Police raids, confiscated film reels, seized projectors, and arrests were routine hazards in Griffith’s adult-theater empire. In one particularly absurd episode, Miami officials revoked his business license, but Griffith briefly entered the theater’s box office anyway, apparently intent on keeping the operation alive. Police followed him in and began arresting the people connected with the venue. Griffith later recalled that he and his dancers were arrested repeatedly and estimated that there were “24 times, I think, in one night.” On other occasions, he claimed that the staff would be arrested, released, and return to reopen the same theater before the night was over, turning enforcement into a bizarre ritual of closure and immediate defiance.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
The Night Miami Police Arrested Griffith and His Staff 24 Times
Leroy Griffith’s Miami Theater Circuit / 1970s
Police raids, confiscated film reels, seized projectors, and arrests were routine hazards in Griffith’s adult-theater empire. In one particularly absurd episode, Miami officials revoked his business license, but Griffith briefly entered the theater’s box office anyway, apparently intent on keeping the operation alive. Police followed him in and began arresting the people connected with the venue. Griffith later recalled that he and his dancers were arrested repeatedly and estimated that there were “24 times, I think, in one night.” On other occasions, he claimed that the staff would be arrested, released, and return to reopen the same theater before the night was over, turning enforcement into a bizarre ritual of closure and immediate defiance.
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