The City of Troy, aided by New York State Police, has shut down another "for profit" Troy business. By all accounts, a highly successful business.
Troy's only theater, the venerable Cinema Art Theater, was shut down for health violations and five people were arrested for Third Degree Ickiness. The raid was uneventful and no weapons were discharged.
Troy has long been known as an art-friendly city and the seems to have benefited from that reputation. According to the Times Union article, by Kate Perry, on some nights, there were forty to sixty people engaged in "audience participation."
The investigation was prompted by an "anonymous" letter received by Mayor Tutunjian. A woman believed her boyfriend was prostituting himself for drugs at the theater. Since no prostitution charges were brought, it seems that "anonymous" might still be having relationship troubles. A second letter to the Mayor, from Anonymous, asked the mayor to set up an intervention.
The Mayor has announced that the City will be starting a "relationship hotline."
Tutunjian himself deserves some kudos here. According to the Cristo article, Harry spent some time on-line, in chat rooms. He was so upset by what he read that he could not go back to the chat rooms a sixth time.
"Troy is not the place for illicit activities and crimes. ... It's not a dumping ground," said Tutunjian.
Mary Elacqua might disagree.
Authorities refused to comment on what further charges might be brought until a detailed, splatter analysis is completed. Such forensic reports can greatly aid in prosecutions and this case is no different.
However, we believe that District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis summed up all our feelings. It was not just our expectations that were violated, Pat's expectations were violated as well.
"When you go into an adult establishment, you expect to find people having sex on screen, not in aisles," said Rensselaer County District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis.
That's the real crime. Pat, if you find a good theater where we can just sit back and enjoy the show, please let us know.
In the meantime, Mary Donohue might be elevated to the Federal Bench. Remember, you heard it here first.
Also, as soon as the Cinema Arts story dies down, we'll have news on a new resolution passed by the Troy City Council that paves the way for jail expansion.
Stay tuned. We'll be covering the important Cinema Arts bust all week, with "On the Street" interviews, opinions and movie reviews.
No comments:
Post a Comment