Police busted a wild pool party at a New Jersey mansion over the weekend which disregarded social distancing rules.
Hundreds of revelers gathered at the mansion in Alpine, New Jersey, for what event promoters called “The Lavish Experience Pool Party” on Saturday night, NBC New York reported.
The police were eventually called to break up the party, which extended out into the street.
One person was taken away by ambulance while others were passed out drunk on the mansion’s front lawn.
One neighbor told the New York Post that these soirees have been regular affairs since May, at the peak of the coronavirus crisis in New Jersey.
“A few months ago, new neighbors moved in, renters,” the neighbor said. “They started having parties one weekend after another. They were bringing in full party buses, at least 100 people or more.”
Another neighbor who wished to remain anonymous told NBC New York that the house is practically operating like a Vegas nightclub.
“I’ve been to Vegas a number of times and this is like a pool party that they throw there,” he said.
One woman told NBC New York that she and her buddies paid $1,000 to attend the party on Saturday, which included shuttle transportation from Brooklyn to New Jersey.
“I don’t know what kind of scheme, or what they was doing, what kind of scam it was, but I don’t appreciate how I was treated, my friends were treated, how packed it was,” the woman said.
A man claiming to be the host denied that people paid for admission to the party.
Alpine Mayor Paul Tomasko told NBC New York that the parties are now under investigation by local police, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, and state officials.
Joseph LaBarbiera, a personal injury attorney, is listed as the owner of the mansion.
Despite the number of coronavirus cases out there, people continue to host large parties at their homes or in public spaces.
On Saturday, hundreds of people showed up to an illegal rave under a New York City bridge which spawned from a Black Lives Matter protest that got out of control.