Holy brothel bust Batman: South Melbourne’s Gotham City bordello raided by police

It’s the “luxurious, opulent” multi-million dollar Melbourne batman-themed brothel that never closes. But it’s fair to say things went south when 60 cops and their dogs muscled in without notice in a day of reckoning this week.

Gotham City Brothel was raided by police this week.

The day of reckoning came for Gotham City this week with police raiding “Australia’s best and only six-star brothel”.

Sniffer dogs and detectives from Prahran’s Divisional Response Unit descended on the self-proclaimed “House of Sin” in South Melbourne just after 10am on Thursday.

Page 13 went down to check out the action, only for a heavily inked-up copper to ask: “Do you work here?” Puhlease!

Operation Reckoning (there appears to be a moral overtone here) was set up last month to combat drug trafficking, and contraventions of the Sex Work Act.

South Melbourne’s Gotham City brothel.

The dog squad was involved in the raid.

It’s understood owner Francesco Puleo was arrested, but after assisting with police, he was back that night with business as usual said his spokesman on Friday.

But spare a thought for the dirty dear old Johns enjoying a happy ending to the morning, only to be rudely interrupted by the passion-killing snarl of a german shepherd.

Cartoon by Macca.

Police refused to talk about any deflated clientele, but seized a number of items including “a small quantity of a drug of dependence and prescription medication”.

Perhaps those little blue pills?

Police “located what is believed to be a second property allegedly operating as an illegal brothel” and said, in police-speak: “The investigation is ongoing.”

Puleo’s spokesman told Page 13 more than 60 police and their dogs raided the property and were heavy handed in their actions, upsetting clientele and the sex workers.

“It was quite intense for all parties involved, especially the sex workers,” she said.

“But we fully co-operated and welcomed the authorities as we believe a standard should be upheld.”

Gotham City is decorated as a homage to comic-book hero Batman and is touted as a “million-dollar complex”.

Website Red Light Australia says the “bordello of international excellence” also pays lip service to Melbourne originally being called Batmania.

“Not because of the huge nightly migration of bats from Yarra Bend to the CBD,” says the website, “but after the city’s founding father, John Batman.”

John Batman, who the brothel’s name was inspired by, is said to have died of syphilis.

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Indulge us on a quick history lesson.

John Batman is said to have died of syphilis, but not before embarking on a “dangerous relationship” and marriage with runaway convict Sara Willoughby, who was born Eliza Callaghan in Ireland in 1803.

Destitute after being left a measly “five pounds” from Batman, she moved to Geelong where “she turned to a life of drink and prostitution” before being killed in a bloody bar brawl.

But back to the present day and despite the rude wake-up call from the coppers, Gotham City is still in business — in fact, it’s booming, said Puleo’s spokesman.

The going rate is $350 an hour. Now that’s bang for your buck!