N.Y. strippers accused of drugging rich patrons, stealing $200,000

Four female strippers in New York have been charged with spiking the drinks of rich men and then taking the impaired victims to clubs where as much as $200,000 in charges were billed to their credit cards, officials said Wednesday.

New York’s Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York office and the New York police have arrested four adult entertainers and a club manager on charges that include grand larceny, conspiracy and forgery, officials said. The arrests, the result of an eight-month probe, began on Monday, authorities said.

Those charged were: Samantha Barbash, Roselyn Keo, Karina Pasucci and Marsi Rosen. The manager at the RoadHouse Club, Carmine Vitolo, was charged with conspiracy, grand larceny and tampering with physical evidence, officials said.

Barbash’s attorney, Stephen Murphy, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that his client denies the charges.

The four victims lost $200,000 from last September to December, according to officials. The victims included people in banking, law and medicine.

According to officials, the women allegedly drugged the men with methylone, commonly known as Molly, or other drugs after arranging to meet them at upscale bars in the New York area. The victims, reeling from the effects of the drugs, were taken to the clubs, where a variety of services, including private rooms, meals and drinks, were charged on the victim’s credit cards. The women then received part of the proceeds.

The victims later reported waking up in their cars or in hotel rooms with little or no memory of the encounters. If they disputed the credit card bills, they received texts from the strippers threatening to make the encounters public, officials said.