More law enforcement for the day

Katharine Seelye has an article in The New York Times about a big problem in a little town:

The summer people who clog the roads of coastal Maine are long gone, and the leaves have turned crimson and orange, but the prevailing sentiment in the postcard-perfect coastal town of Kennebunk these days is one of dread. For more than a year, the police have been investigating reports that the local Zumba instructor was using her exercise studio on a quaint downtown street for more than fitness training. In fact, the police say, she was running a one-woman brothel with up to 150 clients and secretly videotaping them as they engaged in intimate acts.
Now, the police have started releasing the names of her clients who have been charged with patronizing a prostitute. This has set the town buzzing because the list is rumored to be replete with the names of prominent people. (The Portland Press Herald identified one suspect as a former mayor of South Portland.) The first twenty people, whose names have been released, are to appear in court on 5 December.
The release of the names has stirred chatter everywhere here— in coffee shops, parking lots, and the small shops along York Street, the main drag— about who was on the list. It has also prompted debate over whether the names should be released. And it no doubt has led to less academic discussions behind the closed doors of many homes across this region.
One local entrepreneur tapped into the zeitgeist and printed up t-shirts that read: “I’m not on the list. Are you?” They sold out instantly.
The case is somewhat complicated. The police say that by videotaping her clients, Alexis Wright, 29, the Zumba instructor (photo), invaded their privacy and that the clients, in addition to being suspected perpetrators, are also thus victims. That led to a convoluted court ruling that the names of the clients would be released but without further identifying information, like their addresses or dates of birth. “People throughout New England are up in arms that their names might match,” Lieutenant Anthony Bean Burpee said in an interview.
When a list of the first twenty-one names was made public, it contained many common names. Paul Main was one, and the news whipped around town because Paul Main once worked for the sheriff’s department, and even ran for sheriff himself a few years ago.
Paul Main said in an interview Tuesday that, when he saw his name on television, he started to laugh. But when he heard that a Boston radio station was identifying him as a client, he stopped laughing. Main, 65, said that despite the mix-up, he has not suffered any real harm, but that other people could. He believes the names should be published, but only with identifying information. “There should be no ambiguity,” he said.
Justice Thomas Warren of Superior Court reversed himself and ruled that the addresses could be released; they were published Tuesday night.
Generally, women who were interviewed here seemed to applaud making the list public with as much information as possible. Men, on the other hand, generally thought that the crime was minor and that releasing the names would only harm the families.
Typical was a discussion in Duffy’s Tavern here among three friends, all retirees in their 80s, who had gone to high school together.
Chet Galeucia, who lives in Saco, said he agreed with his wife that the names should be published. “If I committed a crime, they would publish my name and address,” he said.
But Jim Pickett, who lives in Portland, disagreed: “You don’t want to hurt the families,” he said. Asked whether the husband had not already hurt the family, he said: “But the family doesn’t know about it. It’s not the worst crime. It’s not like stealing.” Besides, he said, going to a prostitute is “natural”. Who is the victim? he asked. “Certainly not the woman. She’s inviting it. She made $150,000 in eighteen months.”
The real problem, Galeucia said, is that this took place in a town like Kennebunk. “You think these nice little towns are pure as the driven snow,” he said, and they all shook their heads.
Indeed, Kennebunk is an upscale community, dotted with the elaborate homes of old sea captains. Former President George Bush’s summer home is nearby in Kennebunkport.
“All of us who know and appreciate Kennebunk as the wonderful, family-oriented community it is are saddened by this situation,” Barry A. Tibbetts, the town manager, said Tuesday in a statement before the addresses of the twenty-one suspects were made public.
The drip-drip-drip of names is likely to continue for months. The case is so voluminous, Lieutenant Burpee said, that only a few people can be investigated at once. As soon as enough evidence is gathered to charge someone, the name goes on the police blotter, which is released every two weeks. The next blotter is due out on 26 October, when townspeople will probably go into another huddle to discuss who is on the list.