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On July 15, in a clandestine session of the grand jury, meeting for the first and only time in a locked ballroom of a Ramada Inn, the four agents testified and played the audio recordings of their seemingly lighthearted encounters with the girls at Foxy’s.
They were followed by the three prostitutes who were questioned by Jesse Rudy. Up front, he explained to the grand jurors that the three were formerly employed at Foxy’s but had quit two months earlier in a dispute over pay. They were facing charges of prostitution and, with the advice of counsel, were testifying in return for leniency. None of the grand jurors had ever heard a prostitute speak candidly about her work, and they were riveted. The first one was twenty-three years old, looked about fifteen, and had started at Foxy’s four years earlier as a waitress. Because she had a nice body, she was offered a promotion to stripper, which she took. The big money was made in the rooms upstairs, and before long she was hustling johns and earning $500 a week. All cash. She did not enjoy the work and tried to quit, but the money was too tempting. The second one worked at Foxy’s for five years. The third, a forty-one-year-old veteran, confessed to working in most of the clubs in town and said she was not ashamed of it. Prostitution was the world’s oldest profession. Any mutually beneficial agreement between two consenting adults should not be illegal.
Their testimonies were fascinating, at times salacious, and never boring. Some of the women on the grand jury were judgmental. All of the men were spellbound.
The last witness was Haley Stofer, who testified using an alias. For three hours, he described his career first at Red Velvet, then, and presently, at Foxy’s where he tended bar fifty hours a week and watched the crowd. A blind man could monitor the girls and their “dates.” He presented a list of thirteen women currently active. To hire one, a gentleman had to present his membership card, which in theory meant he could be trusted. Stofer’s second list had the names of eighty-six such gentlemen.
Jesse smiled to himself when he tried to envision the brouhaha that would erupt if that list was ever made public.
Stofer assured the grand jurors that not all of the men cavorted with prostitutes. Some were old-timers who were admitted to the club just in case. The perks of membership also allowed them to do business with their favorite bookies and participate in the occasional poker tournament.
After an exhausting day wading through the seedy side of Biloxi vice, the grand jurors were dismissed by Jesse and sent home. They returned at nine the following morning and spent over two hours reviewing the evidence against the suspects. As noon approached, Jesse finally called for the vote. By unanimous agreement, the grand jury indicted Lance Malco on one count of operating a “place” used for prostitution and thirteen counts of causing and encouraging women to engage in prostitution. The grand jury also indicted Foxy’s general manager and two floor managers on the same charges, with each count punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 and up to ten years in prison. The thirteen women were indicted on felony charges of engaging in more than one act of prostitution.
The roundup began at noon the next day when the state highway patrol descended on Biloxi. Lance Malco was arrested at his office at Red Velvet. Two of the three managers of Foxy’s were taken into custody. The third one would be found later. Most of the girls were arrested at their homes and apartments.
When Lance was in jail, Keith drove to the offices of the Gulf Coast Register and hand-delivered a copy of the indictments to an editor. Foxy’s was cordoned off with barricades and yellow crime scene tape. Reporters were soon on the scene with cameras rolling, but there was no one to talk to.
Fats Bowman suddenly needed to visit an uncle in Florida and disappeared. Most of his deputies scattered. His office phones rang nonstop but went unanswered.
Three days later, Judge Oliphant called a bail hearing for all defendants and braced for a circus. He was not disappointed. His courtroom was packed beyond capacity and overflowed into the hallway. When Jesse entered through a side door he got his first good look at Lance Malco, seated in the front row, a lawyer on each side. The two glared at each other and neither blinked. The two rows behind Lance were filled with his girls, most of whom did not have lawyers. Uniformed state troopers walked the aisle and asked for quiet. The bailiff called court to order and Judge Oliphant emerged from the rear, assumed the bench, and asked everyone to take their seats.