Louis J. Posner

Louis J. Posner (May 29, 1956) is an American activist who founded VoterMarch in 2001. Formerly an attorney in New York, he was later disbarred following a guilty plea to promoting prostitution at a strip club.
Activism
In November 2000, Posner founded VoterMarch, a nation-wide not-for-profit organization for voter rights and electoral reform, in response to irregularities in the 2000 U.S. Presidential election in Florida.
Following an undercover sting operation at the Hot Lap Dance Club, Posner was arrested in New York City on July 17, 2008, and charged with promoting prostitution at that club. The prosecution also charged Posner with laundering money from the Hot Lap Dance Club through various bank accounts, including Voter March's account. In an exclusive jailhouse interview days after his arrest, Posner insisted that the Hot Lap Dance Club was one of the cleanest clubs around and that law enforcement were "making a mountain out of a molehill."
In March 2010, just prior to his scheduled criminal trial date, Posner was re-arrested and charged with three misdemeanor counts for falsely reporting police corruption to the Internal Affairs Bureau. Posner had accused the NYPD Vice Enforcement police of attempting to "shake him down while operating the club", and that a competitor club had also bribed the NYPD to close down his club. That same day, while jailed on the new misdemeanor charges, Posner pleaded guilty to the making of false reports, and to one count of promoting prostitution in the third degree, a felony. He was sentenced to 5 years' probation (the terms of which forbid him to own or enter into any strip club) and sixty days of community service. As a result of his guilty plea, Posner was automatically disbarred by New York. Under the plea agreement, the money laundering charge was dismissed.
At the time of Posner's arrest in July 2008, authorities seized over a half million dollars in Posner's funds, which could be subject to a civil asset forfeiture proceeding as "criminal proceeds" from the strip club operations. The State Supreme Court Judge subsequently issued an order permitting Posner's use of these seized funds for payment of attorneys' fees, private investigator fees, accountant's fees, and necessary living expenses. Following a request by the NYPD for a stay of all payments and for reconsideration, Manhattan Judge Michael Obus issued a memorandum decision in March 2011 refusing to vacate the orders for payments. The NYPD appealed the Judge's Decision. In July 2011, the New York Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the decision and orders of the State Supreme Court directing the release of seized funds for those purposes.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu