A FIRESTORM OF CONTROVERSY
Norquist's mayoral opponent in 1992, Gregory L. Gracz, saw his campaign derailed by high-profile sexual harassment allegations.

When Gracz ran for mayor, Racine firefighter Melissa Fojtik went public with accusations that he had harassed her and exposed himself to her after she refused to have sex with him.

Gracz, who at the time was president of the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Local 215, denied the allegations and ended up losing the election. Years later, the incident again hounded Gracz when he was compelled to withdraw from consideration for a position at MATC.

THE MAYOR AND THE MALL
In mid-January of this year, police arrested Racine Mayor Gary Becker at Brookfield Square Mall. Becker, 51, is accused of arranging to meet a 14-year-old girl at the mall's food court for the purposes of sex.

Becker, who was caught in an online sting operation, is charged with eight felonies including child enticement, three counts of possession of child pornography, exposing a child to harmful materials, attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and misconduct in public office. If convicted on all the charges he faces up to 164 years imprisonment.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
In October, 1984, a dancer at the Marquee Club in Milwaukee accused Packers wide receiver James Lofton and running back Eddie Lee Ivery of sexually assaulting her in a dressing room. Lofton and Ivery asserted that the acts were consensual. Neither player ended up being charged in the incident due to a lack of evidence. Two years later, Lofton was charged with second-degree sexual assault following an incident in the stairwell of a Green Bay nightclub. He was found not guilty of that charge.

PFISTER INCIDENT
New York Yankees utility man Luis Polonia was arrested Aug. 16, 1989 for having sex with a 15-year-old girl at The Pfister Hotel. Polonia was convicted and ended up serving 60 days in jail following that season.

PLASMATIC AT THE PALMS
The Plasmatics' Wendy O. Williams was a punk singer, actress and performance artist known for detonating equipment and wielding chainsaws on stage.

In 1981, she brought her act to The Palms nightclub, 2616 W. State St., and was arrested for obscenity after simulating a sex act with a sledgehammer. Williams, who often wore duct tape and strategically-placed whipped cream as her stage costume, scuffled with police during her arrest and was bruised in the process. She ended up being acquitted.

A BAD MATCH
In July, 2006, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brian Shackelford was arrested on suspicion of third-degree sexual assault. Shackelford, who was sent to the minors after the incident, reportedly met his accuser on Match.com. The charges were dropped.

THE SEA WAS ANGRY
Two months after the Shackelford incident, Milwaukee Police investigated battery and sexual assault claims against former NBA star Latrell Sprewell. A 21-year-old woman told police she was having sex with Sprewell aboard his yacht, Milwaukee's Best, when the former NBA star began to choke her. Police observed marks on the woman's neck, but did not issue charges in the case.