A Washington Woman Sold Sex Through Her Espresso Stand

Carmela Panico, a 53-year old former exotic dancer, seemed like quite an entrepreneur. Back in 2008, she started a business called Java Juggs Espresso. Think of it as Hooters for coffee. Beautiful women clad in bikinis served coffee-based drinks out of small, roadside stands that were located in Snohomish County, Washington.

Panico seemed to have the golden touch: Some of the baristas reported earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Panico deposited over $2 million in her bank in three years. She bought herself horses, boats, and had multiple plastic surgeries.

One problem: unlike Hooters (presumably), the chain was a front for a prostitution ring. Along with their espresso, customers could get a panoply of other offerings. None of which were legal.

The stands were raided in 2013 and Panico faced up to a year in jail. But this week, a judge sprung Panico from jail and gave her a waiver after only two days behind bars. The judge based his ruling on the fact that Panico was a first-time offender—and one who had aided law enforcement in apprehending a crooked cop.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Bob Hendrix said he agreed not to push for jail time because Panico helped lead to the arrest of former County Sheriff's Sergeant Darrell O'Neill. "Her cooperation helped secure a felony conviction for former Sgt. O'Neill," Hendrix said.

Yes, Panico lost her lucrative businesses. But now she is able to walk away with very little jail time, even though she was found to have profited from encouraging women with drug problems and financial troubles to offer sexual favors at her businesses.

The corrupt cop apparently helped Panico evade other police officers and turned a blind eye to the prostitution operation. Prosecutors say he did so because Panico engaged in sex with him. Sergeant O'Neill pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering late last year and faces up to a year in jail. He will be sentenced this week.

Panico's lawyers say she has left Snohomish County and has gone on to become an upright citizen in a small town in eastern Washington, where she works as a waitress, volunteers at an animal shelter, and raises money for her community's food bank. "For the first time in her adult life, she's not involved in the adult entertainment industry," Panico's lawyer said. "She has no plans to return." The former dancer, a college graduate, will be on probation for a year.

Panico forfeited $250,000 and her espresso stands to the city of Everett as part of her plea agreement. The city has reportedly destroyed at least two of the stands.

So, no more coffee with a side of something else in Snohomish. The residents of that county will have to take their coffee regular from now on.

And if you happened to think that this was the only bit of news in Washington's bikini-clad espresso stands, guess again. Twenty-five-year-old Courtney Campbell tragically died after an explosion yesterday engulfed her own bikini espresso stand, Sinners and Saints Coffee Co., in flames. Although authorities have yet to confirm the source of the explosion that left the majority of Campbell's body covered in burns, a propane heater and a portable heater are both suspected sources.