SPONSOR'S GUILTY PLEA BRINGS RAVE NEW WORLD

The State Palace Theater, home to the incandescent dance parties
called "raves," is safer for young people today because of the federal
investigation into drug activity there, the U.S. attorney's office
said. "We're looking at a virtual end to overdoses," Acting U.S.
Attorney Jim Letten said after a court hearing at which a corporation
- -- not the three men originally charged -- pleaded guilty to violating
the so-called "crack house" law during raves last year. "This is an
important case because it brings to an end a dangerous set of
circumstances that placed youth who attended these events at risk,"
Letten said.

Prosecutors never accused theater manager Robert Brunet, his brother
Brian Brunet and rave promoter Donnie "Disco" Estopinal of selling
drugs themselves. Instead, they originally charged the trio with
"maintaining" a building where drug use ran rampant in violation of a
1986 federal law aimed at shutting down crack houses. Those charges
against the men were dismissed in March after plea negotiations broke
down. The only guilty plea Wednesday came from Barbecue of New Orleans
Inc., which has leased the theater for electronic music dances during
the past several years. Robert Brunet is the corporation's president.

The deal means none of the men charged nine months ago face any
penalties. But in pleading guilty, Barbecue admitted "maintaining" the
Palace for the use of drugs, particularly the designer drug ecstasy.
It agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and ban a list of rave-related items
- -- pacifiers, glow sticks, dust masks and Vicks Vapo Rub -- from
future events.

"All of this goes with using ecstasy," said Drug Enforcement
Administration Special Agent George Cazenavette III. Undercover
federal agents bought about 13 grams of ecstasy, between 70 and 100
pills, while patrolling eight raves last year. But rather than begin a
"revolving door" of prosecutions, they opted to charge the men behind
the scenes, Cazenavette said.

Rave fans and civil-rights activists, however, scoffed at the case and
its premise.

"No court is ever going to say glow sticks and pacifiers are drug
paraphernalia," Estopinal said. "It's just silly that they can ban
these items from one venue and not from other ones."

Joe Cook, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union,
found the plea agreement troubling. "Tie-dyed shirts, will that be
next on the list, or dreadlocks?" he said. "The government ought to
stick to legitimate enforcement of laws and not try to become culture
cops."

Prosecutors released copies of a 9-minute videotape Wednesday that
they said proves the crack house law was violated at the Palace. The
tape, a collection of brief images shot by undercover DEA agents,
shows a few rave-goers leaving the Palace in ambulances and some
sleeping in seats or on the Palace floor. In other clips, dancers wave
glow sticks over people's eyes, hold mentholated inhalers and wear
dust masks.

But just as the glow sticks and pacifiers can be either drug-related
items or harmless props, the images on the tape are likewise open to
interpretation, said Estopinal, who called the video misleading.

"I've got hours and hours of video with people dancing and having a
great time," Estopinal said. "I could film worse stuff than that on
Bourbon Street every night of the week."

The case attracted national attention as a first application of its
kind of the crack house law, along with the indignation of electronic
music fans who viewed it as an attack on their scene.

Robert Brunet, who has managed the Palace as a concert venue for about
10 years, said his corporation took the deal to bring an end to the
legal troubles and the burgeoning fees. "If that's what it takes for
me to continue operating, I'm going to do what I have to do," he said.
"It got to the point where we knew that they were not going to let go.
The government, they were not going to let us have the last word."

The penalties for the corporation, which like prosecutors wants
illegal drug use stopped, aren't "overly harsh," he said.

Since the investigation began, the Palace has tightened security, with
guards searching bags and pockets at the door. It also did away with
all-ages shows and strictly enforces an 18-and-older age minimum.

"Ten months ago, I thought we were doing a good job. Apparently it
wasn't enough," Brunet said. "I regret that they didn't come to me a
year ago and say, 'Look we'd like you to change some things.' I
would've addressed and dealt with them."

Neither the Brunets nor Estopinal appeared in court Wednesday. Defense
attorney Frank DeSalvo pleaded guilty on behalf of Barbecue of New
Orleans before U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous. Following
standard procedure in federal court, Porteous asked DeSalvo, standing
in place of the corporate defendant, if he had taken any drugs during
the previous 24 hours that would impair his judgment.

"I did have a martini last night," DeSalvo said wryly, drawing smiles
from prosecutors.

The corporation will be formally sentenced Aug. 1.