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Medford Woman Sues South Beach Hotel After Alleged Attack By Gang Of Prostitutes

MEDFORD, N.J. (CBS) – A New Jersey woman was violently attacked by a pack of prostitutes inside a trendy South Miami Beach hotel, a federal lawsuit contends.

The reason? The lawsuit alleges the prostitutes thought the woman was moving in on their territory.

Anna Burgese, of Medford, New Jersey, says the attack happened at about 3 a.m. back in January at the swanky W South Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

According to the lawsuit, Burgese claims she and her husband Joseph were crossing the lobby and heading to the elevators when she was "grabbed from behind and thrown with great force into a stone wall head-first."

The lawsuit continues that Burgese was "tackled to the ground and struck" by an angry prostitute.

"Ms. Burgese was unfortunately mistaken for a prostitute. A problem that they have at the W Hotel, and what ended up happening was this prostitute thought that Ms. Burgese was stealing work from her," attorney Lance Rogers explained.

The lawsuit alleges that as many as 10 prostitutes were involved in the attack and that the hotel staff helped them get away by putting them into a taxi.

"The hotel wouldn't even turn over the video surveillance footage to the Miami Beach Police Department. And I can't imagine why the hotel would want to do that other than to protect their own reputation," Rogers said.

The federal lawsuit was filed in New Jersey.

Because it is pending litigation, Starwood, which owns the W on South Beach, couldn't comment beyond releasing a statement that read: "We truly regret that this incident occurred and that one of our guests was injured."

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