Middle Smithfield Township Supervisors authored new zoning ordinances in 2010, which expanded adult entertainment from just the Industrial Zone to the Commercial Zone (Route 209 corridor). Despite over 3,000 residents, neighbors and business owners petitioning Township Supervisors to revise the new zoning to keep adult entertainment off of route 209 (Milford Road), two of our 3 Supervisors voted to expand adult use to the Commercial Zone (209 corridor) anyway. Shortly afterward, an adult use permit application was submitted to our Supervisors, with Werry’s Pub, Motel and Cottages as the proposed site of the all nude strip club. (Supervisor Bob Spano owns Werry’s, as well as Muller’s Diner, My Place Bar, and the A-OK Market.)

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9/22/2011: HOTT PA permit APPEALED to be REPEALEDl!

Attorney Don Miles, hired by the Legal Fund to represent residents and taxpayers of Middle Smithfield Township, filed an appeal yesterday with Monroe County Court of Common Pleas over the HOTT PA/Supervisor Robert Spano strip club’s adult use permit.

The appeal is expected to END the adult use permit that would have allowed Supervisor Robert Spano to turn his own property into a strip club, renting out private rooms for lap dances with nude women at $140 for 15 minutes -- conduct which an expert police witness testified would inevitably lead to prostitution. See the news stories on the Pocono Record online!

9/2/2011: So what just happened?

Despite attorney Don Miles, hired by our Legal Fund, warnings at 8/22 Supervisors' meeting (attended by the DA's office) against improperly voting on the HOTT PA permit ...and 2 other attorneys agreed...the Supervisors voted anyway!

At the 8/25 special meeting called by the Supervisors, the District Attorney arrested Supervisor Spano (charged with illegally voting).

The pre-trial hearing for Supervisor Spano was 8/31. The judge sent this case on to a jury trial at the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas.

So what does that mean?

It means that HOTT PA’s adult use permit is invalid – as long as we complete the process (appeal).

What’s Next?

We will appeal to Monroe County Court of Common Pleas, to officially void the adult use permit. This last step is necessary to complete the process. Unchallenged, the permit still stands.

You may remember our appeal of Zoning Ordinance #172; Supervisors did not enact the zoning ordinance properly, yet to render the illegal zoning ordinance void, an appeal needed to be filed.

(Also pending is appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board regarding the illegally revoked Park Permit within 1,000 feet of Werry’s.)

Your contributions are gratefully accepted!

Note: For more details, email questions to info@KeepXXXoff209.com

9/23: Residents fight against Middle Smithfield strip club vote with appeal
The anticipated civil suit challenging Middle Smithfield Township supervisors' Aug. 22 approval of a strip club on Supervisor Bob Spano's property was filed Wednesday in Monroe County Court.
9/1: Spano's Case heads to Criminal Court
8/27: Spano's Bail Reduced
8/2Middle Smithfield Supervisor Spano arrested at township meeting6:
8/24: Search warrant obtained against Spano in 'ongoing investigation'
8/23: Despite 3 Attorneys' Warnings, Middle Smithfield Supers vote to approve Strip Club
8/22: Years of Disagreement led to today's vote
8/22: Middle Smithfield Suspends Dissenting Solicitor
Money problems bedevil Middle Smithfield's Spano: Investors, bank, tax man hound Werry's owner
Middle Smithfield Township Supervisor Bob Spano Sr. has a third financial problem with his Werry's Motel property, where his efforts to locate a female nude dance club are in serious jeopardy.

Spano has appealed a Pike County Court ruling that he owes initial fellow investors in buying the Werry's property — Raymond and Robin Wolfe — $100,000 as a buyout of the Wolfes' interest in acquiring the 8.7-acre property.
Strip club site's owner Supervisor Bob Spano faces both foreclosure and tax sale
Wayne Bank — which holds the mortgage on an 8.7-acre Werry's parcel and a 22.8-acre Coolbaugh Road lot — has filed a $1.4 million judgment against Spano and one of his companies, Harima Inc.

The properties are scheduled for a sheriff's foreclosure sale next Thursday.

Even if Spano satisfies the judgment or wins a postponement of the sale, he still owes $100,000 in back taxes on the Werry's site.

Monroe County Tax Claim Bureau has scheduled a tax sale Sept. 14 to recover those costs.
Click here to see all of the articles...

Daniel Russo, owner/operator of "Hott 22" in Union, New Jersey, submitted an application for an adult use permit for "Hott PA". The proposed location is Werry's Pub on 209, owned by Supervisor Robert Spano, Sr. (who also owns Muller's Diner/My Place Bar and A-OK Market/gas station.) The application went before Hearing Officer Karpowich for public Conditional Use hearings.

Click Here to See the First Application Submitted by Dan Russo for Strip Club

Coming - Click Here to See LAST Application Submitted by Dan Russo/Kevin Hickey for Strip Club

According to the second new zoning ordinance adopted in December 2010, adult use facilities must gain approval as a "Conditional Use" - which means the permit approval must come from the Board of Supervisors (instead of the Zoning Hearing Board or the Zoning Officer), by determining whether or not the applicant meets all requirements. If you would like to be notified of any updates, such as the date our Supervisors will have their public vote on this permit application, please Join our Mailing List by Clicking Add Me to the Mailing List. (Note: our Supervisors must take Public Comment before any vote.)

Keep XXX Off 209

Keep XXX Off 209