LAKE MILTON Undercover cops arrest 7 at local bar

Township police want the bar's liquor license to be revoked.
LAKE MILTON -- An undercover police operation has discovered violations of sex and alcohol laws at Dean's Place, 147 N. Pricetown Road in Milton Township, authorities said.
Police charged seven people at the bar with a variety of offenses after the sting Thursday evening. They are to make their initial court appearances at 1 p.m. Monday in Mahoning County Court in Austintown.
Owner charged: Dean J. Carson, 42, of Berlin Center, owner of Dean's Place, is charged with one count of promoting prostitution, a fourth-degree felony, and police are asking the Ohio Department of Liquor Control to revoke the bar's liquor license, said Detective Ken Kovalchik of the Milton Township Police Department.
Also arrested were:
U & raquo;A 42-year-old female bartender from Newton Falls accused of furnishing alcohol to a minor and permitting alcohol to be removed from the premises by undercover police and patrons.
U & raquo;A 28-year-old North Lima woman charged with prostitution.
U & raquo;A 20-year-old Brookfield woman charged with prostitution and underage drinking.
U & raquo;A 40-year-old Ravenna man charged with assaulting a police officer (a fourth-degree felony).
U & raquo;A 23-year-old Newton Falls man charged with disorderly conduct.
U & raquo;A 29-year-old Newton Falls man, who acted as a bouncer, charged with promoting prostitution.
Thursday's arrests followed a two-month investigation that was prompted by complaints from residents about prostitution and underage drinking at the bar.
Five undercover police officers -- one from Milton Township and four from the Youngstown Police Department's vice squad -- entered the bar at 8:20 p.m. The arrests occurred at 11:20 p.m.
The allegations: Undercover police observed naked women giving lap dances in exchange for money, and the officers also paid and recovered marked bills from the women, Kovalchik said. Police also saw the alcohol being served to an underage person, according to a township police news release.
The 29-year-old bouncer charged with promoting prostitution took money from customers and directed them into an enclosed booth, where an officer observed sex acts, Kovalchik said.
When Jackson and township police moved in to make the arrests, the 40-year-old Ravenna man, who refused to leave the bar, punched one of the undercover officers in the face after they had identified themselves as police, Kovalchik said.
The 23-year-old Newton Falls man was charged with disorderly conduct for his participation in the fracas, he added.
Mahoning County deputy sheriffs were called to assist.
Kovalchik said the township has a provision in its zoning ordinance prohibiting sexually oriented businesses.