Vincent Palermo, the reputed former acting boss of the DeCavalcante family who turned government informant following his 1999 arrest, now lives under the witness protection program in Texas where he allegedly "controls the Penthouse Club and All-Star Men's Club in Houston - strip joints city officials say are hotbeds of prostitution and drugs" as reported by Greg B. Smith for the Daily News:
Before he admitted taking part in four murders, extortion and a host of crimes, Palermo operated Wiggles, a strip club in Forest Hills, Queens. The club was a kind of one-stop shop for drugs and prostitution, and then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani made it Public Enemy No. 1 in his drive to shut down sex clubs. * * * In an interview outside his home, Palermo told the Daily News his son Vincent Jr. runs the clubs. He admitted owning the property and collecting rent. "He pays me rent. That's how I get income," he said of his son, listed as sole owner of Hereweargain Inc., which owns the clubs. * * * The City of Houston, using Palermo's new name, insists he controls the Penthouse Club. In court papers, it says the evidence "leaves no doubt that the Penthouse Club is controlled and operated by Vincent (Palermo) Sr."
The Penthouse Club and All-Star Men's Club have made the news over the years according to Smith's article:
In 2002, Herewearegain Inc. got a liquor license for a Houston strip club named Caligula XXI, renaming it Penthouse Club in 2005. The club repeatedly made headlines in Houston for all the wrong reasons. From Jan. 5, 2006, through Aug. 8, 2007, Houston police launched seven stings that produced evidence of 10 prostitution offers and 10 drug sales. Cops reported strippers offering to perform sex acts inside a "Champagne Room." The club was also repeatedly cited for violations of no-touch rules and regulations barring dancers from coming within 3-feet of customers. A neighbor reported being solicited outside the club on his way home. After Houston began targeting Penthouse, the club claimed it wasn't a strip club because dancers covered their nipples with latex or body paint. Club managers admitted to occasional "wardrobe malfunctions," but insisted Penthouse Houston was really a "bikini club." The city moved to shut Penthouse because it violated the law barring "sexually oriented businesses" from within 1,500 feet of schools and residential properties. The club was forced to shut for a year in September 2008. Across the street is the All-Star Men's Club, also operated by Herewearegain Inc., in a building Palermo owns. In May, nine club employees were arrested on prostitution and drug charges in yet another police raid. He refused to talk about how he acquired the properties, referring The News to his lawyer, who also declined to comment. A year after the city shut it down, Penthouse Houston intends to reopen Sept. 17, again as a "bikini bar."
