00:15:47,759 in the New York Post tabloid. 347 00:15:47,792 --> 00:15:49,929 So it's valuable free advertising 348 00:15:49,964 --> 00:15:52,936 if you can get your strip club mentioned in it. 349 00:15:52,970 --> 00:15:54,972 -So, how can we do that? 350 00:15:55,006 --> 00:15:58,113 -The answer just strolls in and grabs a table at Scores. 351 00:15:58,147 --> 00:16:00,884 -One day I see a couple of young guys in the club 352 00:16:00,918 --> 00:16:04,024 that were hanging out with a press agent at the time. 353 00:16:04,057 --> 00:16:05,159 I said, who are these guys? 354 00:16:05,195 --> 00:16:07,163 He goes, listen, 355 00:16:07,197 --> 00:16:09,735 these are interns at the Howard Stern Show. 356 00:16:09,769 --> 00:16:12,140 So eventually they're going to get his ear. 357 00:16:12,174 --> 00:16:16,283 So I said, okay, lay it on him. 358 00:16:16,317 --> 00:16:19,020 These guys didn't have a penny, but we put girls on them. 359 00:16:19,056 --> 00:16:20,825 I mean, everything, you know? 360 00:16:20,857 --> 00:16:23,931 'Cause the objective was to tell Howard what 361 00:16:23,965 --> 00:16:25,701 a great time they were having. 362 00:16:25,735 --> 00:16:28,072 -Carlino even agrees to host a bachelor party 363 00:16:28,106 --> 00:16:30,245 for one of Stern's staffers, 364 00:16:30,278 --> 00:16:35,855 Fred Norris, hoping the guest of honor will be Howard Stern. 365 00:16:35,888 --> 00:16:38,961 -Howard showed up at the club with everybody. 366 00:16:38,995 --> 00:16:41,100 I had about 30 girls there. 367 00:16:41,131 --> 00:16:43,671 -After being wined and dined for free, 368 00:16:43,703 --> 00:16:45,875 the Stern crew wants more. 369 00:16:45,908 --> 00:16:48,346 -And then I just started hearing chants -- funny money, 370 00:16:48,380 --> 00:16:49,883 funny money, funny money, 371 00:16:49,916 --> 00:16:51,787 I didn't want to say no to Howard. 372 00:16:51,820 --> 00:16:53,990 I mean, just to get him there was a miracle. 373 00:16:54,024 --> 00:16:57,399 So they went through about 30,000 bucks in funny money 374 00:16:57,432 --> 00:17:00,037 in about two or three hours. 375 00:17:00,070 --> 00:17:03,176 They had a great time until Fred kind of passed out 376 00:17:03,210 --> 00:17:06,115 and opened up his chin on the floor, 377 00:17:06,148 --> 00:17:08,118 and then the two owners called me. 378 00:17:08,153 --> 00:17:10,089 That's a lot of money, $30,000. 379 00:17:10,123 --> 00:17:12,094 It's coming out of your end, blah, blah, blah, blah. 380 00:17:12,126 --> 00:17:14,833 I said, "Listen, let's just see what happens." 381 00:17:14,865 --> 00:17:16,369 -Fred emptied out the whole bachelor party. 382 00:17:16,402 --> 00:17:18,406 Where was it? -Alright. 383 00:17:18,441 --> 00:17:21,814 We went to Scores, which is my favorite strip club. 384 00:17:21,846 --> 00:17:25,252 -The next morning, Howard got on at 6:00 in the morning, 385 00:17:25,288 --> 00:17:27,191 and it was a four-hour Score's commercial. 386 00:17:27,223 --> 00:17:29,161 "So, let me tell you what I did yesterday." 387 00:17:29,194 --> 00:17:31,432 And he kind of went through the whole thing. 388 00:17:31,467 --> 00:17:33,001 -It's an upscale strip club 389 00:17:33,036 --> 00:17:34,038 because the girls are really good looking. 390 00:17:34,070 --> 00:17:36,142 -Gorgeous. -Gorgeous. 391 00:17:36,175 --> 00:17:38,212 -Howard doesn't just talk about Scores that morning, 392 00:17:38,247 --> 00:17:41,085 the club becomes a regular topic of conversation. 393 00:17:41,118 --> 00:17:42,955 At that time, his audience in New York 394 00:17:42,989 --> 00:17:45,093 is around three million listeners, 395 00:17:45,126 --> 00:17:48,066 most of them 21 to 80 with testicles, 396 00:17:48,098 --> 00:17:50,202 the prime Scores customer. 397 00:17:50,237 --> 00:17:52,976 -I had heard he got $30,000 a minute 398 00:17:53,009 --> 00:17:57,017 for national advertising on his radio show, 399 00:17:57,049 --> 00:18:00,724 and he gave us hours and hours and hours and hours. 400 00:18:00,758 --> 00:18:03,296 -He was the hottest DJ in the country, 401 00:18:03,329 --> 00:18:05,000 and he didn't talk about it once a month. 402 00:18:05,032 --> 00:18:06,769 He talked about it every day. 403 00:18:06,804 --> 00:18:08,207 -Howard even starts booking his 404 00:18:08,239 --> 00:18:10,176 favorite Scores dancers for the show. 405 00:18:10,211 --> 00:18:11,814 -As being a dancer at Scores 406 00:18:11,846 --> 00:18:12,816 the greatest thing a girl can do? 407 00:18:12,848 --> 00:18:14,385 -Yes. -It is. 408 00:18:14,417 --> 00:18:17,724 -Howard loved strippers, dancers, 409 00:18:17,759 --> 00:18:20,130 exotic entertainers, porn stars. 410 00:18:20,163 --> 00:18:22,801 That was his thing back then. 411 00:18:22,836 --> 00:18:25,339 -The two of you were great. I swear to God you're great. 412 00:18:25,374 --> 00:18:27,778 -For Howard Stern to promote that 413 00:18:27,811 --> 00:18:30,785 you're going to be at Scores, you were guaranteed 414 00:18:30,817 --> 00:18:32,454 that you were going to have a packed house. 415 00:18:32,489 --> 00:18:34,491 -Everybody came there. 416 00:18:34,526 --> 00:18:39,501 I mean, George Clooney, John Daly, Mark Wahlberg. 417 00:18:39,536 --> 00:18:43,142 -Madonna came in because she had a boyfriend 418 00:18:43,175 --> 00:18:45,079 that was a basketball player, 419 00:18:45,113 --> 00:18:47,183 and she wanted to see him on the screen. 420 00:18:47,217 --> 00:18:49,320 -We had to get it in the newspaper somehow. 421 00:18:49,355 --> 00:18:52,295 So we kind of staged the photographer coming in, 422 00:18:52,326 --> 00:18:54,163 taking a picture and then us throwing him out. 423 00:18:54,198 --> 00:18:56,236 Whether she knew or not, I don't know. 424 00:18:56,269 --> 00:18:59,241 It was on the page two of the Daily News. 425 00:18:59,275 --> 00:19:02,448 -Although cameras are mostly forbidden inside Scores, 426 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,788 Carlino and his promotions team tip off the paparazzi 427 00:19:05,820 --> 00:19:08,928 whenever a celebrity is coming in or out of the club. 428 00:19:08,961 --> 00:19:10,397 -If you came to Scores, 429 00:19:10,430 --> 00:19:12,835 we used to call it getting a suntan, 430 00:19:12,868 --> 00:19:15,173 but they come for that because they want to get recognized, 431 00:19:15,205 --> 00:19:17,345 all of them, and then that kind of snowballs 432 00:19:17,376 --> 00:19:19,013 and grows and grows. 433 00:19:19,048 --> 00:19:21,117 -The waiting is over! 434 00:19:21,152 --> 00:19:24,925 The New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup champions! 435 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:26,863 -On June 14, 1994, 436 00:19:26,896 --> 00:19:29,067 after winning the NHL championship, 437 00:19:29,101 --> 00:19:31,906 the New York Rangers celebrate at Scores 438 00:19:31,940 --> 00:19:35,513 where they learned you can lose more than just your money. 439 00:19:35,548 --> 00:19:38,118 -Maybe 15 or 20 of the Rangers 440 00:19:38,152 --> 00:19:41,025 actually came there with the Stanley Cup. 441 00:19:41,057 --> 00:19:45,934 They got completely trashed and they left the Stanley Cup there. 442 00:19:45,968 --> 00:19:48,507 They forgot the Stanley Cup. 443 00:19:48,539 --> 00:19:54,251 I had to do everything in my fiber not to take it. 444 00:19:54,284 --> 00:19:56,221 I would have gave it back, 445 00:19:56,255 --> 00:19:58,259 but I just wanted to take it for the night. 446 00:19:58,291 --> 00:20:01,265 -The notoriety is good for business, and the dancers 447 00:20:01,298 --> 00:20:04,538 at Scores become some of the highest paid in the country. 448 00:20:04,571 --> 00:20:06,375 -I was a featured entertainer. 449 00:20:06,410 --> 00:20:09,615 $20,000 was my highest paid night. 450 00:20:09,648 --> 00:20:12,153 I don't think I ever had $1,000 a night. 451 00:20:12,186 --> 00:20:15,594 They were all $5,000 and up. 452 00:20:15,627 --> 00:20:17,964 -Yeah, so I mentioned that to my daughter. 453 00:20:17,999 --> 00:20:20,471 I mean, when I saw some of the money that they were making, 454 00:20:20,502 --> 00:20:23,943 I thought to myself, Oh, my God, if you just do it for a year, 455 00:20:23,977 --> 00:20:26,548 you could buy an apartment in New York City 456 00:20:26,583 --> 00:20:29,588 and have it for the rest of your life. 457 00:20:29,622 --> 00:20:31,625 -And while Scores Diamond Dollars 458 00:20:31,659 --> 00:20:34,965 helped the dancers earn those huge sums, the club, 459 00:20:34,999 --> 00:20:36,602 even with Mike and Steven Sergio 460 00:20:36,635 --> 00:20:39,074 skimming cash off the top, it's still like 461 00:20:39,107 --> 00:20:41,077 a printing press for real money. 462 00:20:41,112 --> 00:20:45,286 Scores Nightclub, during its peak in the mid '90s, 463 00:20:45,319 --> 00:20:49,228 was making about 400 to $500,000 a week. 464 00:20:49,260 --> 00:20:51,665 -$20 million, $25 million a year, something like that. 465 00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:54,070 -Back then, that was tremendous. 466 00:20:54,104 --> 00:20:56,375 -But all that money won't be enough to save the Scores' 467 00:20:56,407 --> 00:20:59,449 owners when a shady business deal from their past 468 00:20:59,481 --> 00:21:01,553 threatens to send them both to prison. 469 00:21:01,585 --> 00:21:03,923 -Michael Blutrich and Lyle Pfeffer 470 00:21:03,957 --> 00:21:06,962 were part of a large scale fraud that occurred in Florida. 471 00:21:06,997 --> 00:21:10,135 The total loss was in excess of $400 million. 472 00:21:10,170 --> 00:21:13,041 -That was the largest insurance fraud in the history 473 00:21:13,075 --> 00:21:16,080 of the United States back then. -And when the FBI shows up, 474 00:21:16,115 --> 00:21:18,318 what Blutrich and Pfeffer say they know about 475 00:21:18,352 --> 00:21:21,392 the Gambino crime family's involvement in Scores 476 00:21:21,424 --> 00:21:23,696 is the only thing they have to trade. 477 00:21:23,730 --> 00:21:26,536 -They're going to tell on everyone. 478 00:21:34,017 --> 00:21:35,721 -In the mid '90s, Hollywood falls in love with strippers. 479 00:21:35,753 --> 00:21:38,961 -It's made for 17 and up. That's all I can say about it. 480 00:21:38,993 --> 00:21:41,065 -This love affair includes "Showgirls." 481 00:21:41,097 --> 00:21:42,666 -I want to see you dance and I want 482 00:21:42,701 --> 00:21:44,571 to see you smile. -And "Striptease," 483 00:21:44,605 --> 00:21:47,611 starring Demi Moore. 484 00:21:47,644 --> 00:21:49,749 It's while researching her role in the film 485 00:21:49,781 --> 00:21:53,221 that Moore visits America's most celebrated gentleman's club. 486 00:21:53,256 --> 00:21:55,058 -Just the other night Demi Moore 487 00:21:55,093 --> 00:21:57,329 was spotted here at Scores holding hands 488 00:21:57,364 --> 00:21:59,268 with hubby Bruce Willis 489 00:21:59,300 --> 00:22:02,007 studying for her new lead role as a stripper. 490 00:22:02,039 --> 00:22:04,979 -So Demi Moore started to come there 491 00:22:05,012 --> 00:22:08,251 and I was able to, like, clear out a section for her, 492 00:22:08,286 --> 00:22:11,325 make sure the right people were taking care of her. 493 00:22:11,357 --> 00:22:14,064 Lovely person, really, really down to earth, 494 00:22:14,096 --> 00:22:17,069 um, really, really nice person. 495 00:22:17,103 --> 00:22:19,407 -On the same night that Demi Moore gets photographed, 496 00:22:19,441 --> 00:22:22,615 Ethan Hawke is also pictured in the club. 497 00:22:22,647 --> 00:22:25,185 -They came to get recognized and get press themselves, 498 00:22:25,219 --> 00:22:26,555 which is what you want. 499 00:22:26,588 --> 00:22:29,560 -But as Scores celebrity and revenues grow, 500 00:22:29,595 --> 00:22:32,400 Mike and Steven Sergio will seek a bigger share, 501 00:22:32,433 --> 00:22:36,008 while they say continuing to freeze out the Gambinos, 502 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:40,784 which are now being led by John Gotti's son John Jr. 503 00:22:40,817 --> 00:22:43,723 For Steven, making more money comes from shaking 504 00:22:43,757 --> 00:22:45,594 down the club's employees. 505 00:22:45,625 --> 00:22:49,101 -One of the things that I discovered was this. 506 00:22:49,134 --> 00:22:53,275 It wasn't advantageous for a girl to be on stage. 507 00:22:53,308 --> 00:22:57,083 It was advantageous to avoid going on stage 508 00:22:57,116 --> 00:22:59,756 so you could be on the floor to make the money. 509 00:23:01,459 --> 00:23:04,230 -Since the DJs send dancers to the stage, 510 00:23:04,263 --> 00:23:06,635 Sergio suspects the dancers are bribing them 511 00:23:06,667 --> 00:23:08,538 to stay on the floor. 512 00:23:08,573 --> 00:23:13,082 So Sergio confronts one DJ. 513 00:23:13,115 --> 00:23:17,190 -He came clean, told me how much money he was making, 514 00:23:17,222 --> 00:23:21,732 which was in excess of $15,000, $17,000 a week. 515 00:23:21,765 --> 00:23:27,477 So I took almost 75% of that money. 516 00:23:27,509 --> 00:23:30,717 And he was happy and I was happy. 517 00:23:30,750 --> 00:23:32,654 He's still making a ton of money. 518 00:23:32,688 --> 00:23:38,531 That was just one of 10 different things 519 00:23:38,566 --> 00:23:44,076 that I was doing inside the place to make money for myself. 520 00:23:44,111 --> 00:23:45,614 -Steven was stealing everything 521 00:23:45,645 --> 00:23:48,184 that wasn't nailed down inside the club. 522 00:23:48,219 --> 00:23:51,424 He was stealing the cover charge at the door. 523 00:23:51,458 --> 00:23:53,596 He ran the coat room concession 524 00:23:53,628 --> 00:23:57,737 so they would force people to check their coats for a fee, 525 00:23:57,770 --> 00:24:00,142 whether you wanted to check your coat or not. 526 00:24:00,175 --> 00:24:01,744 And if the person didn't want to do it, 527 00:24:01,778 --> 00:24:04,116 they would either be thrown out or just given a beating. 528 00:24:04,150 --> 00:24:06,588 -I said, you know, that's kind of bad for business. 529 00:24:06,622 --> 00:24:09,260 When you beat up customers and stuff, it's not good. 530 00:24:09,294 --> 00:24:12,534 -Even the security staff run by Steven Sergio 531 00:24:12,567 --> 00:24:14,538 are skimming off the top. 532 00:24:14,571 --> 00:24:16,643 -The bouncers of the security guys 533 00:24:16,674 --> 00:24:19,280 were basically taking funny money out of the safe 534 00:24:19,314 --> 00:24:21,451 and then cashing it in through the girls. 535 00:24:21,484 --> 00:24:24,223 We had a night auditor there, but they were manipulating him. 536 00:24:24,257 --> 00:24:26,260 They were scaring him. 537 00:24:26,295 --> 00:24:29,467 -At the height, which lasted a really long time, 538 00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:33,676 I was taken anywhere between $40,000 and $50,000 a week 539 00:24:33,709 --> 00:24:35,512 out of the place. 540 00:24:35,546 --> 00:24:37,182 -That's roughly 10% of the club's 541 00:24:37,215 --> 00:24:39,721 annual $25 million in revenues. 542 00:24:39,755 --> 00:24:43,194 But Sergio boasts he only ever stole from the employees, 543 00:24:43,229 --> 00:24:45,766 never from the club's bottom line. 544 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:50,142 -My relationship stayed good with Michael Blutrich 545 00:24:50,175 --> 00:24:54,551 because I wasn't in his pocket, I was in their pockets, 546 00:24:54,584 --> 00:24:56,255 which he didn't care about. 547 00:24:56,288 --> 00:24:57,923 -Not sure that's better, 548 00:24:57,958 --> 00:25:00,763 but according to the FBI, his dad, Mike Sergio, 549 00:25:00,797 --> 00:25:03,836 had no problem reaching into the club owner's pockets, 550 00:25:03,868 --> 00:25:06,240 forcefully if necessary. 551 00:25:06,275 --> 00:25:08,511 -Mike Sergio would often carry a gun 552 00:25:08,545 --> 00:25:10,148 and often would carry it on his person. 553 00:25:10,182 --> 00:25:11,786 I believe there was one time 554 00:25:11,818 --> 00:25:13,521 where he actually took it out of his waistband 555 00:25:13,555 --> 00:25:15,594 and put it on the table, just for an effect. 556 00:25:15,625 --> 00:25:17,865 If Blutrich and Pfeffer didn't comply, 557 00:25:17,897 --> 00:25:19,835 he said that the club would be wrecked 558 00:25:19,868 --> 00:25:22,641 or it would be firebombed, destroyed. 559 00:25:22,673 --> 00:25:24,443 and nobody would make a penny, 560 00:25:24,477 --> 00:25:26,480 There was not an option to say no. 561 00:25:26,515 --> 00:25:30,757 -Mike Sergio even tried to extort money from Craig Carlino. 562 00:25:30,789 --> 00:25:32,727 -He tried to talk me to give him $5,000 a week 563 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,532 out of my money, which I wasn't going to do. 564 00:25:35,566 --> 00:25:39,441 -In 1995, Agent Ready receives a tip about what the Sergio's 565 00:25:39,473 --> 00:25:41,578 are up to at Scores. 566 00:25:41,611 --> 00:25:43,347 -I had a source. He had a code name. 567 00:25:43,382 --> 00:25:45,318 His code name was Hot Tub. 568 00:25:45,353 --> 00:25:47,522 Hot Tub seemed to have a nose for trouble. 569 00:25:47,557 --> 00:25:50,328 He can sniff out trouble and find trouble anywhere. 570 00:25:50,363 --> 00:25:54,269 And he started talking about what was going on at Scores 571 00:25:54,304 --> 00:25:56,976 and who was receiving money protection payments. 572 00:25:57,009 --> 00:26:00,348 So I basically directed him to find out more. 573 00:26:00,383 --> 00:26:03,321 -While Hot Tub goes to work gathering more evidence, 574 00:26:03,355 --> 00:26:06,627 Agent Ready learns there's already an FBI file open 575 00:26:06,661 --> 00:26:08,565 on Scores owners Michael Blutrich 576 00:26:08,598 --> 00:26:10,536 and Lyle Pfeffer. 577 00:26:10,568 --> 00:26:12,573 -I found out through our internal systems 578 00:26:12,607 --> 00:26:16,314 that Blutrich and Pfeffer were being investigated in Florida, 579 00:26:16,347 --> 00:26:18,720 Orlando, Florida by the FBI down there. 580 00:26:18,751 --> 00:26:22,759 -Back in 1993, while renovating Scores, Michael Blutrich 581 00:26:22,794 --> 00:26:25,499 and Lyle Pfeffer, along with their co-conspirators, 582 00:26:25,532 --> 00:26:28,271 defraud customers of the National Heritage 583 00:26:28,305 --> 00:26:31,611 Life Insurance Company in Orlando. 584 00:26:31,644 --> 00:26:33,414 -Michael Blutrich and Lyle Pfeffer 585 00:26:33,448 --> 00:26:36,855 were just such horrible human beings. 586 00:26:36,888 --> 00:26:38,893 You know, one was a lawyer, one was a mortgage broker, 587 00:26:38,926 --> 00:26:41,463 and they did this massive insurance scam. 588 00:26:41,498 --> 00:26:43,469 -They defrauded the company 589 00:26:43,501 --> 00:26:47,242 through nominee loans, fake mortgages 590 00:26:47,276 --> 00:26:49,614 and just looted it and caused it to go bankrupt. 591 00:26:49,647 --> 00:26:52,686 -The total fraud is $450 million, 592 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:54,790 one of the largest in U.S. history, 593 00:26:54,825 --> 00:26:56,494 which even shocks the conscience 594 00:26:56,528 --> 00:26:59,267 of fellow criminal Steven Sergio. 595 00:26:59,299 --> 00:27:01,806 -This was no, hey, listen, you know, 596 00:27:01,837 --> 00:27:04,844 we misappropriated, you know, $50,000. 597 00:27:04,877 --> 00:27:09,519 This was an enormous fraud. 598 00:27:09,554 --> 00:27:11,590 -Blutrich and Pfeffer are now both confronting 599 00:27:11,625 --> 00:27:15,566 a minimum 25-year sentence in prison. 600 00:27:15,598 --> 00:27:17,769 -What do you think they're going to do? 601 00:27:17,804 --> 00:27:20,776 Someone that knows nothing about nothing 602 00:27:20,808 --> 00:27:23,749 has to have the common sense to say 603 00:27:23,782 --> 00:27:26,554 they're going to tell on everyone. 604 00:27:26,587 --> 00:27:29,626 -They knew the noose was tightening in Florida. 605 00:27:29,661 --> 00:27:31,898 They were going to more than likely go to jail. 606 00:27:31,932 --> 00:27:34,569 -They are in so much trouble. 607 00:27:34,604 --> 00:27:36,776 They only got one bargaining chip, 608 00:27:36,807 --> 00:27:40,348 and that's the extortion that Scores. 609 00:27:40,382 --> 00:27:42,385 -They got caught. 610 00:27:42,420 --> 00:27:44,589 And in order to get themselves off, they said, 611 00:27:44,624 --> 00:27:46,661 we will give you organized crime. 612 00:27:46,694 --> 00:27:50,736 We will give you mobsters. -Despite what Steven Sergio 613 00:27:50,769 --> 00:27:53,909 says about the Gambinos not being involved at Scores, 614 00:27:53,942 --> 00:27:56,047 the FBI believes Blutrich and Pfeffer 615 00:27:56,079 --> 00:27:58,987 can help them gather evidence about high ranking members 616 00:27:59,019 --> 00:28:03,327 of the crime family, including John Gotti's son John Jr. 617 00:28:03,362 --> 00:28:06,500 -They think they're going to get big targets 618 00:28:06,534 --> 00:28:08,538 because they think 619 00:28:08,571 --> 00:28:11,778 that we're giving those big targets the money, 620 00:28:11,811 --> 00:28:13,481 but we weren't. 621 00:28:13,515 --> 00:28:15,652 -Agent Ready isn't so sure, 622 00:28:15,685 --> 00:28:18,659 and he's willing to work from the bottom up to find out. 623 00:28:18,692 --> 00:28:20,828 -When I started the case, 624 00:28:20,864 --> 00:28:23,468 it was really directed at the guys receiving payments out 625 00:28:23,501 --> 00:28:27,743 of Scores, Steven Sergio and Michael Sergio. 626 00:28:27,777 --> 00:28:30,949 But the ultimate goal is to -- is to get to 627 00:28:30,983 --> 00:28:32,685 the hierarchy of the family. 628 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:33,955 And the way you do that 629 00:28:33,990 --> 00:28:36,059 is you want to try to flip 630 00:28:36,094 --> 00:28:39,734 or get the lower echelon individuals to cooperate 631 00:28:39,767 --> 00:28:42,772 with you so that they can provide evidence 632 00:28:42,807 --> 00:28:45,846 against the individuals above them in the organization. 633 00:28:45,878 --> 00:28:48,818 -To gather evidence against Steven and Mike Sergio, 634 00:28:48,852 --> 00:28:50,989 the FBI installs recording devices 635 00:28:51,023 --> 00:28:54,663 inside both the nightclub and at the Scores corporate office. 636 00:28:54,696 --> 00:28:56,800 [ Indistinct conversation ] 637 00:28:56,836 --> 00:28:58,905 -They also get Blutrich and Pfeffer to each 638 00:28:58,940 --> 00:29:01,778 wear what they call an FBIRD. 639 00:29:01,810 --> 00:29:04,717 -It's an acronym that stands for FBI Recording Device, 640 00:29:04,750 --> 00:29:06,888 and it was the size of one of the cellphones 641 00:29:06,921 --> 00:29:09,559 they carry around today, like an iPhone. 642 00:29:09,594 --> 00:29:12,532 If Michael Sergio found that body wire, 643 00:29:12,566 --> 00:29:14,403 he'd probably set him up to be killed. 644 00:29:14,436 --> 00:29:16,607 -So the FBI gives the duo something 645 00:29:16,641 --> 00:29:18,979 to say to alert them that they're in danger. 646 00:29:19,012 --> 00:29:21,017 -We came up with a code word when they would say, 647 00:29:21,049 --> 00:29:22,720 I think I'm getting sick. 648 00:29:22,752 --> 00:29:24,089 I have to puke. 649 00:29:24,123 --> 00:29:26,126 That was a signal for us to come inside 650 00:29:26,161 --> 00:29:30,801 and, you know, rescue them and prevent them from getting hurt. 651 00:29:33,141 --> 00:29:34,944 -They did. They did. 652 00:29:34,978 --> 00:29:36,881 -It's Blutrich's partner, Lyle Pfeffer, 653 00:29:36,915 --> 00:29:40,021 who almost blows up the case. -They met with Michael Sergio, 654 00:29:40,054 --> 00:29:42,092 and they went to a fancy restaurant. 655 00:29:42,125 --> 00:29:43,894 And so they ate a lot of food. 656 00:29:43,929 --> 00:29:46,901 And Lyle ended up feeling legitimately sick. 657 00:29:46,934 --> 00:29:49,606 So he starts saying the code word. 658 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:51,544 He ain't so much he has to puke. 659 00:29:51,577 --> 00:29:53,448 All of a sudden we hear that 660 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,586 and we get -- you get the adrenaline rush, you know? 661 00:29:55,618 --> 00:29:57,823 -Just as William Ready and his partner 662 00:29:57,855 --> 00:30:00,060 are gearing up to stage an armed extraction, 663 00:30:00,095 --> 00:30:03,934 they realize it's a false alarm. After that incident, 664 00:30:03,970 --> 00:30:07,542 they switched the code word to something slightly more direct. 665 00:30:07,576 --> 00:30:11,084 -I believe it changed to just a very simple help, help, help. 666 00:30:11,116 --> 00:30:15,025 -But Lyle Pfeffer isn't cut out to be an FBI informant. 667 00:30:15,057 --> 00:30:19,866 -Lyle Pfeifer was really afraid to wear a body wire. 668 00:30:19,900 --> 00:30:23,141 But Michael Blutrich had a history of being a child actor, 669 00:30:23,173 --> 00:30:25,545 so he kind of, I think, 670 00:30:25,578 --> 00:30:28,984 brought out those reserves when he was wearing an FBIRD for us. 671 00:30:29,019 --> 00:30:31,691 -But it will take all of Blutrich's performance skills 672 00:30:31,723 --> 00:30:33,961 to act his way out of a confrontation 673 00:30:33,996 --> 00:30:37,936 with the suspicious and dangerous gangster Mike Sergio. 674 00:30:37,970 --> 00:30:40,275 -One time, Sergio took him into the bathroom 675 00:30:40,308 --> 00:30:42,046 and had him undress. 676 00:30:50,095 --> 00:30:52,065 -The reputation of New York City is something 677 00:30:52,098 --> 00:30:54,103 that is of concern to all of us. 678 00:30:54,134 --> 00:30:57,809 -Times Square, once known as dangerous, filthy and lewd, 679 00:30:57,843 --> 00:31:02,952 is today touted as the most dramatic transformation in town. 680 00:31:02,987 --> 00:31:06,227 -In 1995, a year after he was sworn in as mayor, 681 00:31:06,259 --> 00:31:08,664 Rudy Giuliani cleans up Times Square 682 00:31:08,698 --> 00:31:10,701 by shutting down the peep shows 683 00:31:10,736 --> 00:31:14,743 and mercilessly evicting its low-income residents. 684 00:31:14,777 --> 00:31:17,583 Giuliani also targets the extortion rackets being run 685 00:31:17,615 --> 00:31:20,122 by organized crime. 686 00:31:20,154 --> 00:31:21,857 -Right on the heels of a city order reform 687 00:31:21,891 --> 00:31:23,728 at the Fulton Fish Market. 688 00:31:23,761 --> 00:31:25,632 Mayor Giuliani today announced plans for a commission 689 00:31:25,664 --> 00:31:27,935 that would rid the private sanitation industry 690 00:31:27,971 --> 00:31:31,210 of corruption, namely mob influence. 691 00:31:31,243 --> 00:31:34,784 -But there's one popular place in town full of corruption 692 00:31:34,817 --> 00:31:39,092 that seems protected from Giuliani's crackdown on vice. 693 00:31:39,125 --> 00:31:41,262 -Scores was a high end strip club. 694 00:31:41,297 --> 00:31:43,300 You had celebrities that went there 695 00:31:43,334 --> 00:31:45,806 and people that would spend a lot of money. 696 00:31:45,838 --> 00:31:47,943 -By about 1995, 697 00:31:47,976 --> 00:31:52,986 it was probably one of the highest class clubs 698 00:31:53,019 --> 00:31:55,157 in the industry at that time. 699 00:31:55,191 --> 00:31:57,596 All their women were top notch 700 00:31:57,628 --> 00:32:00,902 and all their clientele was top notch. 701 00:32:00,935 --> 00:32:03,875 -Scores becomes an escape for well-off men willing 702 00:32:03,907 --> 00:32:04,910 to spend lots of money 703 00:32:04,943 --> 00:32:06,948 to be entertained 704 00:32:06,981 --> 00:32:10,955 and sexually aroused by women paid to do both. 705 00:32:10,990 --> 00:32:13,694 -I would say the common fantasy is definitely guys, 706 00:32:13,728 --> 00:32:16,634 like, when two girls are dancing together 707 00:32:16,666 --> 00:32:19,071 and sensually touching each other. 708 00:32:19,105 --> 00:32:21,143 Also a girl that's dominant 709 00:32:21,175 --> 00:32:25,017 that maybe they didn't have outside of those doors, 710 00:32:25,049 --> 00:32:26,988 but most of the time it was girl on girl. 711 00:32:27,020 --> 00:32:28,991 -Only a man is dumb enough 712 00:32:29,026 --> 00:32:30,694 to spend $2,000 to $5,000 to $30,000 713 00:32:30,729 --> 00:32:32,031 to $40,000 in a strip club. 714 00:32:32,064 --> 00:32:33,634 Women are not dumb enough 715 00:32:33,667 --> 00:32:35,069 to spend their money like that. 716 00:32:35,104 --> 00:32:38,744 Only a man would do that. It's just the truth. 717 00:32:38,778 --> 00:32:41,048 -All that dumb money attracts criminals looking 718 00:32:41,083 --> 00:32:42,986 to make some easy cash 719 00:32:43,020 --> 00:32:46,626 and law enforcement looking to make arrests. 720 00:32:46,661 --> 00:32:48,765 FBI agent Bill Ready is using Score's owner 721 00:32:48,798 --> 00:32:52,306 Michael Blutrich to record the Gambino mob associate 722 00:32:52,338 --> 00:32:56,881 Mike Sergio in the hope he leads him to the Gambino leadership. 723 00:32:56,913 --> 00:32:58,651 -Michael Blutrich was a lawyer, 724 00:32:58,684 --> 00:33:01,088 so he understood that we need them to come out 725 00:33:01,123 --> 00:33:03,627 with the other elements that were missing to the crime. 726 00:33:03,661 --> 00:33:05,765 He would ask open ended questions, 727 00:33:05,798 --> 00:33:09,173 and then he would sit back and let Michael Sergio talk. 728 00:33:09,204 --> 00:33:12,010 -But one night over dinner, Blutrich sits back 729 00:33:12,044 --> 00:33:15,818 and listens a bit too much for Mike Sergio's taste, 730 00:33:15,852 --> 00:33:20,059 so Sergio orders him to the bathroom for a strip search. 731 00:33:20,094 --> 00:33:24,169 -Fortunately, Michael Blutrich was able to pull the wires down 732 00:33:24,201 --> 00:33:28,242 before he got into the bathroom and was able to evade detection. 733 00:33:28,277 --> 00:33:30,281 Very skillfully done. 734 00:33:30,315 --> 00:33:32,885 Had Michael Sergio found the wires on him, 735 00:33:32,919 --> 00:33:34,690 he could have hurt him right there in the bathroom 736 00:33:34,722 --> 00:33:38,263 and then later on set him up to be killed. 737 00:33:38,296 --> 00:33:40,868 -The body wires and FBI surveillance camera 738 00:33:40,902 --> 00:33:43,807 in the Scores corporate office will eventually implicate 739 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:46,146 both Mike and his son, Steven Sergio, 740 00:33:46,179 --> 00:33:48,384 for racketeering and extortion. 741 00:33:48,417 --> 00:33:52,090 -I warned my father a million times. 742 00:33:52,124 --> 00:33:55,432 I told him, I know Michael Blutrich's a rat. 743 00:33:55,464 --> 00:33:58,971 Before he got in trouble, he was one person. 744 00:33:59,005 --> 00:34:02,712 Then after he got in trouble, he was another person. 745 00:34:02,746 --> 00:34:04,782 He was more inquisitive, 746 00:34:04,817 --> 00:34:07,153 and I was asked this question much later on. 747 00:34:07,189 --> 00:34:10,661 They said, well, if you knew Michael Blutrich was a rat, 748 00:34:10,695 --> 00:34:12,398 why didn't you walk away? 749 00:34:12,431 --> 00:34:14,969 The answer to that question is very simple. 750 00:34:15,003 --> 00:34:20,181 Why would I walk away? I'm already trapped. 751 00:34:20,213 --> 00:34:23,688 I'm going to take all the rest of the money 752 00:34:23,721 --> 00:34:25,291 and then I'm going to go to jail. 753 00:34:25,324 --> 00:34:28,063 -The FBI also doesn't walk away. 754 00:34:28,096 --> 00:34:31,436 They want the Gambino crime family, including its leader, 755 00:34:31,469 --> 00:34:32,905 John Gotti Jr. 756 00:34:32,940 --> 00:34:34,876 So even after they get evidence 757 00:34:34,909 --> 00:34:39,920 against the Sergios, they keep watching and listening. 758 00:34:39,952 --> 00:34:42,958 Her opportunity arise when Blutrich and the Sergios 759 00:34:42,994 --> 00:34:49,106 decide to fire the club's manager, Craig Carlino. 760 00:34:49,137 --> 00:34:52,478 -Craig Carlino, he was making during the height of the club 761 00:34:52,512 --> 00:34:55,284 between $10,000 and $14,000 a week, 762 00:34:55,318 --> 00:34:57,889 so that was probably close to three quarters 763 00:34:57,922 --> 00:35:00,161 of $1 million a year he was making. 764 00:35:00,193 --> 00:35:01,797 -They were just paying me too much. 765 00:35:01,831 --> 00:35:03,768 They just never wanted to pay me. 766 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:05,771 -The owners of Scores did not like the fact 767 00:35:05,804 --> 00:35:07,742 that Craig Carlino was making more money 768 00:35:07,775 --> 00:35:09,880 than they were from their own club, 769 00:35:09,913 --> 00:35:13,487 so that was a real source of a contention for them. 770 00:35:13,521 --> 00:35:17,728 -The bottom line is they did not want to pay him no more. 771 00:35:17,762 --> 00:35:20,434 -They fired me when my father was dying in the hospital. 772 00:35:20,467 --> 00:35:22,739 They knew it. He had about a week to live. 773 00:35:22,771 --> 00:35:24,976 -Then Carlino does something you don't often hear 774 00:35:25,010 --> 00:35:26,981 when talking about disputes involving 775 00:35:27,014 --> 00:35:30,320 mob influence businesses -- He lawyers up. 776 00:35:30,355 --> 00:35:32,791 -I have a contract. I'm suing it. 777 00:35:32,826 --> 00:35:34,963 I know these mob guys. They just don't like lawsuits. 778 00:35:34,996 --> 00:35:38,135 They were sending guys to threaten me to drop the lawsuit, 779 00:35:38,168 --> 00:35:39,972 and I wasn't going to drop the lawsuit. 780 00:35:40,007 --> 00:35:41,943 My thing was to get paid. 781 00:35:41,976 --> 00:35:45,117 -In the discovery of documents for that lawsuit, 782 00:35:45,150 --> 00:35:46,552 one of the requests he makes 783 00:35:46,586 --> 00:35:48,824 is they want to learn about all the payments 784 00:35:48,858 --> 00:35:51,429 that are going out through the Scores bookkeeper, 785 00:35:51,463 --> 00:35:54,902 and that would reveal all the payments going to the Sergios 786 00:35:54,936 --> 00:35:58,076 and also other made members of the Gambino crime family. 787 00:35:58,108 --> 00:35:59,913 -That's a big problem, 788 00:35:59,947 --> 00:36:02,418 and the FBI is watching and listening 789 00:36:02,452 --> 00:36:06,793 as Carlito's lawsuit leads made members of the Gambino family 790 00:36:06,827 --> 00:36:09,398 to commit illegal acts that will help bring New York's 791 00:36:09,432 --> 00:36:13,273 most powerful crime family to its knees. 792 00:36:13,306 --> 00:36:16,981 -Everybody's got to stop giving these people more credit 793 00:36:17,014 --> 00:36:18,349 than they deserve. 794 00:36:18,384 --> 00:36:21,021 They're not the sharpest pencils in the box, 795 00:36:21,054 --> 00:36:23,260 and most of them are morons. 796 00:36:31,108 --> 00:36:32,411 -The ongoing celebrity appeal of Scores 797 00:36:32,445 --> 00:36:36,052 during the mid '90s isn't trouble free. 798 00:36:36,085 --> 00:36:38,891 -You got drunk people, you got women, you got rich guys. 799 00:36:38,923 --> 00:36:40,527 Yeah, were there fights in the place? 800 00:36:40,561 --> 00:36:43,400 Yeah, there was a lot of fights in the place. 801 00:36:43,434 --> 00:36:45,905 -The most famous is the one between action star 802 00:36:45,938 --> 00:36:48,443 Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Zito, 803 00:36:48,476 --> 00:36:50,514 a celebrity bodyguard 804 00:36:50,547 --> 00:36:52,952 and the former leader of the New York City Hell's Angels. 805 00:36:52,985 --> 00:36:55,458 Days after the altercation, Zito shares. 806 00:36:55,490 --> 00:36:57,393 What happened with Howard Stern. 807 00:36:57,429 --> 00:36:58,998 -But you're friends. You actually bodyguarded 808 00:36:59,030 --> 00:37:00,000 him or something, right? 809 00:37:00,032 --> 00:37:02,204 -Well, yeah, but he -- 810 00:37:02,237 --> 00:37:05,043 seemed the bigger you got, the bigger swelled head he got. 811 00:37:05,077 --> 00:37:07,146 -Zito claims Van Damme gets in his face 812 00:37:07,181 --> 00:37:09,820 and insults him multiple times. 813 00:37:09,853 --> 00:37:11,956 -So then you pop him with a right, 814 00:37:11,989 --> 00:37:13,527 and then you smash him with a left? 815 00:37:13,561 --> 00:37:15,329 -Right hand left hook. -Ah. 816 00:37:15,362 --> 00:37:17,101 -So, how many times did you hit him? 817 00:37:17,134 --> 00:37:19,606 -I hit him enough to go down and stay down. 818 00:37:19,639 --> 00:37:23,146 -Yeah. You know, Van Damme looks like, you know, a karate master. 819 00:37:23,179 --> 00:37:25,851 You watch all those movies, but it was no match for Chuck. 820 00:37:25,885 --> 00:37:27,489 -And John Claude claims... -Yeah. 821 00:37:27,521 --> 00:37:30,994 -...that he was doing a defensive karate move. 822 00:37:31,027 --> 00:37:33,900 He flipped. By the summer of '96, 823 00:37:33,934 --> 00:37:37,608 there's a better show at Scores than celebrity fistfights. 824 00:37:37,641 --> 00:37:40,179 The FBI's hidden camera inside the corporate office 825 00:37:40,213 --> 00:37:42,351 is capturing Gambino associates 826 00:37:42,385 --> 00:37:46,358 taking payoffs and bragging about past crimes. 827 00:37:46,391 --> 00:37:49,431 -Mike Sergio would constantly talk about killing rats 828 00:37:49,465 --> 00:37:51,603 or displaying guns to these guys, 829 00:37:51,637 --> 00:37:54,041 just to let them know that he was dangerous. 830 00:37:54,074 --> 00:37:55,577 -Started running, right? 831 00:37:55,610 --> 00:37:58,449 -The footage also captures a Gambino enforcer 832 00:37:58,483 --> 00:38:01,222 describing a shocking act of violence. 833 00:38:08,101 --> 00:38:10,139 Those surveillance tapes are used to indict 834 00:38:10,172 --> 00:38:13,112 six associates of the Gambino Crime Network, 835 00:38:13,146 --> 00:38:15,115 but the FBI still has nothing 836 00:38:15,150 --> 00:38:18,590 to connect Scores to Gambino boss John Gotti Jr. 837 00:38:18,623 --> 00:38:22,496 Steven Sergio says the reason for that is simple. 838 00:38:22,532 --> 00:38:27,342 -John Gotti Jr. never got a monthly payment from Scores. 839 00:38:27,373 --> 00:38:30,079 It just never happened. -But for John Jr., 840 00:38:30,112 --> 00:38:32,050 that's all about to change 841 00:38:32,083 --> 00:38:35,590 when he learns Carlino has been fired and filed a lawsuit. 842 00:38:35,625 --> 00:38:37,961 He sees an opportunity to finally profit 843 00:38:37,996 --> 00:38:40,032 from the highly lucrative strip club 844 00:38:40,065 --> 00:38:43,606 that opened during his father's reign as crime boss. 845 00:38:43,641 --> 00:38:47,280 -When they fired me, I went to a friend of mine. 846 00:38:47,313 --> 00:38:48,983 I don't want to mention his name, 847 00:38:49,018 --> 00:38:52,023 but he was friends with John Gotti Jr. 848 00:38:52,056 --> 00:38:55,130 -For John Jr., the simplest way to maintain the peace, 849 00:38:55,163 --> 00:38:56,699 keep the club profitable 850 00:38:56,733 --> 00:38:59,405 and get Craig Carlino to drop the lawsuit 851 00:38:59,438 --> 00:39:01,510 is to just give him his job back. 852 00:39:01,543 --> 00:39:03,646 -My friend said, "You're not fired. 853 00:39:03,681 --> 00:39:05,650 John said you're not fired." 854 00:39:05,684 --> 00:39:09,992 And I was like, "Okay, how do you work that out?" 855 00:39:10,025 --> 00:39:12,597 He says he's above Mike Sergio, 856 00:39:12,630 --> 00:39:15,036 who's not a made guy and he's the boss, basically. 857 00:39:15,070 --> 00:39:18,643 So if he says you're not fired, you're not fired. 858 00:39:18,677 --> 00:39:20,981 -But you don't manage strip clubs without learning 859 00:39:21,014 --> 00:39:23,987 what it means when a mobster offers to help you out. 860 00:39:24,021 --> 00:39:26,726 -You know, if you go with these guys, 861 00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:28,664 they're going to be involved in everything you do. 862 00:39:28,697 --> 00:39:30,701 I was just a little uncomfortable. 863 00:39:30,733 --> 00:39:33,740 Maybe if I had met John I would have felt better, 864 00:39:33,773 --> 00:39:35,443 but I had never met him. 865 00:39:35,478 --> 00:39:37,447 To this day, I have never met him. 866 00:39:37,481 --> 00:39:39,485 -When Carlino turns down the offer, 867 00:39:39,518 --> 00:39:41,655 John Jr. decides 868 00:39:41,690 --> 00:39:43,358 that he's going to make Blutrich and Pfeffer pay for 869 00:39:43,393 --> 00:39:45,130 all the trouble they've caused. 870 00:39:45,163 --> 00:39:47,501 -John Gotti Jr. decides that, 871 00:39:47,534 --> 00:39:51,375 okay, we'll let you fire Craig Carlino, 872 00:39:51,409 --> 00:39:55,518 but you have to pay us a lump sum of $200,000. 873 00:39:55,550 --> 00:39:58,523 The fee gets negotiated down to $100,000. 874 00:39:58,556 --> 00:40:00,460 The owners of Scores are told that, 875 00:40:00,492 --> 00:40:02,731 and they end up generating the cash. 876 00:40:02,764 --> 00:40:05,170 -For the money to change hands from Blutrich 877 00:40:05,202 --> 00:40:08,777 to John Jr., it'll need to go through a money laundering ring 878 00:40:08,811 --> 00:40:11,817 that's already being monitored by the FBI. 879 00:40:11,849 --> 00:40:16,760 -John Gotti Jr. facilitated it through his guys 880 00:40:16,793 --> 00:40:21,534 and thought he wasn't going to get exposed, but he did. 881 00:40:21,568 --> 00:40:24,576 -It becomes an important part of an even bigger case. 882 00:40:24,608 --> 00:40:27,079 The FBI has been building against Gotti. 883 00:40:27,114 --> 00:40:29,552 -John A. Gotti, or Junior as he's known, 884 00:40:29,585 --> 00:40:33,125 got a taste of what it's like to be a reputed mob boss today. 885 00:40:33,159 --> 00:40:35,295 He got locked up, and he could be headed 886 00:40:35,329 --> 00:40:38,436 for a long family reunion with his dapper dad 887 00:40:38,469 --> 00:40:40,875 who's doing life in federal prison. 888 00:40:40,907 --> 00:40:42,844 -The FBI played their cards pretty good. 889 00:40:42,878 --> 00:40:46,418 -John Gotti Jr. was charged with RICO conspiracy, 890 00:40:46,452 --> 00:40:49,692 and then there were a bunch of underlying predicate acts. 891 00:40:49,726 --> 00:40:53,231 -The indictment was not all about Scores. 892 00:40:53,266 --> 00:40:55,335 They call it a Christmas tree indictment. 893 00:40:55,369 --> 00:40:57,440 In other words, everything. 894 00:40:57,474 --> 00:40:59,746 -Junior was indicted on federal charges of extortion, 895 00:40:59,778 --> 00:41:02,317 robbery, labor racketeering, loan sharking, 896 00:41:02,349 --> 00:41:04,221 gambling and bribery. 897 00:41:04,253 --> 00:41:06,224 He's also charged with conspiring to take 898 00:41:06,257 --> 00:41:08,597 over Scores, and Upper East Side strip club. 899 00:41:08,630 --> 00:41:11,635 -I think just the pressure overall became too much for him. 900 00:41:11,668 --> 00:41:15,143 -Junior Gotti pleaded guilty to part of a federal indictment. 901 00:41:15,175 --> 00:41:18,215 The judge sentenced Junior to 77 months. 902 00:41:18,248 --> 00:41:20,753 That's about six and a half years in prison. 903 00:41:20,788 --> 00:41:27,166 -He was guilty of being greedy at the very end of a ship 904 00:41:27,199 --> 00:41:28,670 that was sinking. 905 00:41:31,675 --> 00:41:33,780 -Sergios, Mike and Steven, 906 00:41:33,813 --> 00:41:37,887 are reminded that crime may pay, but it exacts a cost. 907 00:41:37,922 --> 00:41:40,893 -Michael Sergio was was charged with conspiracy 908 00:41:40,927 --> 00:41:42,429 to engage in racketeering. 909 00:41:42,463 --> 00:41:45,168 When he was in jail, his life was threatened 910 00:41:45,202 --> 00:41:46,840 and then he ended up cooperating with us 911 00:41:46,873 --> 00:41:48,909 after spending three to five months in jail. 912 00:41:48,943 --> 00:41:52,717 -Steven, who turned Scores into a personal ATM machine, 913 00:41:52,751 --> 00:41:55,623 is sentenced to five years in federal prison. 914 00:42:00,967 --> 00:42:03,172 -That's such a difficult question. 915 00:42:03,204 --> 00:42:05,510 It was life changing money. 916 00:42:05,543 --> 00:42:06,846 It was exhilarating. 917 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:11,755 But I do have a lot of regrets. 918 00:42:11,789 --> 00:42:13,760 -As for Michael Blutrich and Lyle Pfeffer, 919 00:42:13,793 --> 00:42:16,297 becoming informants for the FBI 920 00:42:16,331 --> 00:42:18,268 isn't the get out of jail free card 921 00:42:18,302 --> 00:42:21,507 they may have expected for their $450 million 922 00:42:21,541 --> 00:42:24,681 life insurance fraud. -Blutrich and Pfeffer 923 00:42:24,715 --> 00:42:27,387 ended up getting sentenced to more time than any 924 00:42:27,420 --> 00:42:30,827 of the Mafia individuals that they cooperated against. 925 00:42:30,860 --> 00:42:33,231 It didn't work out, I think, the way they wanted 926 00:42:33,264 --> 00:42:34,434 in the end. 927 00:42:34,467 --> 00:42:36,237 -I told the FBI, I said, 928 00:42:36,271 --> 00:42:38,510 the mob guys are not your criminals here. 929 00:42:38,541 --> 00:42:40,579 Pfeffer and Blutrich are your criminals here. 930 00:42:40,612 --> 00:42:43,284 The club was the only clean thing they had. 931 00:42:43,318 --> 00:42:45,489 -The government sells Scores off to a new owner 932 00:42:45,523 --> 00:42:47,527 and uses the money to pay back 933 00:42:47,561 --> 00:42:49,798 the insurance fraud victims in Florida. 934 00:42:49,831 --> 00:42:51,601 Then in the 2000s, 935 00:42:51,635 --> 00:42:53,873 Scores change his ownership a few times 936 00:42:53,907 --> 00:42:55,809 before turning into a franchise 937 00:42:55,844 --> 00:42:59,518 and opening a half dozen sister clubs around the country. 938 00:42:59,552 --> 00:43:02,422 But the Upper East Side location never regains 939 00:43:02,456 --> 00:43:06,264 its former glory as the country's top gentlemen's club. 940 00:43:06,297 --> 00:43:09,570 -After I left, they never really got the PR 941 00:43:09,605 --> 00:43:13,646 or the publicity that the original club received. 942 00:43:17,655 --> 00:43:22,262 -To tell you the truth, no, not that I know of. 943 00:43:22,297 --> 00:43:23,666 Not that I know of. 944 00:43:23,699 --> 00:43:25,871 I mean, I didn't work in every club. 945 00:43:25,903 --> 00:43:29,411 -To me, the whole industry has gone downhill. 946 00:43:29,443 --> 00:43:32,349 At Scores, I was treated like a star. 947 00:43:32,382 --> 00:43:33,820 Back then, they couldn't touch you. 948 00:43:33,853 --> 00:43:36,791 They couldn't smack your butt, grab your breasts. 949 00:43:36,826 --> 00:43:39,865 Now, if you're not doing any of that, 950 00:43:39,898 --> 00:43:42,603 you're not getting any money at all. 951 00:43:42,637 --> 00:43:45,842 -Scores was a special place, you know? 952 00:43:45,878 --> 00:43:48,315 You could never recreate that scene. 953 00:43:48,349 --> 00:43:50,853 All the stars were aligned with that place. 954 00:43:50,887 --> 00:43:59,938 ♪