Located 3 miles south of Scottsdale City Hall, Skin Cabaret calls itself \u201cThe Best Strip Club in Scottsdale.\u201d The club entices patrons with the call, \u201cwhere the evening ignites with tantalizing entertainment and unforgetable (sic) experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club, owned by Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky\u2019s brother Todd Borowsky, is suing the city of Scottsdale over what it calls a series of regrettable experiences.<\/p>\n
Todd Borowsky, meanwhile, is being sued by 41 men who claim his clubs stripped them of $2.3 million \u2013 an average rip off of more than $50,000 per patron.<\/p>\n
While defending himself, Todd Borowsky in his own lawsuit, filed March 20 and, alleges the Scottsdale Police Department with a bogus, \u201crevenge investigation\u201d \u2013 trying to drum up cases of patrons being drugged in retaliation for an almost comically botched undercover sting at the strip club.<\/p>\n
The suit blasts Scottsdale detectives and their supervisors with \u201cmanipulating official police records, altering investigative reports, omitting exculpatory evidence, and otherwise distorting investigative findings …\u201d<\/p>\n
Todd Borowsky, owner of Wisnowski, Inc., which runs Scottsdale adult clubs Skin Cabaret and Bones Cabaret, alleges violations of his rights by the city of Scottsdale, Police Chief Joseph LeDuc and former Police Chief Jeff Walther (who retired from his assistant city manager position this week).<\/p>\n
While Lisa Borowsky is not named in the new lawsuit, she appears in \u201cDimitri Kompos vs. Wisnowski\/Todd Borowsky,\u201d an ongoing civil suit over ownership of the company.<\/p>\n
According to a Dec. 19 Maricopa County Superior Court minute entry in the case, \u201cDefendants Wisnowski, Inc., and Todd Borowsky are represented by counsel, Lisa Borowsky, appearing for counsel of record, Dennis I. Wilenchik.\u201d<\/p>\n
The suit alleging Kompos owns 10% of Todd Borowsky\u2019s company was filed over two years ago.<\/p>\n
Asked to explain her involvement in her brother\u2019s cases, Lisa Borowsky responded by quoting from \u201cBest Practices\u201d of the Arizona Bar Association: \u201cEthical Rule (ER) 1.6: Confidentiality of Information prohibits a lawyer from disclosing information regarding the representation of a client.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also my policy,\u201d the mayor added, \u201cto not comment regarding active litigation involving the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs is always the case,\u201d she said, \u201cI will not hear or participate in matters involving the city where there is a potential conflict present.\u201d<\/p>\n
The newer Todd Borowsky vs. Scottsdale lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court by Wilenchik \u2013 a longtime associate and employer of Lisa Borowsky.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited to announce that I will be joining Dennis Wilenchik\u2019s firm \u2014 Wilenchik and Bartness \u2014 this fall,\u201d Lisa Borowsky announced in a 2022 Digital Free Press article by Terrance Thornton, who later became the mayor\u2019s chief of staff.<\/p>\n
Asked if she is still working there, Lisa Borowsky replied, \u201cI am not a member of Wilenchik and Bartness.\u201d<\/p>\n
The firm trumpets the new Todd Borowsky suit as \u201ca civil rights action,\u201d asking the court to stop \u201ca longstanding pattern and practice within the Scottsdale Police Department of manipulating official police records, altering investigative reports, omitting exculpatory evidence, and otherwise distorting investigative findings in order to protect favored individuals within law enforcement while targeting disfavored businesses and members of the Scottsdale community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The suit also targets Scottsdale Police Assistant Chief Reed Watson, Officer Aaron Bolin, Sgt. Joel Lewis, Det. Dennis Metz and retired SPD Commander Bruce Cioli and their spouses as \u201cliable for the acts alleged herein.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Progress asked LeDuc for a comment on the lawsuit \u2013 and if charges have been filed against Todd Borowsky after a three-year investigation of Skin Cabaret.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won\u2019t comment on pending litigation matters,\u201d said Bolin, a spokesman for the Scottsdale Police Department.<\/p>\n
In the 2024 campaign, then-Mayor David Ortega \u2013 who would lose to Lisa Borowsky in a landslide \u2013 brought up the issue of SPD investigating her brother.<\/p>\n
In late October 2024, Bolin told the Progress, “We can confirm there was a criminal investigation into fraud allegations involving employees at establishments owned by Todd Borowsky.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe case has been forwarded to the Arizona Attorney General\u2019s Office for review.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bolin added, \u201cthe investigation is complete.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Progress asked the Arizona Attorney General\u2019s Office if charges have been filed against Todd Borowsky \u2013 or if the case is considered closed.<\/p>\n
No response was received as of press time.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Altered\u2019 report<\/p>\n
According to the narrative of the Todd Borowsky-SPD lawsuit, a chain of seedy events began with a bungled undercover operation in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cSPD\u2019s own Internal Affairs division determined that officers altered a sexual-assault report involving another law-enforcement officer after the report was made by an entertainer associated with Skin Cabaret,\u201d the lawsuit alleges.<\/p>\n
\u201cInternal Affairs confirmed the report had been improperly modified in a manner that shielded the officer from potential criminal exposure, resulting in disciplinary action against those involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regarding this statement, Bolin referenced \u201cScottsdale Police Internal Affairs\u2019 IA investigation 2021-046, which references the DPS IA report.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Progress has requested the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The suit insists the Scottsdale Police Department \u201ccontinued the same pattern of manipulating reports and investigative narratives when conducting investigations targeting the Skin and Bones Cabarets, including the alteration or omission of material evidence and the presentation of misleading investigative conclusions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new Borowsky lawsuit stems from a COVID-era investigation. According to the narrative, \u201cOn Oct. 25, 2020, the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control determined it desirable to conduct an undercover investigation at Skin Cabaret to determine if the dancers were violating the state\u2019s COVID distancing restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former SPD officer John Cocca was the director of the DLLC, with another former SPD officer, Michael Rosenberger, his deputy director. According to the suit, the latter assigned Mike Sanchez to act as the undercover investigator.<\/p>\n
All three would resign from their positions within months.<\/p>\n
According to the Todd Borowsky suit, \u201cSanchez was an odd choice as he had previously sexually touched an entertainer during the same type of undercover DLLC operation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanchez went to Skin Cabaret and \u201crequested a private dance with one of the dancers.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that dance, Detective Sanchez became handsy and touched the dancer\u2019s buttocks and breasts, grabbed her hips, and started thrusting against her and otherwise acting inappropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanchez returned later that evening and left a Suspension Order at the club, according to the suit. \u201che order recorded that the entertainer \u2018allowed\u2019 Sanchez to touch her breasts and buttocks, suggesting she allowed Sanchez to sexually assault her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dancer who Sanchez fondled filed a sexual assault report with the Scottsdale Police Department that same day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arizona Department of Public Safety then began an investigation of the charges against Sanchez.<\/p>\n
One week later, Todd Borowsky claims, SPD Commander Cioli<\/p>\n
\u201ccommunicated with his former colleague Rosenberger that the Sanchez report and Suspension Order both confirmed that Sanchez touched the dancer, and Cioli told Rosenberger that the report \u2018does not look good.\u2019 Rosenberger, ignoring DPS\u2019s<\/p>\n
admonition not to speak to Sanchez regarding the investigation, then instructed Sanchez to rewrite his already-approved report and his Suspension Order, which Sanchez did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDirector Cocca was aware of these actions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In December of 2020, Scottsdale Police Department Internal Affairs Division \u201csustained findings against Cioli for policy violations relating to his off-channel communications with DLLC and his handling of the entertainer\u2019s complaint and related evidence,\u201d the suit alleges.<\/p>\n
Six months later, according to the narrative, then-Police Chief Walther \u201cdrafted, and Cioli signed, a letter of counseling \u2026 for his<\/p>\n
involvement in changing evidence in the sexual assault report, which was found by Internal Affairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCioli remained in command over all Scottsdale investigations. \u201cCommander Cioli retired effective Dec. 30, 2021, in lieu of discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, before leaving SPD, \u201cCioli harbored retaliatory animus toward<\/p>\n
(Todd Borowsky) and used his remaining tenure and relationships within SPD to support and\/or initiate a retaliatory campaign targeting Skin Cabaret and Bones Cabaret,\u201d the lawsuit alleges.<\/p>\n
\u2018Drugging\u2019 allegations<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAs part of its effort to close the (Skin Cabaret and Bones Cabaret) clubs, the Scottsdale Police Department created an entire team to investigate the (clubs) that eventually included at<\/p>\n least eight Scottsdale Police Officers,\u201d Todd Borowsky alleges.<\/p>\n According to the suit, SPD Det. Metz \u2013 at the direction of Cioli and others \u2013 \u201cbegan re-opening past claims by individuals who alleged that their credit cards were overcharged \u2026 at the Skin and Bones clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n But, the suit claims, \u201cMetz had no evidence of a single crime being committed at the clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n The suit states Patrick Chen went to the Skin Cabaret on Oct. 29,<\/p>\n 2021. \u201cThe next day, he contacted the Scottsdale police department and admitted that he was very intoxicated when he went to Skin\u201d \u2013 yet believed he was overcharged.<\/p>\n \u201cHe admitted that he could have made the charges, but he could not remember.\u201d Advised to call back once he got the charge records and \u201chad evidence of a crime,\u201d the man never followed up \u2013 until he was contacted by Metz.<\/p>\n \u201cMetz contacted Mr. Chen and appears to have convinced Mr. Chen that he might have been drugged at the clubs,\u201d the suit states.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMetz repeated and continued this pattern of opening or reclassifying police reports over the next three years,\u201d the suit alleges.<\/p>\n \u201cDetective Metz did not have, never had, nor does he now have any evidence that any patron at either club was drugged.\u201d<\/p>\n And, Todd Borowsky\u2019s suit claims, \u201cMetz never interviewed the entertainers, hostesses, and managers whose actions he was allegedly investigating.\u201d<\/p>\n But, according to the civil complaint, Metz interviewed one former Skin employee in mid-2024.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Metz asked her if they were drugging the patrons at (Skin Cabaret and Bones) clubs,\u201d according to the suit, \u201cshe told Metz she \u2018could not understand why the customer said that they were drugged. She believed that the customer would need to physically speak with their banks to get their charges approved.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThen Metz told her that some customers reported that the dancers manipulated their phones to approve the charges. She told Metz \u2018she never witnessed that and believed that the<\/p>\n dancer would need a pin to open the customers phones.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to trying to lead witnesses to say they were drugged at the clubs, the suit claims, Scottsdale detectives were \u201cattempting to de-bank the (strip clubs) and cut off their ability to access financial services.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the Borowsky suit, in March 2020, a patron filed a lawsuit that claimed \u201che went to Bones where he was \u2018unwittingly administered drugs of one sort of another.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The same law firm that represented the first man quickly filed another, stating a second man telling a similar story.<\/p>\n \u201cMetz used his position as an SPD detective to help (attorney Ron) Galarza procure dozens of additional clients for \u2018drugging\u2019 lawsuits \u2026 despite the absence of competent evidence that such was occurring,\u201d Todd Borowsky complains.<\/p>\n \u201cIn at least one case a patron who returned multiple nights claimed that each time he went to the clubs he was drugged.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, according to Todd Borowsky, \u201cSPD had spent two years investigating these complaints and found no evidence to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n In a March 25, 2024, TV news story on the Galarza lawsuits,\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSPD spokesperson Aaron Bolin is quoted stating there is an \u2018ongoing investigation.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact,\u201d the suit continues, \u201cSPD had been performing its investigation for years and uncovered no evidence to support any criminal action.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Good citizens\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Todd Borowsky is a longtime Scottsdale adult entertainment mogul, running Skin Cabaret since 2002 and Bones Cabaret since 2016.<\/p>\n In 2008, he launched a successful referendum campaign against changes to the city ordinance regulating strip clubs that banned lap dances and nude performances and prohibited strip clubs from selling alcohol.<\/p>\n According to the new lawsuit written by Wilenchik, \u201cDuring Mr. Borowsky\u2019s ownership, the clubs have been good citizens.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn over 20 years in the business, Skin and Bones Cabarets have not been cited for alcohol or drug infractions. No arrests for criminal acts, such as drug sales or prostitution.\u201d<\/p>\n Exercising his First Amendment rights, Borowsky has \u201cengaged in lawful expressive activity \u2026 for many years in compliance with Arizona law and the regulatory framework governing sexually oriented businesses in Scottsdale.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Even after filing his 40-page, explosive lawsuit, Wilenchik had more spicy comments in an unofficial \u201cclosing argument\u201d via an email to the Progress.<\/p>\n He called the case \u201ca despicable example of Scottsdale’s lowest \u2013 a targeted, vindictive campaign by the (SPD) to destroy a lawfully operated business \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no evidence in all this time linking (Skin and Cabaret) ownership to any knowledge of anyone being drugged into any transaction or anything other than their own free will,\u201d the attorney continued.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is why the (SPD) had to eventually drop this and the (Arizona Attorney General) wouldn’t file anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than a heartfelt apology, the attorney said he expects the city \u201cwill use more taxpayer dollars to fight it on technical grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n But through the Todd Borowsky lawsuit, Wilenchik said, \u201chopefully they will be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to unspecified damages and attorney fees, Wilenchik also wants the court to require \u201cScottsdale to provide a letter to all plaintiffs\u2019 financial institutions clearing the plaintiffs\u2019 names and admitting that Scottsdale has no evidence any crimes were committed by plaintiffs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0Civil suits<\/strong><\/p>\n Though no criminal charges have been filed against Todd Borowsky related to patrons of his strip clubs allegedly being drugged, civil cases with dozens of alleged victims are ongoing.<\/p>\n In \u201cHaala, Et.Al. Vs. Wisnowski Inc, Et.Al.,\u201d a settlement conference has been scheduled for May 8.<\/p>\n This lawsuit now includes 41 men who say they were doped up and ripped off by Borowsky\u2019s clubs.<\/p>\n On June 10, 2024, attorney Rod Galarza, on behalf of Shawn Haala, Ramsey Joseph, and Benjamin Frost, filed a complaint against Borowsky\u2019s clubs.<\/p>\n The suit claims the three, who were charged a total of $94,322, \u201cwere unwittingly drugged or otherwise rendered incapacitated by<\/p>\n the defendants as part of the scheme or plan.\u201d<\/p>\n The scheme, the suit alleges, \u201cincluded drugging the plaintiff and rendering him incapacitated with beverages furnished by the defendants; having one of more hostesses isolate the plaintiff and to keep him separate and apart from their friends once inside; taking the plaintiff\u2019s cell phone to keep him from contacting friends or calling for help and to respond to possible inquiries from the<\/p>\n credit card companies; taking his wallets and making unauthorized charges \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The first version of the lawsuit cites six related cases, all also in Maricopa County Superior Court.<\/p>\n Galarza later amended the \u201cHalaala et al\u201d complaint to include 38 other alleged victims \u2013 who claim Todd Borowsky\u2019s clubs drugged and robbed them of a total of $2.3 million.Dennis Wilenchik, an attorney representing Todd Borowsky, called the claims \u201cabsurd and false.<\/p>\n \u201cIn all this time nothing has come to light tying in any evidence of drugging customers,\u201d he said.\u201cThis lawsuit is a pathetic attempt at trying to force our client into paying something to avoid the negative publicity and our client will not succumb to such.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Located 3 miles south of Scottsdale City Hall, Skin Cabaret calls itself \u201cThe Best Strip Club in Scottsdale.\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":706237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,294636,49853,1587,138901,57353,1589,7600,294634,24646,178359,294637,294635,282109,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,294638],"class_list":["post-706236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix","tag-america","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-bar-association","tag-arizona-department-of-public-safety","tag-az","tag-lisa-borowsky","tag-maricopa-county-superior-court","tag-phoenix","tag-scottsdale","tag-scottsdale-city-hall","tag-scottsdale-police","tag-scottsdale-police-department","tag-scottsdale-police-department-internal-affairs-division","tag-todd-borowsky","tag-u-s-district-court","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wisnowski-inc"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116351431221405968","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=706236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/706237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}