MAINE MADAME MESS: COACH QUITS
IF LOVING HER IS WRONG, THEN HER NAME IS WRIGHT:
Wow, this mischievous Maine movie maker is one lovely lobster!
KENNEBUNK, ME - - (CNS) - - A long-time high school hockey coach whose name appeared on a list of men accused of paying local Zumba fitness instructor Alexis "Sexy Alexy" Wright for "dirty dance lessons" has stepped down, the first known job loss associated with the scandal.
Kennebunk High School coach Donald Hill told school officials he would not seek to renew his contract for next season after 14 years as head coach, school Superintendent Andrew Dolloff said Wednesday. The coach cited "personal reasons," Dolloff said.
Police on Tuesday released the names, ages and addresses of 21 men to receive summonses after being accused of engaging a prostitute, and many more names will be released in the coming weeks. A lawyer who has seen the list said more than 150 people are suspected of being johns, even including one of the town's former mayors.
Hill, 52, was listed alongside a former mayor and several businessmen in southern Maine. Men from Massachusetts and New Hampshire also are on the list, however, according to some of Wright's client video releases, the list could also include women.
Former coach Hill, who is from Old Orchard Beach, a few towns north of Kennebunk, did not immediately return a cellphone message seeking comment Wednesday, so it was unclear if he is married or has a family.
Kennebunk is a town of about 10,000 residents, known for its beaches, sea captain's mansions and New England charm.
It was thrust into the media spotlight after 29-year-old Zumba instructor Alexis Wright was charged earlier this month with engaging in prostitution in her dance studio and in an office across the street, recording and posting at least a dozen of those encounters on the internet. So in addition to being known in the news as the notorious "Maine madam," in the online world she is also a popular new amateur porn star.
Police said Wright also videotaped many of her sexual encounters, including material recorded without her clients' knowledge, and also kept meticulous records suggesting that the sex acts generated $150,000 over the last 18 months. Wright, who lives in nearby Wells, has pleaded not guilty to 106 counts of prostitution, invasion of privacy and other charges.
Her business partner, 57-year-old insurance agent and private investigator Mark Strong Sr., from Thomaston, has pleaded not guilty to 59 misdemeanor charges.
Dolloff previously issued a memo to teachers and staff last week, instructing them to be on the lookout for students who have relatives on the list of names and may be teased or have trouble coping. For example, one of the players on Hill's former hockey team said Wednesday they were instructed not to talk to the media.
Team supporter Doug Oakman, who's affiliated with the Kennebunk Ice Hockey Boosters, an organization that raises money for the team, lashed out when asked to comment about the coach's departure, saying there are "more important things" to focus on.
The police department plans to release the remaining names of john suspects every other week as they're issued summonses. The next batch is due Oct. 26. It will take months for all the summonses to be issued and for all the john suspects to have court appearances, police Lt. Anthony Bean Burpee said.
Around Kennebunk on Wednesday, people were still talking about "the list" and what other names might be on it. But some locals were fed up of the spotlight. "People are definitely sick of all the news vans on Main Street," said Travis Munroe, general manager of H.B. Provisions, a general store and deli, which features both bagels and pickles.
Residents there who are already getting weary of the attention must still look forward to repeating this "shame and blame" scenario several more times, as more client list names... trickle out.
While there is not much they can do about it, many members of this quaint town will no doubt find such matters very... hard to deal with.
Indeed, local officials have commented that they expected Wright's... bust to have a big impact on the community.
(Okay, fans of the pun, we're done.)