NJ family accused of running nude bar brothel in Sayreville get plea deal

❎ Couple agrees to pay $700K in unpaid taxes
❎ Adult sons also take plea deals
❎ Strip club will be monitored for years

State prosecutors have reached a resolution with the family accused of running a years-long prostitution operation at a strip club along Route 35 in Sayreville. The deal spares prison time for all.

Doreen Acciardi is the listed owner of Club 35 — with outside signage stylized in Roman numerals as XXXV Club.

Other signs promise patrons that the club features dancers who are "all nude" and open until 6 a.m.

She and her husband, Anthony Acciardi Sr., of Freehold Township, have pleaded guilty to fourth-degree maintaining a nuisance through maintaining a house of prostitution and third-degree failure to pay income tax.

The pleas were entered on Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone in Middlesex County.

It was a far cry from the 21-count indictment they had faced two years ago, which included racketeering charges.

Doreen Acciardi's defense attorney said he wanted to make it clear that his client had not pleaded guilty to "any conduct involving prostitution or sexual activity in the club."

The state Office of the Attorney General countered, saying the attorney's statement is wrong.

"The 35 Club corporate entity pleaded guilty to a violation of New Jersey Statute 2C:34-7(c), ‘Sexually oriented business; location, building requirements,’ which is a fourth-degree crime involving operating a sexually oriented business while violating sign requirements," a spokesperson for the OAG said to New Jersey 101.5 on Wednesday.

"Club owner Doreen Acciardi admitted as part of her plea that prostitution and sexual activity occurred at the club 'regularly' in exchange for money," the spokesperson continued.

In any case, the couple will be recommended for supervised probation and must pay a hefty amount of unpaid taxes and penalties.

Read More: Acciardis face new charges of prostitution at Club 35 Sayreville 

Nearly $1M in cash, gold, silver found at two NJ Acciardi homes

When they were initially arrested in 2022, police recovered roughly $720,000 from the home of Doreen Acciardi and Anthony Acciardi Sr. — stored in a mix of cash, gold and silver.

Another $225,000 was found at the Old Bridge residence of Anthony Acciardi Jr., also in a combination of cash, gold and silver.

Bank records show that between 2017 and 2022, more than $10 million was deposited and withdrawn from a number of personal and business accounts associated with several businesses owned by the family, including Club 35 and Acciboys.

Doreen Acciardi and Anthony Acciardi Sr. have agreed to pay a total of roughly $705,000 in outstanding taxes owed to the state, in addition to mandatory fines and penalties.

About $420,000 in cash seized during the investigation would be applied to that amount.

All parties avoid prison, NJ strip club under watch

The state will recommend Anthony Acciardi Sr. receive three years of probation supervision and Doreen Acciardi receive two years of probation supervision.

Their sons, Anthony Acciardi Jr. and Stephen Acciardi, of Freehold Township, were or will be admitted to pretrial intervention programs for three years, and must also pay fines and penalties.

Stephen Acciardi also agreed to pay back taxes owed to the state.

Club employees Jeanine Nichols and Jason Portes also were or will be admitted to pretrial intervention programs for three years with fines and penalties.

Closed-circuit TV for NJ strip club for monitor

As part of the deal, 35 Club is under independent monitoring for five years.

The club — found to contain over 700 condoms, personal lubricant and sex toys at the time of the 2022 bust — must be accessible to the monitor at all times, via closed-circuit television and in-person inspections.

It's the terms of a guilty plea on the club's behalf to fourth-degree engaging in the operation of a sexually oriented business.

Acciboys, the brothers-owned business behind the ATMs in the club, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree maintaining a nuisance through maintaining a house of prostitution.

“The guilty pleas in this case underscore that illegal business dealings and tax cheating are not worth it. Those crimes will not go undetected and, once they’re uncovered, they will be prosecuted,” Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a written statement.

Doreen Acciardi's defense attorney countered the message from Platkin's office, saying that the guilty pleas were all about improper signage outside the club.

"There is a law in New Jersey that such clubs cannot have a sign of more than 40 feet, and 35 Club’s sign is actually 45 feet. Also, such clubs are supposed to have a sign that minors are not allowed, and the club did not have that sign. To be clear: 35 club DID NOT plead guilty to any conduct involving prostitution or sexual activity in the club. The sum total of its guilty plea is that one sign was too big, and the other was missing,” Jeff Bronster said in an email response to New Jersey 101.5 on Tuesday.

Platkin's office has since countered, saying that there were admissions of prostitution at the club as part of the plea deal.

Charges will be dismissed against Alana, the real estate holding that owns the club property.

An adult daughter initially charged with money laundering saw that charge dismissed in 2023.

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