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DOM lounge owner threatens legal action over claims he allowed drug use and ‘live sex show’ at celeb spot



Albert Trummer — owner of celebrity hotspot DOM — is fighting to clear his name after his investor Arndt Oesterle accused him over overseeing a “live sex show,” and allowing open drug use at the venue in a bombshell lawsuit filed last month.

Trummer alleges it’s all a ploy to take over his club, and is now threatening legal action himself.

He alleged to Page Six that Oesterle threatened him last year, after he wouldn’t sign an “unfavorable agreement” that would have made him the single proprietor of the Gramercy Park spot.

DOM opened in 2022. Courtesy of Albert Trummer

“He wants to have my intellectual property. He wants to push me out and take over the place,” Trummer told us.

Oesterle filed a lawsuit against Trummer last month alleging in court filings that he used the club “as his personal piggy bank” among other allegations, including “facilitating the use of cocaine on the bar and conducting unlicensed live sex shows on the premises.”

The lawsuit also claims there is evidence on cameras from the club, including a video of Trummer’s son at the bar with patrons allegedly doing drugs out in the open.

Trummer says images of purported drug use at the club proves nothing. Obtained by The New York Post

“Those pictures are not proof. I’m talking to my legal team and we definitely want to counter the allegations. He has no proof of anything!” Trummer shot back.

He also denied overseeing live sex shows, telling us, “DOM is not the Box,” referring to the controversial Lower East Side club known for its racy burlesque shows.

DOM opened in 2022 and has hosted parties for stars like Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys and the cast of “Saturday Night Live.”

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Oesterle claims in his lawsuit that he helped fund the company in August of 2020 by forking over “initial capital contribution of $1,685,595.00.”

He has since “made additional capital contributions to the company, for a total contribution of approximately $1.8 million,” his lawsuit states.

But Trummer insists Oesterle is not a co-owner and claims he only invested in a “highly expensive sound system,” and “$800,000 worth of Cappellini furniture,” which he allegedly confiscated.

Trummer claims Arndt Oestere only invested in an expensive sound system and Cappellini furniture. J. Messerschmidt/NY Post

Christina Aguilera hosted a pride party with Adam Lambert at DOM in 2023. GC Images

“He didn’t invest in me! He invested in his own furniture and sound system and he took it back,” Trummer said.

Trummer told us he learned of Oesterle’s lawsuit from a “New York Post court reporter,” and an email from his lawyer last Friday.

The cocktail guru commented to Page Six, “This lawsuit is malicious… It’s very sad that the person I trusted and known for 20 years would put this allegation into place. It’s very sad and disrespectful.”

“He can’t prove anything! Don’t throw a stone in a glass house,” he warned. The nightlife whiz was also formerly behind the hip Chinatown club Apotheke.

Lawyers for Oesterle did not get back to us by deadline. DOM is currently still operating for now.

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