PEABODY — Mere months after the reopening of the Golden Banana, police are investigating the shooting of a Chelsea man, who suffered two gunshot wounds while sitting in a car in the parking lot of the controversial strip club early yesterday morning.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Christopher Desimone, 35, still in the back seat, was rushed to Lahey North in Peabody by his companions. He was reported to be in good condition by hospital spokeswoman Susan Donovan.
Desimone has since been moved to another hospital, but with the shooter still at large, The Salem News is withholding the location.
According to police accounts, the assailant apparently caught his victim unaware. He fired from outside the vehicle through a closed window. At least one bullet caught Desimone in the shoulder. Another passenger took glass fragments in his eyes.
"We are following up information," said Peabody police spokesman Dennis Bonaiuto, "that the shooter and (victim) are known to each other." They were not known to the Peabody police, he added. "Just about all of the players (including Desimone's companions) are from places other than Peabody."
It was unclear how many people were in the car during the attack, or whether the victim and those with him were patrons of the club.
The incident was reported at 12:48 a.m. Patrons are expected to vacate the Route 1 club at 1:15 a.m.
State police from District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office have joined the Peabody police in the investigation.
A man identifying himself as the manager of the club told The Salem News yesterday that there would be no comment. Asked if the club's lawyer would comment, he said, "We don't need a lawyer."
"At this point," Bonaiuto said, "we have no information that anything that occurred in the Golden Banana resulted in what happened outside."
Licensing Board Chairman Minas Dakos added, "Until and unless we get a report from the police, there is nothing for us to do. We haven't gotten anything yet."
The Golden Banana reopened in late November after a hiatus of more than four years. Originally closed in the wake of the Station nightclub fire because it lacked sprinklers, the reopening was delayed by a bitter court struggle between the landlord, Frank DiBella, and the owners of the strip club, the Fiumara family.
The newly renovated club now belongs to Mark Filtranti, who also owns Ten's in Salisbury. There have been no problems reported to the Licensing Board since it reopened.
Nonetheless, city officials have long regarded the club as a thorn in their side.
"It's just something you wish you could get rid of," City Councilor Jim Liacos said after hearing of the shooting. Crime exists everywhere, he said — but such establishments seem to draw it. "It's been trouble. ... I get comments, 'Why do you let that go on? Why do you let it happen?' The bottom line is it's the courts controlling it. It's ... freedom of speech, I guess."
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