The ony Irish strip joint in New York is under investigation.
Gallagher’s strip joint inQueens, is not far from the Irish neighborhood of Sunnyside and is a popular destination.
The joint specialized in Irish clientele at one point but that has changed in recent years.
Now Robert Potenza, the owner of Gallagher’s 2000 strip club is under investigation for nearly one million dollars of tax evasion. Potenza, who’s website reveals that the club is “New York's largest upscale gentlemen's club” is maintaining his innocence and complying with the police, for the most part.
There’s a lot about Potenza’s establishment and personal finances that seems fishy. According to Brooklyn Federal Judge Brian Cogan, Potenza chose to “plead the fifth” - meaning not answering while under oath- when asked about his personal income, which is a whopping $1.5 million a year.
Thus: “The feds are seeking the forfeiture of nearly $900,000 seized from Potenza's TD Bank and Merrill Lynch accounts,” reported the NY Daily News. Also included in the investigation will be exactly where Potenza’s salary comes from, and how the club gets a “$4.50 cut on every $5 ATM transaction fee.”
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Lawyers for the government are saying that Potenza was using a method called “structuring,” meaning that instead of following through with the federal reporting requirements for transactions over $10,000, he simply made four-figure deposits, and a lot of them at that. According to the Daily News, this practice is a “red flag for tax evasion.”
The Daily News reported that the club keeps around $400,000 on hand everyday, in a broken refrigerator, in a tackle box, and on top of a metal beam. On average, the club makes around $9,000 during the week and a lot more over the weekends.
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