City puts squeeze on massage firms

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, April 4, 2002 | 9:30 a.m.

Massage therapists who want to open shop in the city of Las Vegas will have to put their plans on hold for at least four months.

The City Council on Wednesday issued a 120-day moratorium on all new massage establishment licenses, saying their rapid growth and the potential for the businesses to be fronts for prostitution have given city leaders a pain in the neck.

Since January 2001 the number of massage establishments in the city has risen 33 percent, Jim DiFiore, the city's director of business licensing, said. A majority have clustered in the wards served by Council members Michael McDonald and Lynette Boggs McDonald.

The need for a moratorium was sparked by two business license requests last month -- one potential massage establishment owner wanted to stay open 24 hours, and another wanted to stay open until 3 a.m. The moratorium will give the city time to meet with the industry and seek input on creating new rules to govern the businesses, DiFiore said.

Currently 72 massage establishments are licensed in the city.

Changes could include expanding the definition of massage establishments, requiring all massage therapists to undergo background checks by Metro Police, eliminating work card requirements, making all licenses nontransferable and setting stricter penalties for a conviction. A time frame would be established for all current massage businesses to address the changes, DiFiore said.

Lt. Terry Davis, of Metro's vice unit, said in the last four years Metro arrested 330 people in the massage industry, mainly for soliciting prostitution. Of that 291 had no work card or business license.

Davis did not have statistics on how many of those people who were arrested were convicted.

"We would have more arrests associated with these businesses if it weren't so time-consuming and expensive," Davis said. "If we did more enforcement, the numbers would be greater."

McDonald said it was important to protect the community from unscrupulous businesses, but said the council is not assuming all massage establishments are operating illegally.

"This is in no way a slam against your industry," McDonald said. "But the fact is, when Metro did their homework ... some of those business owners are coming into Ward 1. Some are fronts for money laundering."

Mayor Oscar Goodman said he was informed that some of the diplomas given to licensed massage therapists are from "diploma mills," not legitimate schools.

"I've been relying on the fact that these folks have gone to school, they're legitimate, and their degrees are well earned," he said."

Michael McDonald

LAS VEGAS COUNCILMAN