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ALTON TELEGRAPH ALTON, ILLINOIS The new police chief's promise to crack down on nudity in some Alton bars resulted in an allegedly topless female bartender being charged with lewd entertainment early Thursday. The woman, Jessica L. Thomas, 22, of Collinsville, was arrested at 12:23 a.m. at the Pub Room, 230 E. Broadway, during a police compliance check of a half-dozen businesses holding liquor licenses. "As I walked in the tavern, I observed Thomas run to the back of the business topless," the arresting police officer wrote in his report. The report says Thomas also works at Roxy's Night Club in Brooklyn, a strip club near East St. Louis. Alton Police Chief David Hayes said authorities are working with the Madison County State's Attorney's Office to bring state-level charges of public indecency against Thomas. At the state level, public indecency is a Class A misdemeanor, and someone convicted of a third or subsequent violation of the offense is guilty of a Class 4 felony. The present charge against Thomas is a lesser, city ordinance violation. Hayes also provided information to Mayor Tom Hoechst, the city's liquor control commissioner, who can levy fines, suspend or pull liquor licenses. Hayes, who became chief Aug. 26, sent a letter last month warning all liquor permit holders about complying with the city's lewd entertainment ordinance. He attached a copy of the ordinance and state statute regarding public indecency. "I am asking for any establishment that is not currently complying with these laws to please do so," the letter says in part. "The Alton Police Department will be conducting sporadic compliance checks and will make arrests for any violations," it concludes. Hayes said he followed up by visiting some of the taverns where nudity has been a problem and talked with the owners. "I went to some of the taverns in person to talk to some people where we had problems in the past and asked them to comply with the law," Hayes said. "I at least gave them a warning to comply voluntarily." He noted that the suspects in this week's attack on an Alton man outside the Pub Room, which reportedly had started down the street at the Woodstock Lounge, 638 E. Broadway, were from out of town. "I noticed that those arrested were from out of town; they are being lured into town by these taverns," Hayes said. Last October, police arrested a female employee who police said was totally nude while tending bar and reportedly had been "performing" for male customers. The woman, now 25, is in jail on an unrelated felony charge in Jersey County. On Dec. 23, 2005, police arrested three women at the Pub Room and charged them with public indecency after they showed their breasts. Police said one employee was wearing only a thin, black G-string and black boots; the other worker was partially clothed in a transparent, red lingerie top and Santa Claus hat, thin G-string underwear, white high-heeled shoes, thigh-high stockings, and her top was open, exposing her breasts, a police report says. The third woman wore a black transparent top pulled open to expose her breasts, a G-string and black boots. None of the women filed pleas, and all of the cases eventually were "nolle prosequi" (not prosecuted). Meanwhile, four men were charged with misdemeanor mob action following Tuesday's fight outside the Pub Room that had started at Woodstock Lounge. A fifth suspect, 24, from Kane, was not charged Thursday. The incident caused police to chase down suspects in front of and behind Alton City Hall. One man was arrested hiding in some scrub bushes and another on a city parking lot. Lt. Scott Golike, chief of detectives at the Alton Police Department, said the police investigation showed the Kane man was not involved in the attack against the Alton man. Police identified those charged as Joshua Raterman, 21, of Belleville; Adam Kress, 22, of Collinsville; Robert D. Wolff, of the 5200 block of Illinois Route 140 in the Meadowbrook area; and Adam Monroe, 26, of the 15000 block of Elm Street, Grafton. Monroe and Wolff suffered minor injuries in the fight and were treated at Alton Memorial Hospital emergency room and released to police. The victim, 22, of Alton, did not require medical treatment.
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