How the Herald-Leader reported the story of a Kentucky state legislator and his strip club ban

In our In the Spotlight stories, Herald-Leader journalists bring you continuing coverage of news and events important to our Central Kentucky community. Read more. Story idea? hlcityregion@herald-leader.com.

Hours after the Herald-Leader reported its first story on the allegations of inappropriate communications and interactions by Rep. Daniel Grossberg with young women, a woman who said she was a former exotic dancer in Louisville contacted the paper.

She’d had run-ins with the Louisville Democrat when she was employed as a dancer, she said. The harassing, sexually charged interactions with young women involved in Kentucky’s political scene in Frankfort as reported by the Herald-Leader extended to the club scene in Louisville, she said.

Her stories prompted reporters Alex Acquisto and Austin Horn, the Herald-Leader’s statehouse and political reporters, to visit strip clubs in Louisville and begin asking questions.

On the evening of Sept. 3, armed with copies of the most recent Grossberg story and his photo, Acquisto and Horn visited two well-known clubs in Louisville: Thorobred Lounge and Foxys Gentlemens Club.

They wanted to see if there was truth to what the tipster had shared: Grossberg had been aggressive and threatening to dancers.

The first two people they interacted with at Thorobred — a dancer and a manager — knew Grossberg to be a customer.

But the manager said she had been told not to comment on anything while the state’s investigation of the married Democrat representing Louisville’s 30th House District was ongoing.

The Herald-Leader believes she was referring to the Legislative Research Commission’s investigation of Grossberg’s alleged inappropriate behavior toward women or a similar probe by the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission.

They next visited Foxys, a 24-year-old club in an industrial area of Louisville, about a mile from the city’s famed Churchill Downs. The first two people Acquisto and Horn talked to there, a bartender and a female patron sitting at the bar, said they also knew Grossberg.

The bartender said he had been kicked out a handful of times for belligerent behavior and for grabbing a dancer. Milford Renfrow, the 75-year-old owner, happened to be in the parking lot and also agreed to talk. That’s when Acquisto and Horn first learned Grossberg had been banned for good earlier this year for moving a dancer’s bottoms and attempting to grab her crotch.

As he was escorted from the building that night, he had also made threats in the parking lot. “’You don’t know who I am,’” the club’s manager recalls Grossberg telling him. The 45-year-old freshman legislator also said he “could shut this place down.”

From there, they made contact with other dancers, one of whom told reporters Grossberg offered $5,000 to have sex with him and fulfill a sexual fantasy. She refused.

Over the next two weeks, Herald-Leader reporters conducted 13 interviews with Renfrow, two bartenders, two dancers, the manager and a dancer’s friend.

On Sept. 10, the reporters visited three more gentleman’s clubs: Two in Louisville and one across the Ohio River in New Albany, Indiana.

Women who worked at four of the five total clubs visited immediately recognized Grossberg.

Back at Foxys, the reporters corroborated the incident that precipitated Grossberg’s lifetime ban by interviewing the dancer, Renfrow, the manager and a bartender who witnessed the legislator’s interaction with her.

The newspaper’s editor, Richard Green, got involved. He visited with Renfrow and the club’s manager in Louisville on Sept. 16 and granted anonymity to everyone outside of Renfrow after they expressed fear for their safety. They’re afraid Grossberg may retaliate against them.

The Herald-Leader corroborated the dancer’s account that Grossberg solicited her for sex by speaking separately to a dancer whom she told about the incident and a friend of hers to whom she confided when he picked up her from the club that night.

Tessa Duvall, the Herald-Leader’s politics and public affairs editor, played a key role in the editing process with Green. They spent hours poring over all details of the Acquisto-Horn story and ensured all facts were supported through numerous interviews.

Late Thursday evening, Grossberg dismissed the Herald-Leader’s latest story about what happened at Foxys. He denied he solicited prostitution or that he used his state representative status unethically.

“Like many people my age, I have been to adult clubs, including Foxy’s I have never solicited prostitution from anyone, nor have I referenced my office to gain advantage,” he wrote in a statement.

“The allegations get more outlandish with each story, but they won’t stop me from continuing to work tirelessly to serve my constituents.”

Green, the Herald-Leader’s executive editor, said the newspaper stands firmly behind the newspaper’s reporting.

“For the past two months, our team has diligently and thoroughly pursued firsthand accounts by those women who have had distasteful and harassing interactions and communications with Daniel Grossberg,” he said.

“We’ve talked directly to those women and seen firsthand dozens of their texts and social media messages. At Foxys, we had 13 separate interviews with six employees, four of whom were there the nights in question. A seventh individual confirmed a dancer’s account Grossberg offered $5,000 to have sex with him. I am certain they are telling the truth.”

Green added: “Our job is to be a watchdog for those individuals who often are defenseless against those in power, such as state legislators. Nobody should be sexually harassed or physically assaulted, but especially by a public servant.

“The Herald-Leader is committed to following this story and encourages anyone with additional information to contact Horn and Acquisto. And we promise to continue to be transparent with our reporting and editing efforts.”