Masseuse: Cops Made Me Clean Toilet After Bogus Arrest

A licensed massage therapist is suing the city, claiming she was falsely arrested at a legit massage parlor and then forced to clean an overflowing toilet at the stationhouse before cops let her go—without even issuing her a ticket. In a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday, Gabrielle Vignolini, a 31-year-old mother of three, says she was giving a fully-clothed friend a "chakra rock treatment" at the Morounfola Beauty Spa in Stapleton one day last August when cops wrongly arrested her.

According to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by the Daily News, a plainclothes cop "barged in" and asked, "Can I get some?" He was asked to leave, and the Post reports that a "scuffle ensued," and Vignolini and the spa owner were arrested and taken to the 120th Precinct stationhouse. There they remained in custody for 22 hours in a "filthy, unhygienic cell" with a broken toilet that was "overflowing, causing water and waste to flood the cell's floor."

Ultimately, a female cop told Vignolini, "You're not leaving until you clean that up," referring to the toilet, the lawsuit alleges. Vignolini says she complied, at which point she was set free, along with the spa owner, without being arraigned or charged. A police spokeswoman claims the DA declined to prosecute Vignolini for unlicensed massaging, though her attorney insists she is licensed. It's now up to the courts to decide if Vignolini's story has a happy ending, or if she's just rubbing the NYPD the wrong way. (Either way, we're ashamed of ourselves for what we just did there.)

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By John Del Signore in News on June 24, 2011 9:32 AM

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Wanda Paris

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Pashri Diaz

Before hiring a police officer, they should consider "Is this person going to cost this department undue embarrassment or money?"

zombiebob

whatever the specifics, I hope they pay through the crapper lol. Public embarrassment and a sound financial whupping are the only things that make precincts stop being a-hole repositories

felixthecat

Shitty ending

FreeDumb1

dirty cops looking for a shake down

virgilstarkwell

ok - if this is true, it's lousy what happened to this woman and it shouldn't go unpunished. but why does every misdeed need to go through the fucking scumbag lawyer tollbooth? i don't know how much he wants but this doesn't strike me as a multi-million dollar infraction.

take $25,000.00, the key to the city, a heartfelt apology, lunch with the s.i. boro president and call it a day.

Barbara Starkweather

Yeah, she shouldn't go to a lawyer, she should call the police.....oh, wait..um...

valerick

You really think they're going to hand over $25K to her without a lawyer involved? Yeah, okay.

virgilstarkwell

yes, i actually think they'd jump at the chance to get off so cheap and avoid spending a lot of time on this. $25,000.00 is absolutely nothing to them.

valerick

So is a complainant without a lawyer. $25K is pretty expensive when you're not compelled to give her a dime.

virgilstarkwell

you're wrong. if they were threatened with a suit by an attorney and were told they could avoid it by paying only $25K, they'd take it in a second. the problem would be finding a lawyer to take that offer to them.

TimeDown

The lawyer does not make the decision whether or not an offer is accepted. In fact making the decision without your client's consent whether accepting it or not will get you sued for malpractice and quite possibly disbarred (more likely suspended). Even not making your client aware of an offer regardless how low or ridiculous is enough to be sued or disciplined.

The public thinks that lawyers have so much control over settlements and in reality its up to the clients (which usually like to hide behind their lawyers so the lawyer can look like the bad guy instead of them).

And in a case like this you usually accept a percentage of the amount settled for or won (typically 1/3 at the highest). So 1/3 of $25,000 is pretty damn good for many lawyers to take a case like this and have to do little work.

But the city does not settle that easily because, even though a lot of people sue them now, can you imagine what it would be like if they settled easily with people who don't even get a lawyer?

valerick

Well then, if you're just going to make my point for me, then there's no need to argue. Carry on.

TheOtherBob

Where does it say that this is a multi-million dollar suit? Even if it is, though...you start high, and then settle at a reasonable number. That's just how negotiations work.

virgilstarkwell

it doesn't. i'm just assuming that most lawyers, when a case against the city/nypd falls into their lap, act is if they hit the lottery.