UNION — A state appeals court on Tuesday, in two separate rulings, dismissed indictments against two men charged with illegally operating a Route 22 strip club that is at the center of a 19-year battle with the township.

In the rulings, an appeals court panel said prosecutors failed to prove the defendants - Ibrahim Eldakroury, an employee of Hott 22, and Daniel Russo, a former owner - knew they were operating a sexually oriented club within 1,000 feet of a residential area, a violation of state law.



Municipal leaders have battled to close the club since it opened in 1995. Mark Spivey, spokesman for the Union County Prosecutor's Office, said that office will review the appeals court decisions.

"During the coming weeks the Prosecutor's Office will be weighing its various options in how to proceed with this matter," Spivey said in a statement.

"My clients are delighted with the decision," said John Williams, the Verona lawyer who represented both Eldakroury and Russo. However, Williams said the decision failed to address his argument that the state law establishing the limitation should not have a criminal charge attached. William said he plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court over that issue.

Williams on Tuesday also maintained that the the club does not violate the law. He said the state law is vague about how the 1,000 feet should be measured.

Eldakroury, in response to his indictment, filed a motion to dismiss the case because prosecutors never presented evidence to a grand jury that he knew the club violated the 1,000-foot limit. The prosecutor's office countered that it was not required to prove the owner knew he violated that limit.

In June 2013, Superior Court Judge Robert Mega ruled the prosecutor was "blatantly wrong" in telling the grand jury that is was unnecessary to prove the owner knew the distance limitation had been violated. Mega threw out the indictment, and the prosecutor's office filed an appeal. On Tuesday, the appeals court panel upheld Mega's ruling.

"The state was required to prove that the defendant knew the business was within 1,000 feet of a residential zone," State Appellate Court Judges Susan Reisner, Michael Haas and Carol Higbee wrote in their opinion.

Similarly, the judges threw out the indictment against Russo, a former longtime owner of the club, who sold the club in 2009.

Russo pleaded guilty to charges in August 2008 and received a fine and a probation sentence, according to the appeals court decision. The sentence was stayed, pending the outcome of a challenge to the law, claiming there should not be a criminal charge attached to the statute.

In December 2011, he lost that challenge, according to the appellate court decision, and the following year, the prosecutor moved to reinstate the probation sentence. A Superior Court judge upheld the sentence in Jan. 2013, and rejected Russo's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Russo appealed, challenging the reinstatement of the sentence and the indictment.

In a separate ruling on Tuesday, the appeals court threw out the indictment, again citing the prosecutor's failure to prove that Russo knew the business was within 1,000 feet of a residential area. In their ruling, the judges said that prosecutors could submit the case to another grand jury and seek another indictment with evidence that Russo knew he violated the law.

Russo ran an all-nude juice bar where patrons could bring their own alcoholic beverages.

The current owner, Kevin Hickey, modified the club, and the women who perform there now wear thong bikinis. Hickey was also charged with violating the law, but his case was stayed pending the outcome of the other cases, Williams said.

Also pending is a federal suit that the club has filed against the township, which challenges the law on constitutional grounds, and contends that the repeated attempts to close the business have amounted to civil rights violations.

Union Township leaders still contend the business operates illegally.

"The township is disappointed by the dismissal of the indictments. However, it is hoped that the Union County prosecutor will review the file and proceed to re-charge the defendants, who for too long have operated an illegal business," Township Attorney Daniel Antonelli said in a statement.

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Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.