Scores: How I Opened the Hottest Strip Club in New York City, Was Extorted Out of Millions by the Gambino Family, and Became One of the Most Successful Mafia Informants in FBI History
by Michael D. Blutrich
BenBella Books. 328 pages, $26.95
HOW MIGHT IT come to pass that a gay man would own a heterosexual strip club? That is a question that Michael D. Blutrich sets out to answer in this memoir, which mostly takes place over a short decade in the 1990s.
The story begins not long after Blutrich opened a law firm on an associate’s promise that a big-name political figure would become a partner. When that didn’t pan out as hoped, and in search of an investment, Blutrich purchased an L.A. nightclub “in association with” Oakland Raiders star Lyle Alzado, who spent considerable time there. Knowing that the presence of a celebrity was a big draw and hoping to duplicate his L.A. success in New York City, he contacted a private banker who’d once claimed that he’d always wanted to own an upscale strip club—something that was then not allowed in New York. The dream wasn’t exactly Blutrich’s, but it was one he remembered, used, gathered support for, and parlayed into a gentlemen’s club. Flouting what the neighbors thought, he and his partners named their new venue Scores, which opened to great fanfare on October 31, 1991. “And then the mafia arrived,” he writes ominously.
An old friend of Blutrich’s from the early days—a “true mafioso” and clichéd Italian restaurant owner (whom Blutrich claims to have known casually)—warned Blutrich that he should go no further if he wanted his club to survive intact, that Blutrich and his partners would need “protection” from the New York mafia family that claimed the territory the nightclub was in. The friend facilitated the deal, which involved giving up control of minor parts of the club and a $1,000-a-week “donation” to the mafia.
Success also depended upon ignoring the laws regulating nudity and touching. Blutrich did his homework and looked into the laws that he knew would be on the books, discovering two main ones that gave him pause. One was about nudity and the other specified how far away a dancer had to be from a customer. He figured that it would be at least two years before the vice police would catch up with him, so he largely ignored the laws. In the meantime, he bought a flesh-colored latex product and hired a make-up woman. All the dancers had their nipples covered abundantly, but because the stuff was blended in with their skin, they could pass as topless. When challenged by the authorities, Blutrich hired an expert to say that the latex was not transparent. Thus he avoided arrest essentially on a technicality. As for the distance issue, the city pretty much ignored that one for whatever reason.
After a few bumps, mistakes that nearly ended the venture early on—including romp-ish scenes that may remind readers of Goodfellas meets Boogie Nights—Scores prospered, even exceeding Blutrich expectations. Name-droppable celebrities and sports stars stopped by on a regular basis and became friends. Blutrich gained notoriety, private booths were nearly always booked, alcohol flowed, the mafia was happy, and everybody made money—and then the government arrived.
Because of an insurance deal that he’d gotten involved in that went sour, Blutrich and his closest associate were wanted men in Florida and Delaware, which meant that the FBI had a few bargaining chips when they made Blutrich an offer that he couldn’t refuse. The Feds asked him to wear a recording device, meet with mobsters, and ask questions in order to secure evidence against the Gottis, the Gambinos, and other families suspected of committing various federal crimes.
While the earlier parts of Scores are wryly humorous and almost blithely dismissive of the problems encountered in the nightclub’s formation and early success, the book takes on a more serious and suspenseful tone, especially after Blutrich turns to telling the tale of being an informant. Try as he might to revert back to wry humor, the danger and fear that he experienced come through loud and clear. Even when you think that all’s well that will end well, a shocking double-cross wraps things up with outrage instead, making it a book that you will certainly read to the last page.
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Terri Schlichenmeyer is a freelance writer based in Wisconsin.
