So-Called L.I. 'Hot Dog Hooker' Cathy Scalia Shut Down On Sunrise Highway Over Permit
BALDWIN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Long Island's so-called "hot dog hooker" returned to selling hot dogs again, fresh off pleading guilty to prostitution.
Back in her bikini top, Cathy Scalia briefly reclaimed her post on Sunrise Highway in Baldwin Wednesday morning.
Customers were flocking and the horns were honking as the 45-year-old East Rockaway woman fought through the pouring rain to reopen her hot dog truck after spending five days behind bars.
"Get some wiggle with your wieners," she shouted to customers.
However, she ran into some problem and had to pack it up. Scalia was chased from her post on Sunrise Highway by police for parking on private property and for not having a peddlers permit.
"They chased me off the property," Scalia told CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff. "I thought it was an abandoned piece of property."
WEB EXTRA: Watch Scalia's 6-Minute Rant To Reporters
Scalia was charged with prostitution after she says an undercover cop bought a hot dog with a lap dance on the side and then asked her to perform a sex act. Scalia proved she really had a good sense of humor about the whole "hot dog hooker" accusation.
1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria Reports
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"I do it for fun -- just some excitement. This cart is from when I was 20 years old. I says 'Lemme get back into the system and see what happens' and I solicited an undercover cop," Scalia told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria.
Scalia insists she did nothing illegal. She says she is just selling hot dogs and snacks and then offers up her services as a stripper to anyone who is interested.
"She's just doing her job," said Greg Packer of Huntington.
While Scalia has found support from some new customers, she's received disdain from others.
"Everyone has an opinion and my opinion is she should stay quiet, stay down south and stay away from little kids," said neighbor David Sternberg.
"I don't like. It has to go," said Gessenia Mendez, a member of the Baldwin Civic Association. "She has to go. It just looks horrible for Baldwin."
The mother of four pleaded guilty to prostitution in court, but maintains she is only guilty of stripping, which isn't a crime.
"I'm going to strip until I die," she said. "I do it for fun. The judge is not going to stop me, the psychologist is not going to stop me."
Her kids began living with their grandparents back in 2005 after she was arrested for prostitution the first time.
Scalia doesn't apologize for spicing up her sales and plans to continue hawking hot dogs in what she says is her bid to make Freeport more like Florida, complete with bikini-clad food vendors.
Scalia said she'll get that peddlers permit tomorrow, but it may not be as easy as she thinks. Hempstead Town said it requires a criminal background search, and with her recent guilty plea to prostitution, that could make her ineligible, Gusoff reported.
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