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Police: LGBTQ support center in Altamonte Springs front for brothel

Altamonte Springs police said a business posing as an LGBTQ support center was actually a place for men to pay for sex.
Undercover officers spent two weeks investigating what was going on behind closed doors after finding the business advertised on Craigslist.
Men on Craigslist were talking about a place in Altamonte Springs called Club 1000, which led investigators to a corner office of a strip mall where TA Support Group LLC was supposedly operating as a support center to help members of the LGBTQ community.
The business was operating near North Pearl Lake Causeway and State Road 436.
“That is what we believed the business was operating under, but it was not. It was actually operating under that name, but behind closed doors they were doing something different,” said Evelyn Estevez, of the Altamonte Springs Police Department.
Investigators saw posts from men looking for men on Craigslist.
“This business was soliciting males for lewd and lascivious activity,” said Estevez. “Through that investigation, they learned that the business was actually in Altamonte Springs and they were able to go inside and witness some of the activity that was going on.”
Undercover officers paid a $15 initial membership fee to join the club and members would pay $5 a month after that.
Police do not know how long TA Support LLC had been operating as Club 1000, but an application filed with the city shows the owner filed to open in May.
A man who works at a neighboring business in the plaza did not want to be identified, but said he never expected a secret sex club going on next door.
“It’s unbelievable. I have been here a year and I never even thought of that,” he said. “See them all the time, talk to them to say hello, but never had a problem.”
Two people were charged with misdemeanors; a receptionist and a customer who was performing a lewd act at the time when an officer raided the business.
Jeff Levkulich

Jeff Levkulich, WFTV.com

Jeff Levkulich joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in June 2015.