# Prince Hall Lodge Running a Strip Club In Maryland



## My Freemasonry (Feb 11, 2015)

From the Maryland Gazette.net today. Has anyone ever heard of Charles Datcher Masonic Lodge #15 of Washington D.C.? It is a lodge chartered by the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington DC, but I've never heard of a regular lodge that offers up strippers as a recruitment tool. Their private club even has a Facebook page. There is something very wrong with this picture. This is the kind of stuff that got the Jesters in trouble, and besmirches the fraternity. The MWPHGLofWDC needs to come down hard on these guys.


_A private club in Forestville providing nightly strip dancing performances as a “recruitment tool” for freemasons has been denied a permit for adult entertainment.The Prince George’s County Council, which sits as the District Council on zoning issues, upheld the zoning examiner’s denial of a special exemption permit for adult entertainment to Bazz and Crue, during its Monday meeting.Dennis Whitley III, attorney for Bazz and Crue, described the site at 7752-7754 Marlboro Pike in Forestville as a private lounge for freemasons and potential freemasons of Charles Datcher Masonic Lodge #15 of Washington D.C.,; however, county zoning officials say the site hosts nightly nude dancing and lap dancing.Bazz and Crue owners could not be reached for comment.Whitley described the adult entertainment that goes on at the site as a “recruitment tool” to draw in potential freemasons.“I believe the idea is to go to where the gentlemen are,” Whitley told the council.Whitley described the dancers as “independent contractors” who make their money through tips.Whitley said potential members must apply to become freemasons and pay $240 yearly membership dues, with a $20 minimum down payment.“You can visit once, and if it is something you are interested in, you can go on to pay the full $240. If it’s something you’re not interested in, you don’t have to pay the rest,” Whitley said.Whitley said membership is not automatic, but that individuals must demonstrate they are of “moral character” in their applications.“What is the nature of the moral character you have to demonstrate?” said Council Chairman Mel Franklin (D-Dist. 9) of Upper Marlboro.Whitley said he could not speak to the specific requirements.Whitley characterized the adult entertainment as one of many events that go on at the private club, saying it is also used for masonic rituals, gatherings and classes, and where adult entertainment also occurs.“They offer adult entertainment, but it is still a private club,” Whitley said. “If they offered opera, it would not make it an opera house.”Permits filed with the county when Bazz & Crue opened in 2001 describe it as a private lounge for members of Charles Datcher Masonic Lodge #15 of Washington D.C.The permits stated the site would be used for classes, gatherings, as a rest area for elderly members and other events, but did not mention adult entertainment.“It seems to me there was a misrepresentation as to what was going on at the club,” said Councilwoman Deni Taveras (D-Dist. 3) of Hyattsville._ 
_Douglas Edwards of Capitol Heights, president of the Coalition of Civic Associations of Central Prince George’s County, said he is also a freemason and has never heard of the recruitment tactics used by the club._
_“I’m a 32nd degree mason, and when I heard about the $20 fee, I thought, masons are not recruited. They come of their own free will,” Edwards said.Edwards spoke out against the club being awarded an exemption.“We’re not going to enjoy having that in our community,” Edwards said.Zoning ordinances passed in 2009 prohibit adult entertainment in the area, but Whitley argued the club should be grandfathered in as a special exemption, as adult entertainment had been going on at the site since 2001._​_

H/T Bill Arnold

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## Glen Cook (Feb 12, 2015)

Brethren: subsequent review has shown that this was not a lodge activity, but a former member using the Lodge name.


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