The police were after sodomy. I think the Rapture banner ad with Madam Sade as the "strap on superstar" was a factor.

Here's what I remember:

Somebody did almost die at the Nutcracker Suite. I think it was "Nutcracker After Dark". I don't know if it kicked off the raids.

I heard the following from one of the Dommes at Rapture after it was shut down: An Undercover cop arranged a session at Rapture and asked her if she would "fuck him". The Domme he was speaking to, thinking in terms of pegging, said "Sure, I'll fuck you". The cop then pulled out his badge and called in his backup (i.e., the raid), and the place got shut down.

My heart races any time someone mentions Lady Helena at Angel Stern's. I saw her twice in 1998. All she did was talk to me and then cane me. The caning was intense and unrelenting but somehow didn't leave a mark on my body. She didn't tie me down; she just told me to hold my position and not move, or she would bring the cane down with full force on the backs of my knees. I didn't move at all. My body stayed rigidly in place as if I had lost the ability to move. I screamed my lungs out, which she loved. She described my screaming as a "wolf howl". I don't, however, think I needed the threat; her command over me was effortless. I have images stuck in my head of how graceful she was.

At the end of our second (late night) session, we went out for late dinner / early breakfast at Veselka. Our conversation was relaxed and casual but she was unmistakably in complete control. She told me to tell the receptionist the following words when I next scheduled an appointment: "wolf howl merciless caning," and she made me promise to email her soon even if I wasn't ready to schedule my next session because she was going to retire soon. I was young and stupid and waited too long to email her and by the time I had summoned up the nerve she had retired. This is still one of my greatest regrests.

Mayor Bloomberg was an ardent Nanny Stater. The incident at the Nutcracker Suite (https://nypost.com/2008/02/09/hangy-spanky/) convinced him that BDSM was at least as dangerous as large servings of sugary soft drinks. Something had to be done about it. This applied to the industry as a whole.