WESTBROOK – Nearly three years after the closing of a cabaret club in Westbrook, the former police chief said the city was right to be concerned about the operations taking place behind the closed doors after a court case determined Dreamers cabaret club was financed with drug money.

“Critics said it was a nice place [Dreamers Cabaret] and to just let it operate, but the police believed there was illegal activity associated with Dreamers and it was not in the best interest of our residents,” said Bill Baker, assistant city administrator for business and community relations and former police chief.

The three men, Adam Goodwin, Neil Laverriere and Dr. John Perry, entered guilty pleas on charges of interstate drug conspiracy in their case at the Maine U.S. District Court on July 24.

According to court documents, Perry provided fraudulent oxycodone prescriptions, which were filled in various pharmacies across southern Maine. Laverriere then sold the pills to a purchaser in southern Maine for cash, some of which was used to finance Dreamers, the documents said.

Dreamers was open for one day in September 2010 before city officials shut it down, saying it was in violation of a city order by not obtaining the proper permits to operate.

The cabaret continued to be a problem spot for police, who visited the building located on Warren Avenue multiple times, including once in December 2010 when police heard loud music coming from the building and found a disco ball running and a few people inside.

“The fact is that money from the drug operation financed Dreamers, and that is an important aspect to a now forgotten story. There’s a pattern for people to criticize the police and criticize the city and then when they do plead guilty and go to prison no one ever circles back to say the city was right. It’s important that that happens in this case,” Baker said.

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