HALLANDALE BEACH - A Hallandale Beach strip club filmed customers with strippers in private back rooms.
The Sun-Sentinel has obtained hours of footage from the Cheetah Hallandale Beach through a public records request with the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco.
The images were recorded from October 2008 until March, when the club was raided following a lengthy criminal investigation into possible prostitution and drug dealing there.
The club closed a week after the raid with the owner later agreeing with the state to sell his liquor license.
Attorneys for the Cheetah filed an emergency restraining order in Tallahassee against the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation on Tuesday, arguing the tapes were not public record and never should have been made public.
The state will fight the Cheetah's legal motion, said Jennifer Meale, a department spokeswoman.
"We believe that these are public records and we are prepared to defend this position," Meale said.
The state seized four digital video recorders from the Cheetah after telling a judge that customers in the strip club's VIP rooms and restrooms were video-recorded without their knowledge, according to a search warrants.
The Sun-Sentinel is reviewing the tapes, which contain hundreds of video clips. In addition to the tapes, the Sun-Sentinel obtained documents listing VIP guests at the club.
