Dreamers owner questions Westbrook police vigilance

WESTBROOK – Police in Westbrook are closely watching the developments at Dreamers Cabaret, and the strip club’s owner is not happy about it.

Larry Ferrante, owner of the Warren Avenue strip club that opened for a day in September before the city shut it down, has previously declined to speak publicly about the club, but after the events of the past two weeks, he now has plenty to say.

In a phone interview Tuesday, Ferrante questioned why the club has drawn so much attention from police. Police patrols were once so rare in the Warren Avenue area that the property owner has traditionally hired private security, he said.

He said he thinks Dreamers faces unfair scrutiny, and that the issue goes beyond the police department. Code enforcement officer Rick Gouzie and Fire Inspector Capt. Charles Jarrett showed up for a “surprise inspection” on Monday, Ferrante said.

Ferrante, a master electrician and former part-time officer at Westbrook police, said the scrutiny does not compare to any job he has worked on previously. He ventured down a different career path when he leased out the former Warren Avenue warehouse to convert it into an adult entertainment establishment. The club opened on Sept. 17 and caught the city unaware. The city quickly shut down the business, citing building and fire safety code violations.

Ferrante contested the police portrayal of a recent incident at Dreamers. On Dec. 5 at around 1 a.m., officers on “routine commercial business checks” came upon activity at Dreamers that police said appeared to indicate it was open for business in violation of city ordinances. Police said loud music emanated from the building, and inside, officers found a disco ball, nightclub lighting and a group of individuals with checkered criminal pasts.

“We don’t even have a disco ball,” Ferrante said, adding that the “nightclub lighting” is sound activated.

A police log names more than 10 people associated with the incident. A handful of them have criminal records. The most recognizable names are John Durfee of Alfred and John Perry, a podiatrist from Cumberland who recently became the target of a federal drug investigation.

Perry, who has appeared in court represented by Dreamers attorney Tom Hallett, was previously said to have no affiliation with the club.

Ferrante said he has learned that Perry is “a friend of a friend” and acknowledged he did stop by the club briefly on the night in question.

Durfee, who York police said recently led them on a chase into New Hampshire, was an important figure in the York County murder trial of Jason Twardus in September. Twardus’ attorney portrayed Durfee as a violent PCP addict and an alternate suspect in the murder of Kelly Gorham.

Ferrante, though, denied Durfee was ever at Dreamers, saying, “Nobody knows who he is. Nobody’s met him.”

According to Ferrante, when police ran checks on the vehicles parked outside Dreamers, they came across a vehicle that Durfee had leased to someone else.

The vehicle listed in the police log as belonging to Durfee is a 2010 Nissan Titan.

Police Chief Bill Baker declined to comment further on the incident.

There were only six people at Dreamers that night, Ferrante said – general contractor Ken Beaulieu and his two subcontractors, as well as a few women who brought the workers coffee.

Police reports have not stated specifically how the women were dressed, but there were insinuations they appeared to be there for entertainment purposes. Ferrante denied that, saying the women came to Dreamers after a night of clubbing in Portland.

One person was arrested that night on a warrant, but the police scrutiny did not end there. Ferrante said two cruisers were parked on the property for more than an hour on Friday. He took pictures of the cruisers and showed them to the American Journal.

When he tried to talk to the officers, he said, they were “sarcastic” and shined their lights on him. He called his lawyer’s statement that police were being overvigilant an understatement.

“Who’s paying for these two police officers to sit on my property for more than an hour?” he said. “The police want some attention on this. They’ve obviously trying to put us in a bad light.”

Ferrante was not at the club the night of Dec. 5, but said he has spoken with the construction crews and believes nothing suspicious was going on. He said they are simply working around the clock to get the place ready for business.

However, Ferrante is not the only one speaking out about the issue. Baker issued a statement last week after Hallett remarked that police were being overvigilant.

“As Police Chief in this community I am responsible for the safety and well being of our citizens. I find Mr. Hallett’s assertion that the City is being ‘childish,’ or that the police are being ‘overvigilant’ rather silly,” he wrote in an e-mail sent to media outlets. “It’s our job to be vigilant in the presence of people with histories of bank robbery, kidnapping, extortion, narcotics trafficking, prostitution, aggravated assault, assault and battery with dangerous weapons, terrorizing, burglary in the night time, assault and battery on police officers, etc.”

Ferrante said none of the people in the building had been convicted of felonies, and that he cannot control what goes on outside Dreamers’ walls.

“We’re just trying to open a business here,” he said, explaining that work is nearly done on the building. “We’re ready right now for the inspection.”