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Dance studio owner gets 30 years

The judge said she got queasy reviewing testimony from victims who had been swindled out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published July 7, 2006

A Safety Harbor dance studio owner convicted of swindling elderly customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday.

A jury convicted Michael Pasquarelli, 50, in March of using high-pressure sales tactics to scam lonely, vulnerable customers of the Dance Place.

Before imposing the maximum sentence, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Linda R. Allan told Pasquarelli that he had shown neither remorse nor an ability to earn an honest living.

Allan said she was confident he would go back to the same kind of criminal activity if he were released.

"Anyone so lacking in conscience cannot be trusted in society," she said.

Allan ordered Pasquarelli to pay more than $500,000 in restitution. She said the notes she took during the trial about the victims and the amounts they paid Dance Place made her queasy when she reviewed them.

Flanked by his lawyers and reading from a brief statement, Pasquarelli said listening to the testimony of one of his victims during the trial made him realize for the first time that what he did was wrong.

"I am truly sorry," he said. "I would like the opportunity to make restitution to the students and society in general."

Pasquarelli's Dance Place in Safety Harbor was the first dance studio closed by the state in years.

The state's investigation into Pasquarelli began in early 2002 after the St. Petersburg Times reported how Audrie Jones, a 75-year-old widow from Palm Harbor, spent $257,000 at Dance Place in just three weeks.

Jones told the Times how Pasquarelli and another Dance Place employee, David B. "Vic" Andrews, pressured her into signing multiple confusing contracts.

At Pasquarelli's trial, the prosecution presented former students and instructors who described sales at the Dance Place from both sides. Tactics used to exploit clients zeroed in on their vulnerabilities: the mental infirmities of the elderly, loneliness from divorce or a spouse's death, or even a student's affection for an instructor.

In his defense, Pasquarelli's attorneys tried, unsuccessfully, to portray him as a businessman who used aggressive sales practices common to any car dealership. They argued students were willing and competent, and by and large enjoyed themselves.

Andrews, 77, also was charged with racketeering, but on the eve of his trial last year, he pleaded guilty in exchange for a sentence that would not exceed 10 years in prison.

Andrews is a two-time offender. In 1995, he was convicted of preying on elderly dance club patrons at Aragon World Dance Studio in Port Richey. Pasquarelli, who worked there, testified at Andrews' trial.

[Last modified July 7, 2006, 14:11:36]