Tolland Officials Studying Local Impact Of Electric Blue Indictment

TOLLAND, CT — Tolland's municipal chief executive Wednesday night said that he, the town council and the town's legal team are examining the possibility that the business practices of the Electric Blue Cafe may have violated local ordinances and regulations in light of federal charges against it's owner, a manager and a bouncer.

Federal and state authorities Wednesday announced that, day earlier, a federal grand jury in Hartford returned a 12-count indictment charging Electric Blue owner Kenneth Denning, 67, of Holland, MA; manager Joshuan Baker, 41, of Willimantic; and William Mayor, 41, of Manchester, who was identified as a bouncer; with offenses stemming from the operation of the strip club on Merrow Road.

The charges range from tax evasion to prostitution to money laundering.

See the charges in detail here.

Following the announcement of the indictment, Tolland Town Manager Brian Foley released a statement:

"This morning, I was contacted by members of law enforcement and informed of the arrest of a local business owner Ken Denning. Mr. Denning is the owner of the Electric Blue on Merrow Rd. The federal charges are Prostitution and Tax related.

"Given the serious nature of the charges, we are all saddened and concerned for the many potential victims of the alleged crimes. We are thankful for the investigative efforts of the Connecticut State Police, US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England, and the IRS Criminal Investigation New England. This investigation, in its infancy, was largely initiated by Tolland Resident Troopers office years ago. We are especially thankful to our Tolland resident troopers.

"Following this morning’s notification, I immediately contacted our Town Council as well as our town attorney, Rick Conti. We are intently examining if any town ordinances or Town of Tolland Code relating to the Electric Blue establishment were violated. We are, once again, looking to see what legal options we have to ensure this never happens again. We will work with the US Attorney’s Office and the Connecticut State’s Attorneys Office to get as much information as we can."