Strip clubs searched in probe of L&I

Federal authorities seized records from two strip clubs, a towing business, and a Philadelphia police officer Tuesday as part of an expanding investigation into allegations of corruption that touches on the liquor distribution business, code enforcement, and towing of abandoned cars in the city, according to sources familiar with the probe.

The two city strip clubs searched Tuesday were the Oasis at 6800 Essington Ave. and Christine's at 6130 Passyunk Ave. FBI agents also confiscated items from the home and office of Sgt. Chris Bee, who works in the Police Department's Neighborhood Services Unit, sources said. Several individuals also received subpoenas to appear before a grand jury.

No charges are expected soon in the case. Typically in federal investigations, search warrants are executed at the midpoint in a probe. Agents are likely to spend months analyzing the documents before presenting them to the grand jury. Federal investigators are looking for evidence of kickbacks to police for the towing of abandoned vehicles, sources said. They are also looking at whether threats of code enforcement by the Department of Licenses and Inspections was used as leverage to arrange the sale of beer to bars and restaurants.

Mayor Nutter's spokesman, Mark McDonald, said the mayor was briefed by Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey about the FBI investigation "in a very general way, without many details at all." Ramsey could not be reached for comment late Thursday night.

A man answering the phone at Oasis declined to comment.

Investigators are also looking into the connection between city officials and Chappy's Beer, Butts & Bets, a beer distributor at 17th Street and Moyamensing Avenue, sources said. One of the allegations is whether establishments were told to buy beer from Chappy's in order to avoid problems with L&I, sources said.

One of the owners of Chappy's is Gregory Quigley, a disbarred South Philadelphia attorney, who was sentenced in March 2009 to five years of probation and fined $5,000 after pleading guilty to a perjury charge linked to an organized-crime gambling investigation in Delaware County.