By Craig Giammona
The motel, in a deal that will allow it to reopen for business Wednesday, has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine, place another $25,000 in an escrow account and hire a security guard, said John Ryan, the Executive Motor Inn's attorney. The escrow money will be forfeited and the establishment will be permanently closed if any future violations occur at the motel, according to Ryan.Deputy Inspector Edward Mullen, commanding officer of the 113th Precinct, told residents gathered at a community council meeting Tuesday that the motel would not “return to business as usual.””We'll the monitor the location,” Mullen said.Police conducted a pre-dawn raid at the Executive Motor Inn, located at 151-67 North Conduit Ave., on Dec. 10 that led to the arrest of Erickson Bryant, the motel's night clerk, who was charged with knowingly allowing prostitution to occur on his watch, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said at the time. Philip Dixon, an alleged pimp, who police said was found inside a room with a 15-year-old runaway prostitute, was also arrested that morning, the DA said. The raid and the subsequent closing of the motel were the culmination of months of investigation, police said.According to Ryan, the motel's owners, a corporation known as 151-51 138th Avenue LLC, maintain that they did nothing wrong and decided to pay the fine because the prospect of continued litigation was not financially tenable.”It was an economic decision,” Ryan said of the settlement. “They've been shut for a number weeks and the feeling was that it would have dragged on. They had to settle this matter.”Ryan said that among other things, the removal of Bryant would ensure that future violations do not occur.”What was alleged to have happened apparently occurred on his watch,” Ryan said of Bryant. “He was not acting with the authority or approval of the owners.”Community members, however, are concerned that the motel will once again cater to prostitution, particularly because the area just off the Belt Parkway where the inn is located continues to be plagued by women plying the world's oldest profession. Councilman James Sanders (D-Laurelton), who said he was very concerned about the prospect of the motel reopening, plans to convene a meeting with the motel's owners in the near future.”We need assurances from the corporation that they are going to be a good civic neighbor,” Sanders said.
