2 Arrested for Running Prostitution Ring

A Manhattan attorney was indicted yesterday on charges that he and his wife ran a prostitution ring out of an unlicensed strip club.

Louis Posner, 52, and his wife, Betty Posner, 57, face 20 charges from the Manhattan district attorney's office.

According to the indictment, the Posners operated an exotic dancing club called the Hot Lap Dance Club, located in an illegally sublet loft at the corner of 38th Street and Eighth Avenue. For prices between $200 and $5,000, customers could have sex with dancers in private rooms at the club, the indictment claims.

These allegations come after a yearlong investigation into the inner workings of the club, during which undercover police officers were offered sex for money by eight different dancers. The district attorney's office said Ms. Posner infrequently visited the club, but regularly falsified business records in order to maintain it.

Both defendants were arraigned yesterday in state Supreme Court and pleaded not guilty. They were released, with their next court date set for October 23.

Mr. Posner is an attorney in private practice. He could not be reached for comment.