Everett flattens 2 coffee stands used as brothels

EVERETT — A track hoe on Wednesday chewed up two roadside coffee stands that once belonged to a former exotic dancer who made millions selling sex out of the bikini-espresso huts.

Carmela Panico’s lucrative drive-through brothels were reduced to rubble in a matter of hours. Earlier this year Panico, 52, agreed to walk away from her business as part of the plea agreement she struck that likely will spare her from more jail time. Panico admitted she was promoting prostitution out of Java Juggs and Twin Peaks and laundering the proceeds.

The espresso madam was arrested last year as part of an investigation into police corruption. Everett detectives and the FBI began tailing a former Snohomish County sheriff’s sergeant after police heard from some of Panico’s baristas that there was a “dirty cop” supplying their boss with confidential information.

Darrell O’Neill, 59, is charged with official misconduct and promoting prostitution. He is accused of helping Panico and her employees avoid undercover police stings and turning a blind eye to the illegal sex-for-sale operations. Prosecutors say Panico and her stand manager Samantha Lancaster gave O’Neill sexual favors in exchange for his help.

O’Neill, who resigned after 30 years with the department, is scheduled to go on trial early next year. Panico has agreed to testify against him.

Panico forfeited about $250,000 police seized from her Snohomish-area home. She is banned from opening up any other coffee businesses in Snohomish County.

The city of Everett considered selling Panico’s stands, located on Highway 99, but later determined that they weren’t up to code and would cost too much to fix.

“It’s a matter of dollar and cents,” the city’s code enforcement supervisor Kevin Fagerstrom said Wednesday. “They are dilapidated and disgusting.”

The shoddy stands were poorly constructed and wouldn’t survive a move, he added.

City workers on Wednesday hauled out bags of trash, including old milk, bottles of flavored syrups and a coffee grinder. Windows were still painted with messages promoting the business and encouraging baristas to smile and make “big bank.”

The first stand didn’t have running water or working sinks inside — no place for workers to wash their hands. Baristas used a farm-style pump outside and hauled cold water into the stand.

As traffic streamed by on Highway 99, the track hoe crunched through plywood and insulation, bringing the coffee stands down piece by piece. Dump trucks hauled the remains away.

Facing criminal prosecution, Panico had leased three stands to Lancaster earlier this year. In a Nov. 7 letter, a city attorney directed Lancaster to vacate the businesses. He also alleged that she and her employees continued to engage in illegal conduct.

Lancaster, 24, is a veteran in the bikini espresso business. She was 18 when she was caught up in Everett’s first high-profile coffee stand scandal. She was working for Bill Wheeler Sr. at the time. Wheeler’s Grab-n-Go stands were busted after baristas sold explicit sex shows to undercover cops.

Wheeler is suspected of burning down one of Panico’s stands in 2008 before he mysteriously disappeared. His son, who took over the family business, was convicted this year of exploiting an underage barista at one of his bikini espresso stands.

Lancaster was charged last month with promoting prostitution in connection with Panico’s operation. She abandoned the three stands in recent months.

A Monroe woman is operating two other Panico stands. Everett is still working with her to determine how to proceed, city spokeswoman Meghan Pembroke said. A fifth stand’s future also is uncertain. The property owner claims that he is owed back rent.

The city expects to sell the usable coffee equipment it recovered from three stands.

Panico’s business model had little to do with serving a good cup of coffee, investigators found. She preferred to hire women who had worked as exotic dancers or escorts, and rarely paid them an hourly wage. Instead they worked for tips. They engaged in sex shows and allowed customers to fondle them. Others met patrons off site for sex acts. Baristas reported making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year working for Panico.

They also said their former boss could be vindictive, fining them if they didn’t wear high heels and blackmailing them if they didn’t put enough money in the register at the end of their shifts.

Some baristas told detectives they were afraid of crossing Panico because of her ties to Frank Colacurcio. The baristas believed that Colacurcio helped Panico start her coffee businesses. One woman said Panico bragged about her relationship with the Colacurcios.

For years the Seattle-based Colacurcio family operated Talents West, a sex-oriented entertainment business. The Colacurcios ran multiple strip clubs, including Honey’s in Lynnwood. They were forced to shut down their nightclubs as part of federal organized-crime prosecution.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.