Police Say Ocean City Bar Used to Film Pornographic Movies

OCEAN CITY, Md. (Delmarvanow.com) -- A police investigation into whether Cowboyz Smokehouse and Saloon had served alcohol to minors has led officers to a Web site showing pornographic movies that had been filmed inside the restaurant.

On the heels of Cowboyz being shut down Sept. 16 due to health code violations, Ocean City police spokesman Mike Levy said footage was obtained from the Internet depicting explicit sex acts filmed in the Cowboyz kitchen and around the restaurant, in which two women are seen drinking alcohol. Police then confirmed that both were under 21 at the time the video was shot, Levy said.

"There were activities displayed in food preparation areas that were not consistent with food preparation," Levy said. "The video shows what we believe were violations of the liquor license."

Levy said police learned of the footage after one of the women in the video, whom he would not identify, came to police complaining that she had not given her consent for the photos or videos of her to be posted on the Internet. Police are still reviewing the videos for criminal content, Levy also said.

Several telephone and e-mail messages left for Cowboyz owner John Brooks seeking comment by The Daily Times have gone unreturned.

Police began investigating Cowboyz earlier this year, Levy said, after receiving complaints that minors were being served alcohol, including underage Cowboyz employees. He said police tested the claims by sending a 20-year-old female police cadet to the bar, where she was served alcohol.

Police forwarded their findings to the Worcester County Health Department and Board of License Commissioners for review, based on apparent violations in each of their jurisdictions, Levy said.

April Payne of the Board of License Commissioners said Cowboyz had been scheduled for a Sept. 22 violation hearing, but it was postponed because Cowboyz ownership said there'd been a death in the family. The hearing is now set for Oct. 15.

Ed Potetz, the county's director of environmental health, said an inspector visited Cowboyz, located inside the Gold Coast Mall, on Aug. 19.

The results of that inspection, which are public record, showed health code violations that included having unrefrigerated ground beef and a dishwasher without sanitizer. The restaurant was given 30 days to resolve any violations.

The health inspector returned Sept. 16, when she documented more off-temperature meat, fruit flies at the bar, mold in an ice chute and no running hot water, among other violations.

Because of the lack of hot water, the health department shut down Cowboyz immediately. With the closing, a scheduled breast cancer benefit and a concert by rock band Molly Hatchet both were canceled.

The restaurant will be closed indefinitely, according to messages posted on its Web site earlier this week.

"We are currently reviewing offers for sale of the business and its contents," the statement read. "We have no problem with the health department doing their jobs. We only asked to be treated like any other business, fairly and no more."

On Sept. 18, two days after the closing, the site said the restaurant been shuttered for a "dangerous gas leak" -- a claim refuted by Gold Coast Mall management as being false. The message soon changed to "Cowboyz has been temporarily closed due to bureaucracy beyond our control."

Potetz said he arranged a reinspection walk-through with Cowboyz for Sept. 19, the Saturday following the closure, but it never happened.

He said he arrived at the restaurant about 4 p.m. to find a wood plank blocking access from the rear entry and a no-trespassing sign.

"The place is not even accessible," he said.

Other messages posted this week on the Cowboyz Web site -- which, as of Wednesday, went blank -- refuted or explained several alleged health department claims, saying all listed violations were corrected within hours of the inspection.

The unsigned messages, attributed to "Cowboyz management," said its managers were "not allowed to comment or participate in the walk through of the restaurant." It also said the lack of hot water at the time of the second inspection was because the pilot light on the water heater had gone out.

"Until someone is proven guilty in a court of law, everything written or said is just hearsay and speculation, but it seems that makes no difference in this case," the Web site at one point said. "There's a whole lot of glass houses in the area and a healthy supply of rocks."