By Rob Blomquist and Brad Dickerson
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – The man authorities say mailed pipe bombs to prominent Democrats last week previously worked as a male stripper in Myrtle Beach.
Louie Swanner said he was the former manager of a club called the Chippendale Room inside The Masters Club in the early 2000s.
While working there, Swanner hired Cesar Sayoc to dance in the three groups he managed – Xanadu Dancers, Extreme Male Dancers and East Coast Calendar Men.
Sayoc, now 56, was charged with five federal crimes Friday after allegedly sending pipe bombs to Democrats like former President Barack Obama and 2016 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
According to the Associated Press, in the hours before his arrest, Sayoc was spinning classic and Top 40 hits in a nightclub where he’d found work as a DJ.
[ FBI had plenty of clues on pipe bomb suspect ]
While working in Myrtle Beach, Swanner said Sayoc once invited him to help open a club in Minneapolis called Buns and Bow Ties. The current owner of LS Custom Builders, a Myrtle Beach remodeling company, added the invitation was due to his winning a Mr. Burlesque USA contest at the former 2001 nightclub.
Swanner added he last saw Sayoc when they worked at a club called Yesterday’s Nightlife on 19th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach.
During their time together, the man who went by the stage name “Cesar” never discussed politics, according to Swanner.
Also, the Horry County Probate court says that Sayoc married Roberta Gafford from Dallas, Tx on May 13, 1998.
He was 32 at the time, she was 26 when they got married at the probate court in Conway.
The 56-year-old Sayoc has a long criminal history and previously filed for bankruptcy, the AP reported. At the time of his arrest, he appeared to be living in his van, showering on the beach or at a local fitness center.
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