Detectives slammed the doors on an illegal nightclub in Maspeth early on Saturday morning.
Law enforcement sources said two undercover members of the NYPD Vice Enforcement Division paid a visit to the club located inside of a warehouse located at 55-21/23 Flushing Ave. at about 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 9.
According to the criminal complaint that the Queens District Attorney’s office provided, the undercover detectives were met at the door by bouncers and escorted to the second floor, where they were each charged a $20 entrance fee. After being frisked by security guards, the detectives were allowed into the club.
More than 60 people were inside the premises at the time, prosecutors said. The two detectives walked up to a bartender, then ordered (and subsequently received) two alcoholic drinks for $15 each.
Police units then entered the location and shut the club down. Fifteen bottles containing alcoholic beverages were seized from the location.
Nine employees operating as either bouncers, bartenders, security guards or waiters were arrested at the scene. They were identified by prosecutors as Isamael Ascencion, 22; Cindy Cifuentes, 39; Antonio Lopez, 37; Angeliz Martinez, 36; Joel Nera, 24; Jordan Polanco, 25; Angel Reyes, 28; Carolina Salazar, 35; and Royan Veeira, 22.
Each were charged with misdemeanor counts of unlicensed sale of alcohol, unlicensed bottle club and failure to have a valid liquor license.
This wasn’t the first time the location was identified as an illegal nightclub. According to the Department of Buildings database, someone reported in June 2011 that the location was being used as an unlicensed cabaret on Saturday nights and Sunday evenings. The agency subsequently forwarded the complaint to the NYPD.
