Remember Club X? Turns out there was some shady stuff going on there...
Today's DMN has a frightening story about William Sedric Autrey, the former owner of Club X, which used to sit up at Belt Line and the Tollway. I wrote about the place right after I took this job in 2006, and it tried really hard to be swanky. Celebs stopped by -- including Brit and K-Fed -- and there were three VIP areas. (In an era when that was new.)
In the end, it didn't really matter, because few people showed up. The place closed after barely five months.
The frightening part: Police say Autrey and a band of accomplices used the club's guest list as a way to find potential home invasion victims. From the story:
"The patrons that came in, they would start conversations with them, run their license plates, check them," Dallas police Detective Duane Boy said Monday at a news conference called after the group's criminal exploits were detailed in The Dallas Morning News.
Some moneyed guests ended up targets of the gang's at least 70 North Texas home invasions, police said. Some of those victims were beaten and tortured until they revealed the location of their valuables or cash.
This blows my mind. Bottle service is everywhere in this city, but can you imagine it being a tip-off for burglars? Just makes you question how much information you're giving out and whom to trust. Does being on a ritzy email subscription list make you a target, too? Or showing up to a VIP event without knowing who's throwing the party? Scary.
Photo of Club X shortly after it opened by Brian Harkin/DMN
I agree with you on Club X, spooky.
I was the initial spokesperson there before opening and into the first two months of operation. There was always tension in the office during the day and before the club opened. I have been a spokesperson for other clubs including Club Life, Area 51, Euphoria to name a few, but none of those ventures were run as Club X was run. I knew those guys were hiding something, damned crooks! My opinion. RussJFK
Comments (1)
Comments
I agree with you on Club X, spooky.
I was the initial spokesperson there before opening and into the first two months of operation. There was always tension in the office during the day and before the club opened. I have been a spokesperson for other clubs including Club Life, Area 51, Euphoria to name a few, but none of those ventures were run as Club X was run. I knew those guys were hiding something, damned crooks! My opinion. RussJFK
Posted by: Russ Vandeveerdonk | July 20, 2008 6:12 AM