ShamWow Guy In Slap, Chop Bust
<b>TV pitchman battered hooker in South Beach hotel room brawl</b>
 MARCH 27--Meet Vince Shlomi. He's probably better known to you as the ShamWow Guy, the ubiquitous television pitchman who has been phenomenally successful peddling absorbent towels and food choppers. Shlomi, 44, was arrested last month on a felony battery charge following a violent confrontation with a prostitute in his South Beach hotel room. According to an arrest affidavit, Shlomi met Sasha Harris, 26, at a Miami Beach nightclub on February 7 and subsequently traveled with her to his $750 room at the lavish Setai Hotel. Shlomi told cops he paid Harris about $1000 in cash after she "propositioned him for straight sex." Shlomi said that when he kissed Harris, she suddenly "bit his tongue and would not let go." Shlomi then punched Harris several times until she released his tongue. The affidavit, a [copy of which you'll find here](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0327092sham3.html), notes that during the 4 AM fight Harris sustained facial fractures and lacerations all over her face (she is [pictured here in mug shots](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0327092sham2.html) snapped following busts in 2008 and 2005). In a brief telephone interview, Harris declined to answer questions about her run-in with Shlomi, though she did say she is considering a lawsuit against the pitchman. After freeing his tongue, a bleeding Shlomi ran to the Setai lobby, where security summoned cops. Harris refused to cooperate with officers, who recovered $930 from her purse. "Both parties had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from their persons," [police reported](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0327092sham5.html). Asked if she worked as a hooker, Harris declined comment. As seen in the below mug shot, Shlomi was also injured during the fracas and, court records show, was treated at Mount Sinai Medical Center. While Shlomi and Harris were both arrested for felony aggravated battery, prosecutors this month declined to file formal charges against the combatants. Police records list Shlomi's occupation as "Marketing," but make no mention of his affiliation with the ShamWow or the Slap Chop, both of which sell for $19.95 (plus shipping and handling). (6 pages)
