Two Defendants Agree to Pay Over $700,000 in Outstanding Taxes and to Monitoring of XXXV Club for Five Years

TRENTON — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) today announced that multiple defendants, including the owner of a Sayreville strip club, pleaded guilty as part of a resolution of a case charging misconduct at the club. The pleas were entered on June 3, 2025, during a hearing before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone, presiding at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick.

Under the terms of the global resolution of the case for all remaining defendants, the owner of XXXV Club on Route 35, Doreen Acciardi, and her husband, Anthony Acciardi Sr., of Freehold Township, New Jersey, entered guilty pleas to maintaining a nuisance through maintaining a house of prostitution (a 4th-degree crime) and failure to pay income tax (a 3rd-degree crime). The couple agreed to jointly fully pay all taxes they owe to the New Jersey Treasury Department’s Division of Taxation, for an approximate total of $705,000, in addition to mandatory fines and penalties. Approximately $420,000 in cash that was seized by law enforcement during the investigation will be forfeited by the defendants and applied to the tax settlement.

Additionally, 35 Club, LLC (which does business as XXXV Club) pleaded guilty to engaging in the operation of a sexually oriented business (a 4th-degree crime). Under the agreement, XXXV Club will be subject to independent monitoring for a period of five years beginning January 1, 2025 and terminating January 1, 2030. Pursuant to the terms of a monitoring agreement, XXXV Club must be accessible to the monitor via closed-circuit television and in-person inspections at all times.

Acciboys, LLC, an entity that owned ATMs in the club and that belonged to defendant Anthony Acciardi Jr., of Old Bridge, and defendant Stephen Acciardi, of Freehold Township, also pleaded guilty to maintaining a nuisance through maintaining a house of prostitution (a 4th-degree crime).

Anthony Acciardi Jr. and Stephen Acciardi, who worked at the club, along with club employees Jeanine Nichols and Jason Portes, all were or will be admitted to the pretrial intervention program for a period of three years and must pay mandatory fines and penalties. In addition, Stephen Acciardi agreed to pay taxes owed to the Division of Taxation.

As part of the resolution, charges will be dismissed against Alana, Inc., a real estate holding company which owns the property on which XXXV Club is situated.

“The guilty pleas in this case underscore that illegal business dealings and tax cheating are not worth it. Those crimes will not go undetected and, once they’re uncovered, they will be prosecuted,” said Attorney General Platkin.

“My office will pursue and prosecute those who use lawful businesses as fronts for illegal activity and those who try to avoid paying the taxes they owe,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. “The monitoring put in place as a result of this case is intended to ensure 35 Club cleans up its act.”

As part of the global resolution, the State will recommend that the court sentence Anthony Acciardi Sr. to three years of probation supervision and Doreen Acciardi to two years of probation supervision, and further order them to comply with all conditions imposed on their businesses.

Based on publicly filed court documents and proceedings in the case, the investigation into the strip club revealed that it doubled as a house of prostitution and that dancers performed sexual acts on patrons in the VIP rooms. The investigation additionally showed certain defendants largely failed to report the proceeds of the unlawful prostitution operation as taxable income.

The case was handled by OPIA Corruption Bureau Deputy Attorney General Amanda Nini, Deputy Director Michael Breslin, and OPIA Corruption Bureau Co-Director Eric Gibson, under the supervision of OPIA Executive Director Skinner.

Defense counsel:

For Anthony Acciardi, Sr.: Louis M. Barbone, Esq., Atlantic City

For Doreen Acciardi, Acciboys, and Club XXXV: Jeffrey A. Bronster, Esq., Fairview

For Anthony Acciardi, Jr: Jonathan M. Petty, Esq., New Brunswick

For Stephen Acciardi: Michael A. Policastro, Esq., Milltown

For Jeanine Nichols and Jason Portes: Emery Z. Toth, Esq., Perth Amboy