Strip club plan under siege
A Taranaki businessman wanting to create an upmarket adult entertainment venue says he fears for his life after being repeatedly attacked and intimidated – including allegedly being threatened with a knife.
Near the end of 2018, Denys Taylor bought defunct strip club The Crave with the intent of relocating it to a vacant site in Devon St East from where bars including Scruples, Broadway and Rhythm had previously operated. Taylor planned to call the establishment Xcite. It would feature a strip club in the basement with future intentions to convert the upper floors into a members area and a brothel.
While Taylor, trading under the name Crave Entertainment Ltd, was granted a liquor licence by the New Plymouth District Council in November 2019, the premises’ doors remain closed.
The 51-year-old told the Daily News he began having problems with break-ins, theft of equipment, threats and physical assaults soon after he signed the lease for the building.
Taylor alleges another Taranaki businessman, who has gang connections, wants to take over the lease in order to set up a similar operation and is scaring away potential staff and investors.
‘‘Once I had cleaned up downstairs, [they saw the potential] because before that it was piled up with stuff, it was smelly and there was a lot of black mould.
‘‘These guys are saying they are going to take the lease out from underneath me.
‘‘I was wondering what was going on. They have been undermining me all of the way just waiting for me to fall over.’’
The threats and intimidation came to a climax on the afternoon of Saturday, January 11, when four armed intruders, who Taylor claims are associates of the rival businessman, burst into the building and took him hostage.
He claims the group physically assaulted him, threatened him with a knife and forced him to sign documents as they rifled through paperwork and rooms.
‘‘I was smashed to the side of the head and the next thing you know I was sitting in the seat and he was threatening me with a knife while stabbing it into furniture.’’
Taylor feared for his life during the prolonged attack which also involved the group hitting him in the head with a beer bottle and smashing his teeth when he attempted to escape.
‘‘I thought that they were going to out me, because they said they were going to take me away from here.’’
Fortunately Taylor had safety measures in place and police were alerted to his plight.
The four alleged offenders, three males and a female, were arrested and have been charged with entering a building with intent to commit an offence, armed with a knife, injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Taylor and kidnapping.
They have been remanded to reappear in the New Plymouth District Court on March 19.
Three are on bail while the fourth remains in custody.
Taylor, who previously ran a security company, said the ordeal had made his life a misery and forced him to the brink of financial ruin but he remained determined to get the business open.
‘‘If I can get it open, I can pay it back quickly. I have been pushed past breaking point so many times but I am going to win.’’
He claims he had previously tried to report the repeated threats and harassment to police but had been told it was a civil matter. ‘‘They are taking me seriously now.’’
Detective Sergeant Chris Allemann confirmed the arrests had been made but could not comment further as the case was before the court.