By Ronald Sampson
Scottsdale has always had a complicated relationship with its adult entertainment industry: a city that projects upscale resort glamour while quietly hosting a cluster of strip clubs near Scottsdale and McDowell roads that have survived ballot measures, police scrutiny, and enough controversy to fill several seasons of prestige television. Now, that long, strange history has produced its most awkward chapter yet.
Todd Borowsky, owner of Skin Cabaret and Bones Cabaret and, not incidentally, the brother of Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Scottsdale Police Department. His complaint alleges a yearslong retaliation campaign, including altered and exaggerated reports amounting to what he calls a “sham investigation” targeting his clubs. He’s claiming violations of his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights. It is, to put it mildly, a lot.
It would be one thing if this were simply a business owner pushing back against aggressive policing. But Todd Borowsky’s clubs are simultaneously the subject of a separate class-action lawsuit filed by dozens of customers who allege they were drugged, propped up for photographs, and charged for “contracts” they never knowingly signed. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office looked into those allegations and closed its case in 2025, citing insufficient evidence for conviction. Todd’s attorney has called the customers’ claims “simply ludicrous.” Draw your own conclusions.
Todd Borowsky. Photo Credit: Phoenix New Times
Mayor Lisa Borowsky, for her part, did not create this situation and cannot be fairly blamed for her brother’s business decisions or his legal entanglements. Still, the political optics are uncomfortable in perhaps a somewhat particularly Scottsdale way: a sitting mayor, a family name attached to clubs accused of predatory billing practices, and now a federal civil rights lawsuit against her own city’s police department. It is the kind of subplot that writes itself.
Scottsdale voters rejected a lap dance ban back in 2006, a decision that settled the question of whether this city tolerates its adult entertainment industry. What remains unsettled is whether Skin and Bones operated that industry with anything resembling integrity.
Todd Borowsky has every right to pursue his lawsuit. Whether the facts support it remains to be seen. After all, with a long history with some very bad behavior generously peppered in (including de facto threatening former County Attorney Rick Romley), he has earned a short leash and more than a little side-eye. In the meantime, the mayor might be forgiven for wishing family reunions were a little less newsworthy.