Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
The mayor, police and neighbors want to close Taboo Tampa, a haven for sexual play among couples.
By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 24, 2000
TAMPA -- The swingers slipped into town quietly, in Toyotas and BMWs, in khaki Dockers and skintight studded leather, converging nightly on the big pink-and-white houseat Nebraska and Comanche. Inside, they munched Chex Mix, sipped Coke from red plastic cups, and occasionally disappeared to back room mattresses with each other's spouses.
Neighbors, meanwhile, were swapping rumors. Some figured it must be an art gallery, which would explain why a lot of visitors wore fancy dress. Others said a brothel, which would explain why no one showed up before 10 p.m. The truth, when it came out, made some neighbors twitter and others reach for their children.
Now, 10 months after they arrived, the swingers' haven in Old Seminole Heights, called Taboo Tampa, has become the latest battleground in the city's sex wars. The mayor calls it an embarrassment. Police want it closed. State Attorney Jack Rudy is prosecuting the owner, John Melfi, for violating zoning regulations.
The patrons say the legal attacks have less to do with the city code than with their lifestyle, which they call deeply misunderstood but far more common than city leaders think.
"It's very difficult to meet other people in the lifestyle," said Melfi, 36, who helped open a similar club in Atlanta and hopes to open more in other states. Melfi, who rents the house, hoped the location would be discreet. He estimates 2,500 people have gone through the door since he opened in December.
On a recent Friday night, a St. Petersburg Times reporter toured the house. A sign in the front lobby warns visitors of possible nudity. In mingling areas dimly lit by candlelight and bulbs meant to resemble candles, visitors lounge on overstuffed sofas, ignoring chess and backgammon sets while pornography plays on two TVs.
In one room, patrons chat tentatively around a long table arrayed with platters of finger food. Everyone is clothed. From there, halls lead to a series of bedrooms equipped with beds and sex toys. Upstairs, in the "couples room," some half-dozen mattresses are laid out side by side.
Besides the rule barring alcohol, swingers say they obey a code of etiquette. People must ask before joining another couple. Swingers say they come in all types. Some just watch, which falls under "soft swinging."
The basic question of what to call Taboo Tampa has pitted Melfi against the combined might of the city and its law-enforcement apparatus.
Melfi, who used to work in the nightclub business, calls it a private, European-style social club. The city, noting that swingers must pay to get in -- $50 for a three-month membership, plus a "mandatory donation" on entering, which is waived for single women, but ranges from $25 to $70 -- calls it an adult business, even though swinger clubs aren't specifically mentioned in the city code.
Melfi is now appealing the city's ruling that he runs an adult-use business. On Friday, Circuit Judge Sam Pendino threw out his request to halt arrests until those appeals play out.
-- Researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Christopher Goffard can be reached at (813) 226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com.