Go Go owner: Community loses if Austintown cabaret must close

By Jon Moffett

A witness for the defense described the club as an ‘adult playground.’

YOUNGSTOWN — Sebastian Rucci said more than just his company will lose if his Go Go Cabaret remains permanently shuttered.

“I’m the biggest loser in all of this, obviously,” said Rucci, owner and manager of the Austintown club. “But it’s me, the community and the employees.”

Rucci and other members of the defense team testified on behalf of the club in front of Judge Lou A. D’Apolito of the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday.

The club was closed May 1 after a police raid, which yielded charges of drug use and allegations of prostitution and underage alcohol consumption. A hearing began Friday to determine whether the cabaret should remain closed; it continues today.

Rucci and six others who were Go Go Cabaret employees and patrons were called to the stand by Atty. Martin Yavorcik.

Curtis Jones, who worked as a floor manager for owner and manager Sebastian Rucci, said the club had rules against the alleged conduct.

“Sebastian had three rules,” Jones said. “No drinking, no drugs and no [sex].”

Jones described a diagram of the club to D’Apolito and the prosecution, pointing out security locations and cameras. The club has 32 cameras, which monitor the interior and exterior of the club and its private rooms, Jones said.

Peter Sciullo was responsible for monitoring the camera feeds. He said anything inappropriate would be visible and that the cameras could not be manipulated by anyone in the club.

He said the establishment was more like an “adult playground,” and the club offered sports and entertainment to patrons in addition to adult entertainment. Sciullo added that the club had a “zero tolerance” policy on drugs and sex on the property.

Witnesses attested to the club’s strict policy on employee conduct and its handbook, which prohibits drugs and sexual misconduct. The defense argued that the dancers are independent contractors who worked under a separate set of guidelines.

Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Robert Bush questioned the definitions of an employee versus an independent contractor, but Rucci insisted the dancers were not full-time employees of the club.

“There have been occasions where we’d have a girl work for us for one night and then never come back,” Rucci said.

Rucci and the defense argued the Go Go was being unfairly targeted by the prosecution. The club, which opened in December 2007, has been the source of some controversy in the township, garnering attention from the police, fire and zoning departments.

Employees, however, say the club is unique and offers something positive to the area that other clubs do not.

“I love it,” Mike Livosky, who worked as a disc jockey for the club, said. “You won’t find another place like it, that’s for sure.”

Harold Handwork Jr., a self-described cabaret frequenter, said the Go Go is one of the more upscale and regulated clubs he’s visited. The 20-year autoworker said he’s been to between 50 and 100 cabarets across the country and knows the “inner workings” of such clubs. He said the Go Go offers patrons a good atmosphere and a classy entertainment venue.

“Sebastian has put together something that is unlike anything else in the area,” Handwork said. “Sebastian went outside the lines and brought other things in.”

Rucci added that some dancers have drug dependency issues and their addictions are out of the club’s control. Dancers come and go at their own schedule, he said, and it is almost impossible to contact them and know their whereabouts at times.

“I wasn’t there to promote drugs, I don’t care about that stuff,” Rucci said. “I don’t believe I could’ve prevented those people from doing what they did.”

jmoffett@vindy.com