A former mayor of the fourth-biggest city in Maine is among the alleged johns in the infamous Zumba brothel scandal — as confirmed by the Portland Press Herald and an updated list of suspects released by cops today.
James A. Soule was famous for saying the city of South Portland should secede from the state of Maine. He had previously remained anonymous until a revised list was released today that included middle initials. His attorney confirmed his identity. The former public figure has no previous criminal record. His attorney, Peter DeTroy, told the Press Herald:
I have never in 40 years seen so much ado about so little, but that’s more I think a function of the times we live in than anything else. It’s a Class E misdemeanor, which never generates any jail time. It’s a fine.
DeTroy went on to say that he was not aware of any potential extortion attempt against his client, despite reports of recording equipment being found at the brothel.
Local police in the Maine town of Kennebunk today twice revised the list of men suspected of soliciting sex from alleged madam Alexis Wright at a Zumba-dance-studio-fronted brothel in the town. The new list adds middle initials as well as suffixes to the names of the alleged clients, and later in the day police added ages and addresses.
As we reported yesterday, 21 names were first released by Kennebunk police on Monday.
According to JohnTV.com, the updated list also confirms the identity of at least another one of the “johns.” He is 58-year-old prominent lawyer Jens W. Bergen, an Army veteran and parishioner of the local St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church. When asked for comment his office refused, however an employee at The Spa at River’s Edge, which is located directly beside Bergen’s law office, said, “I believe it’s him.”
A judge has reversed a previous decision in the case stating that other identifying information would not be released on the “johns.” Justice Thomas Warren has now ruled that addresses and ages will be issued with further updates.
The police had previously denied requests for addresses and employment records for fear of criminal invasion. That decision backfired when one of the men on the list, Paul Main, shared the name of a local well-known former Sheriff’s Deputy. The retired officer told WCSH-NBC:
When I first saw my name on the computer I laughed, and then as I got up I’m thinking, ‘All my years in law enforcement, all my years, activities with children, coaching baseball, the young men that I know who are now dads today and responsible citizens, this is very misleading and I don’t think it’s fair.’ And then I became upset, to say the least I was very upset.
The full list of 21 suspected johns released so far:
Gary D. Bahlkow, 57, of 15 Lawrence Road, North Yarmouth, ME
Jens W. Bergen, 54, of 79 Portland Road, Kennebunk, ME
Norman P. Crepeau Jr., 46, of 2 Channel Cove Lane, Biddeford, ME
Joseph P. Cuetara, 63, of 10 Commercial Wharf, Suite 511, Boston, MA
Kenneth A. Fairbanks, 54, of 177 Ridge Road, Lisbon Falls, ME
Donald F. Hill, 52, of 139 Union Avenue, Old Orchard Beach, ME
Monie B. Hobbs Jr., 43, of 11 Aaron’s Way, North Berwick, ME
David Kline, 51, of 870 Central Road, Rye Beach, NH
Robert R. Labonte, 61, of 8 New County Road, Saco, ME
Dale P. Madore, 34, of 242 West Pownal Road, North Yarmouth, ME
Paul A. Main, 43, of 153 South Street, Biddeford, ME
Harry J. McMann, 55, of 76 Morning Street, Portland, ME
Kevin L. Pagliccia, 39, 200 Frost Road, Lyman, ME
Claude S. Palmer Jr., 47, of 117 Pottle Road, Oxford, ME
Philip K. Parker, 65, of 125 Ross Road, Kennebunk, ME
Colin P. Powers, 39, of 4 Ramsay Terrace, Scarborough, ME
Clinton J. Ray, 42, of 150 Falmouth Street, Portland, ME
James A. Soule, 58, of 23 Whitworth Drive, South Portland, ME
John D. Verreault, 50, of 1 Seafields Lane, Saco, ME
James P. White, 38, of 50 Lord Road, Buxton, ME
Peter M. Wormell Sr., 61, of 200 Brook Street, Westbrook, ME
Lt. Anthony Jean Burpee, who has been liaising with press on the case, was unavailable for comment when contacted by Heavy.com but offered this information earlier in the day:
- Three detectives are working on the case
- One detective is local, the other two are from Maine State Police
- The accused will face court dates on the 5th December
- The next batch of names is expected on the 26th October
It could be quite some time before the complete list of “johns” is released. At the current rate it would be February 2013 before the full 150 names are in the public domain. The local police blotter is made publicly available every other Friday and includes the names of those summonsed during the previous two weeks.