Capp Street Crap reports that the illegal gambling den and brothel located at the former site of the Fizzary was shut down after its tenants were evicted by the sheriff’s department. Eviction notices were posted today, and Capp Street Crap reports that a neighbor saw two men leaving with a cardboard box full of items shortly before the notices went up.
The space served as an after-hours gambling club and brothel that saw one shooting incident last October and multiple calls to the police in recent months. Nearby business owners said the late-night noise was a nuisance and considered it a blight on the block, but despite frequent police raids the den remained active for months.
Taylor Peck, a residential tenant of the building where he also ran the Fizzary, first sub-leased the space to a couple claiming they would open up a vitamin shop. He was duped, and shortly after leasing the space Peck found himself with a full-scale gambling operation on his premises that law enforcement, despite significant presence, seemed unable to shut down.
He eventually graffitied his own facade in a bout of frustration, and was evicted by his landlord last month in an attempt by the property owner to shut down the den. Peck’s ouster allowed for a sheriff’s lock-out on the building, a move that apparently succeeded in physically barring the gambling den’s operators from the premises.
Peck said he was tired of the whole affair, adding he would be glad to “read about it from a distance.”
“I’m evicted and I’m done, and I was out before them,” Peck said of the den’s closure. He declined to comment on his current living situation, but said he was already imagining the next space the den’s operators would occupy.
“I pretty much feel horrible for whatever property owner or tenant gets them next, which they inevitably will, because law enforcement has no solution to this,” Peck said.
The police did not immediately return requests for comment on any criminal charges against the den’s operators. Illegal gambling dens are a citywide problem that so plagued the Excelsior in the fall that Supervisor John Avalos held a hearing on the issue at the time.
I don’t know where the numbers came about, but I second John on the legalization!
In the history of the United States there never has been a City with so much tax money available as San Francisco in 2016 thanks to the Mayor making it easy for tech company to thrive in the loca. . The amount of money floating around is bigger then many small European nations. Get with reality John.
Legalize prositution, drugs and gambling next to John Thompson’s house
Interesting that these guys can illegally sublet a commercial space, turn it into a brothel, drinking, and gambling den. Survive repeated “raids” by the police and stay in business for months afterwards. And then at the end, they merely get padlocked out and walk free. No punishment. No charges. No trial. No conviction. No jail time. Nothing. Mission Local — can you shed any light on why it is / was not possible for the police department to charge these people with any sort of crime?
legalize gambling and prostitution! We need tax money. People gamble no matter what. Prostituion is as old as the hills. Women are better protected when it’s legal as pimps in SF get something like 80-90% of the money. The lady’s of the night only get 10-20% and are treated like garbage. Diseases and violence also go down.