Politics & Government

Przybylo Disavows Stripper Service Owner

UPDATED. Candidate for Niles mayor Andrew Przybylo said he had no knowledge his campaign's PR manager owns, or owned, a stripper entertainment service, in addition to owning a public relations firm.

 

UPDATED 10 a.m. with reaction from consultant

One of the candidates in the race for Niles mayor distanced himself Monday from his public relations consultant after it became public that the consultant, Bernie DiMeo, also is, or was, an owner of Strippers of Chicago.

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Strippers of Chicago provides strippers for entertainment at parties, such as bachelor and bachelorette parties. Its website advertises "Win a two-girl dream show."

"I didn't know anything about that, but certainly that excludes him from any role," said Andrew Przybylo, one of the mayoral candidates, adamantly. "If it's true, then that precludes him from any involvement in Niles with my administration. That is not right for Niles."

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The information came to light when a commenter posted it in the comments section of a Patch.com article. The poster provided a link to a LinkedIn profile which listed DiMeo as owner of Strippers of Chicago. That information has since been removed from the profile.

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However, the Strippers of Chicago website invites customers to "Call Bernie" to make reservations for a party, and that phone number, when dialed, offers a recorded message which says, "This is Bernie DiMeo" and asks callers to leave a message. Patch.com did call DiMeo, who did not return the call before posting time.

DiMeo called back at 10 a.m. Tuesday and said he was a part owner of a company called Grin N' Bare It from 2003 to 2008. The strippersofchicago.com website indicates the company was formerly named Grin N' Bare It. 

"Something stayed on my LinkedIn page as a past history. I totally forgot about it," he said.

"I don't have any interest in that company and I haven't had for quite some time, and that's the last I'm going to talk about it," he said.

However, the strippersofchicago.com site which lists DiMeo's phone number was advertising a party from November 23.

The Bernie DiMeo Communications Facebook page also lists that same phone number listed on the strippersofchicago.com site in its "Contact" section. 

Additionally, DiMeo is listed as the domain owner of the Strippers of Chicago.com site on whois.domaintools.com. 

DiMeo has taken an active role in the campaign, from posting press releases to blogging for Przybylo's New Niles Party. 

DiMeo also counts White Eagle Banquets, the Przybylo family business, among his clients. 

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Note: One of the photos attached to this story is a screenshot of the StrippersOfChicago.com website, with the phone number visible at the lower left. The other two photos are file photos and are not connected to the stripper service mentioned in this story. 


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