Sweatshop27

Sylk had other problems in addition to finding a good booker. He was about to be evicted from his
apartment in the Atrium. He had already managed to live rent-free for the past half year. Thanks to his
stepfather's legal help. But now the last loophole had been exploited and the case had been rescheduled

as often as possible. Sylk needed a new home.

Knowing that his eviction would eventually become a reality he had wisely negotiated a clause in his

Baum Multimedia contract which stipulated that the build out at 415 Broadway must include living

quarters for his own personal use. "I built a gorgeous bedroom with a marble Jacuzzi, two-head shower,
and everything" says Sylk of his bachelor digs which also featured pink neon in the window and a king

size bed. With the city marshal's visit only days away Sylk stepped up construction and his love crib was
finished just in time. He moved in and immediately began interviewing "models" for Baum Multimedia.
With three eight-hour shifts every day and twenty booths to fill -- Sylk needed lots of grist to feed the
insatiable maw of Baum Multimedia. He composed a sufficiently vague help-wanted ad that ran in the
Village Voice and New York Press classified sections: "Choose your own hours. Watch MTV. Make
$3,000 a week !! + benefits & the most flexible schedule you could want." In addition to the women who
responded to the ads there were also a significant number of applicants who came in unsolicited after
being handed a business card in a club by the con man the night before or noticing the SoHo Models
banner flying from the side of 415 Broadway. When the ad respondents arrived and realized that the
position entailed performing sexual acts live on internet many stomped off in a huff. Others filled out
applications. Would be models - under the impression they had entered a real agency - felt particularly
insulted. But even some of them accepted jobs. The very best looking candidates who Sylk feared might
bolt at the slightest hint of impropriety were strung along as long as possible. "We got a lot of innocent

girls coming off the street saying, 'Yes, I'm here for the modeling agency,'" explains one former Baum
Multimedia employee. "And Jason would say 'Sure ! Come on in.'" In fact the SoHo Models camouflage
was so effective that real models who felt neglected by their own agencies began showing up at 415
Broadway -- model books in hand. One of them named Jennifer who works the runway shows at Bryant
Park ended up moonlighting at Baum Multimedia six nights a week. Her story is a typical one: "I had no
idea it was an internet sex service. When I found out I flipped.. I was about to walk out when they told

me I could make $3,000 a week. I needed the money."

Jennifer adds that she isn't the only real model to work the web cams at Baum multimedia. "There were
five or six models just on my shift," she says candidly. "Every girl that worked there was absolutely
gorgeous. Some of them I had actually worked with on the runways. I'd say, 'Hey, how are you doing ?
What's going on ?'" Lee Kalt confirms the model connection. "There was one girl from NMK and

another from Next who were doing it on the side because their agencies weren't paying them" he says
flatly. "When they came to work they had their books with them and I took a look." Sylk also claims

Baum Multimedia had models from Click, Major, and I.D. "I would show off to these little girls that I

knew the owner of their agency or I'd guess who their booker was" he says mischievously. "All the girls
who came in were definitely model caliber" says Tanya, a former Baum Multimedia employee. "They

all think they can get a contract and become Naomi Campbell or Claudia Schiffer." "There were

a lot of Eastern european girls working at Baum," explains Jennifer. "Some of them were actually real
models. A few of them I recognized because I had worked with them before at the 7th on Sixth shows.
Nobody mentioned the agency they were with. When you're working in this kind of an industry, you

don't want it known what your day job is."

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written by Rene Chun

The 7th On Sixth -
C.F.D.A. Scandal

The Village Voice Employment Ad. Need a job ? Ask for Sarah. Sarah was "always" out.
Because, there never was a Sarah. And you can watch MTV all day. If you got hooked up

to MTV. It never did and ... never was. When they said "Bait and Switch" -- they weren't

switching channels on this TV. Captured Moment Photograph by "On The Spot Reporter."