Is this why Yoss stays in law enforcement -- the "undercover" work?
Full Version: Prostitution Investigations
I heard the "Apple Spa" got nailed cuz the "ladies" there gave more than a massage. I think this happened at a few other places int he last year or so. It leaves me wondering, exactly how do the cops investigate this? Not to mention "gathering evidence"!
Is this why Yoss stays in law enforcement -- the "undercover" work?
Is this why Yoss stays in law enforcement -- the "undercover" work?
QUOTE (Snoopy @ Jan 27 2006, 12:20 PM) 
I heard the "Apple Spa" got nailed cuz the "ladies" there gave more than a massage. I think this happened at a few other places int he last year or so. It leaves me wondering, exactly how do the cops investigate this? Not to mention "gathering evidence"!
Is this why Yoss stays in law enforcement -- the "undercover" work?
Is this why Yoss stays in law enforcement -- the "undercover" work?
Apple Spa...never heard of it.Where is it or where was it?sources?post up...
http://www.herald-mail.com/display_ads/scr...d_number=643599
Honest, I have never been there. I just remember seeing this on H-M site.
Honest, I have never been there. I just remember seeing this on H-M site.
I guess this is how it's done. No wonder Yoss took up po-lice work!
Warning: "Adult themes"
Sheriff changes tactics
Details of Spotsylvania's investigation into the Moon Spa come out; prosecutor defends tactics.
Date published: 2/17/2006
By BILL FREEHLING
The Spotsylvania County sheriff has suspended the practice of allowing detectives to have sexual contact with suspects during investigations, Sheriff Howard Smith said last night.
Smith said he's had a lot of feedback from the public since the story broke Monday that one of his detectives paid for and received oral sex while investigating a now-closed county massage parlor suspected of prostitution and money laundering.
Smith said he announced his decision to his deputies yesterday afternoon. He said he made that decision because the people of Spotsylvania County seemed to mostly disagree with the practice.
"As the sheriff, I understand the feelings and concerns that the citizens of this county have expressed," Smith said last night in his office. "And I empathize with those feelings. Because of the public's express response, I have suspended the practice."
Smith added that he has directed his senior staff to review the new approach and report back to him with recommendations. He said this could make it harder to eliminate illegal massage parlors, but he said the office will continue to go after them.
"I won't back away from trying to catch these people," Smith said.
Spotsylvania Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely said he respects the decision, but said he doesn't apologize "one iota" for the tactics used. He said they were effective in shutting down the Moon Spa, an unlicensed massage parlor that was located across from BJ's Wholesale Club on State Route 3.
Detectives shut the parlor down late last month. The two suspected operators and three women accused of working there face charges including prostitution and sodomy, and Smith said additional charges are possible.
Detectives got warrants to search the Moon Spa and the Fairfax County home of the two suspected operators last month. The Spotsylvania search warrant is sealed, but the one in Fairfax is publicly available and provides details about the case.
According to the documents, two undercover detectives visited the Moon Spa on Jan. 5. They paid $60 each for a 30-minute massage and were bathed, massaged and masturbated. The detectives gave the woman, "Mimi," a $50 tip.
One detective returned to the Moon Spa on Jan. 7 for a one-hour massage. This time he paid $200 and received a sauna, bath and massage. For another $150, Mimi took her clothes off, climbed on the massage table with the detective, danced and masturbated him.
During these two visits, the business' surveillance system showed numerous men entering and staying for about an hour, the search warrant states.
The third visit was Jan. 13. An Asian woman identified as "Chaney" bathed and briefly massaged one detective before performing oral sex on him. Chaney was paid $350.
Smith said both detectives who were involved are single. He said a total of $1,200 was spent during the three visits, and that the money had come from seizing the assets of drug dealers.
Smith said the detectives went to the business more than once in order to build the case. He said the Moon Spa was a sophisticated operation with numerous surveillance cameras and sheet rock over the windows, and the detectives needed to build up trust with the operators.
"You weren't going to go in there the first couple of times and make a case," he said.
Also, the sexual activity that occurred during the first two visits is not illegal under the state's prostitution law. The activity has to be oral sex or intercourse.
Among the items seized from the Fairfax home were a bag of condoms, suspected Ecstasy and a checkbook for the Moon Spa, according to the documents.
Smith said that detectives also seized $4,160 in cash, a 1995 Toyota Camry, about $1,000 worth of surveillance equipment and nine cartons of untaxed cigarettes. The car and equipment will likely be auctioned if prosecutors can gain a conviction and take the assets. The proceeds will be used for law-enforcement activities.
Smith's decision brings Spotsylvania in line with the policies of other police departments. Representatives for departments in Norfolk, Roanoke and Northern Virginia yesterday said that their detectives are forbidden from making sexual contact with suspects during prostitution stings.
Smith noted last night that detectives used the same tactics in two massage-parlor investigations in 2003--before he took office. Those businesses were shut down, and about $35,000 in cash and four vehicles were seized by the Sheriff's Office.
Both Smith and Neely pointed out that nobody complained after The Free Lance-Star reported the methods used last time. They said they didn't expect it to be any different this time.
"I thought I was doing the right thing," Smith said.
In a letter to the editor running in today's newspaper, Neely explains why they needed to allow the sexual act to proceed. He writes that was necessary to prove that the parlor's operators knew about and profited from the illegal activity. .
Neely argues that a prosecutor's case is strengthened when the marked money paid to the prostitute ends up in the hands of the business operator. Otherwise, Neely writes, operators can say they didn't know the employee was a prostitute.
A person arrested for prostitution faces a misdemeanor charge punishable by no more than a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. On the other hand, money laundering is a felony punishable by up to 40 years in prison and a fine of as much as $500,000. Investigators are pursuing the latter charge.
"These massage parlors will keep cropping up here unless the owners are punished and their assets and criminal profits seized," Neely writes. He adds that the thwarted operators will then move out of the county.
Several members of Spotsylvania's Board of Supervisors have spoken out publicly about the methods used in the Moon Spa investigation.
"I think the image of the county has been slightly tarnished by this, and that concerns me very much," Supervisor Chris Yakabouski said.
Supervisor Emmitt Marshall agreed, as has Hap Connors, the board's chairman.
"I don't think what happened was right," Marshall said. "I think the sheriff made a mistake, but I'm not going to offer a whole lot of comments about it."
In his letter, Neely asks, which is worse--organized prostitution or a few police officers engaging in illicit sexual acts to drive such crime out of the county.
"I assure you that Sheriff Smith and I already know the answer to this basic question," Neely writes.
Smith said it's been a difficult few days for him personally. Reports about the case have drawn national media attention, most of it critical. He said he's gotten dozens of e-mails, mostly from out of state.
But he said the opinions that led to his decision yesterday were from people closer to home--the residents of Spotsylvania.
"Those are the people that I serve," Smith said, "and those are the people that I'll listen to."
Staff reporter George Whitehurst contributed to this story.
To reach BILL FREEHLING: 540/374-5424
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
Date published: 2/17/2006
Warning: "Adult themes"
Sheriff changes tactics
Details of Spotsylvania's investigation into the Moon Spa come out; prosecutor defends tactics.
Date published: 2/17/2006
By BILL FREEHLING
The Spotsylvania County sheriff has suspended the practice of allowing detectives to have sexual contact with suspects during investigations, Sheriff Howard Smith said last night.
Smith said he's had a lot of feedback from the public since the story broke Monday that one of his detectives paid for and received oral sex while investigating a now-closed county massage parlor suspected of prostitution and money laundering.
Smith said he announced his decision to his deputies yesterday afternoon. He said he made that decision because the people of Spotsylvania County seemed to mostly disagree with the practice.
"As the sheriff, I understand the feelings and concerns that the citizens of this county have expressed," Smith said last night in his office. "And I empathize with those feelings. Because of the public's express response, I have suspended the practice."
Smith added that he has directed his senior staff to review the new approach and report back to him with recommendations. He said this could make it harder to eliminate illegal massage parlors, but he said the office will continue to go after them.
"I won't back away from trying to catch these people," Smith said.
Spotsylvania Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely said he respects the decision, but said he doesn't apologize "one iota" for the tactics used. He said they were effective in shutting down the Moon Spa, an unlicensed massage parlor that was located across from BJ's Wholesale Club on State Route 3.
Detectives shut the parlor down late last month. The two suspected operators and three women accused of working there face charges including prostitution and sodomy, and Smith said additional charges are possible.
Detectives got warrants to search the Moon Spa and the Fairfax County home of the two suspected operators last month. The Spotsylvania search warrant is sealed, but the one in Fairfax is publicly available and provides details about the case.
According to the documents, two undercover detectives visited the Moon Spa on Jan. 5. They paid $60 each for a 30-minute massage and were bathed, massaged and masturbated. The detectives gave the woman, "Mimi," a $50 tip.
One detective returned to the Moon Spa on Jan. 7 for a one-hour massage. This time he paid $200 and received a sauna, bath and massage. For another $150, Mimi took her clothes off, climbed on the massage table with the detective, danced and masturbated him.
During these two visits, the business' surveillance system showed numerous men entering and staying for about an hour, the search warrant states.
The third visit was Jan. 13. An Asian woman identified as "Chaney" bathed and briefly massaged one detective before performing oral sex on him. Chaney was paid $350.
Smith said both detectives who were involved are single. He said a total of $1,200 was spent during the three visits, and that the money had come from seizing the assets of drug dealers.
Smith said the detectives went to the business more than once in order to build the case. He said the Moon Spa was a sophisticated operation with numerous surveillance cameras and sheet rock over the windows, and the detectives needed to build up trust with the operators.
"You weren't going to go in there the first couple of times and make a case," he said.
Also, the sexual activity that occurred during the first two visits is not illegal under the state's prostitution law. The activity has to be oral sex or intercourse.
Among the items seized from the Fairfax home were a bag of condoms, suspected Ecstasy and a checkbook for the Moon Spa, according to the documents.
Smith said that detectives also seized $4,160 in cash, a 1995 Toyota Camry, about $1,000 worth of surveillance equipment and nine cartons of untaxed cigarettes. The car and equipment will likely be auctioned if prosecutors can gain a conviction and take the assets. The proceeds will be used for law-enforcement activities.
Smith's decision brings Spotsylvania in line with the policies of other police departments. Representatives for departments in Norfolk, Roanoke and Northern Virginia yesterday said that their detectives are forbidden from making sexual contact with suspects during prostitution stings.
Smith noted last night that detectives used the same tactics in two massage-parlor investigations in 2003--before he took office. Those businesses were shut down, and about $35,000 in cash and four vehicles were seized by the Sheriff's Office.
Both Smith and Neely pointed out that nobody complained after The Free Lance-Star reported the methods used last time. They said they didn't expect it to be any different this time.
"I thought I was doing the right thing," Smith said.
In a letter to the editor running in today's newspaper, Neely explains why they needed to allow the sexual act to proceed. He writes that was necessary to prove that the parlor's operators knew about and profited from the illegal activity. .
Neely argues that a prosecutor's case is strengthened when the marked money paid to the prostitute ends up in the hands of the business operator. Otherwise, Neely writes, operators can say they didn't know the employee was a prostitute.
A person arrested for prostitution faces a misdemeanor charge punishable by no more than a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. On the other hand, money laundering is a felony punishable by up to 40 years in prison and a fine of as much as $500,000. Investigators are pursuing the latter charge.
"These massage parlors will keep cropping up here unless the owners are punished and their assets and criminal profits seized," Neely writes. He adds that the thwarted operators will then move out of the county.
Several members of Spotsylvania's Board of Supervisors have spoken out publicly about the methods used in the Moon Spa investigation.
"I think the image of the county has been slightly tarnished by this, and that concerns me very much," Supervisor Chris Yakabouski said.
Supervisor Emmitt Marshall agreed, as has Hap Connors, the board's chairman.
"I don't think what happened was right," Marshall said. "I think the sheriff made a mistake, but I'm not going to offer a whole lot of comments about it."
In his letter, Neely asks, which is worse--organized prostitution or a few police officers engaging in illicit sexual acts to drive such crime out of the county.
"I assure you that Sheriff Smith and I already know the answer to this basic question," Neely writes.
Smith said it's been a difficult few days for him personally. Reports about the case have drawn national media attention, most of it critical. He said he's gotten dozens of e-mails, mostly from out of state.
But he said the opinions that led to his decision yesterday were from people closer to home--the residents of Spotsylvania.
"Those are the people that I serve," Smith said, "and those are the people that I'll listen to."
Staff reporter George Whitehurst contributed to this story.
To reach BILL FREEHLING: 540/374-5424
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
Date published: 2/17/2006
I don't understand why it took repeated visits. Wasn't the law broke on the first visit when they received more than just the "typical" massage? At that point, a warrant could have been obtained and the financial records seized. That is, if the money laundering charge is really what they were pursuing!
"Johnson! I've got an assignment for you tonight... you're going undercover!" *wink wink*
QUOTE (Louis XIV @ Feb 21 2006, 04:38 PM)
Wasn't the law broke on the first visit when they received more than just the "typical" massage?
As I see it only law that was broke was that they payed that much!
QUOTE (Louis XIV @ Feb 21 2006, 04:38 PM)
I don't understand why it took repeated visits. Wasn't the law broke on the first visit when they received more than just the "typical" massage? At that point, a warrant could have been obtained and the financial records seized. That is, if the money laundering charge is really what they were pursuing!
Easy the taxpayers were paying the bill!!
Honestly this is so stupid for police to be spending their time on. There are way more important things. What should be done is this:
1. Every state adopt the Nevada model for prostitution.
2. Make street prostitution a felony for the women who do it and the men who buy it.
By using the Nevada model you eliminate ilegal influences, underage prostitution and make the whole thing safer for everyone who participates. Best of all you have just created a new tax revenue base that will generate a good income for the state.
Tony
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