Monday, April 11, 2005 | 11:05 a.m.
Henderson is considering banning stand-alone massage studios after a sting operation uncovered alleged prostitution at four of the six such businesses in the city, officials said.
Nine women from the four businesses were arrested last fall for prostitution and related code violations, according to Henderson Assistant City Attorney Liza Conroy.
Those revelations have prompted the City Council to consider revoking the licenses of three of the four businesses. City planning staff members have also recommended Henderson change its ordinance and prevent any new stand-alone massage studios from opening.
The Henderson Planning Commission will consider the ordinance change on Thursday.
The city's crackdown on massage studios has prompted the lawyer of one business owner whose license is slated to be revoked to accuse Henderson of unfairly targeting businesses owned by those of Asian descent. Las Vegas attorney Linda Norvell has filed a lawsuit in District Court to delay the revocation hearing, which is scheduled for May 3. Norvell also is asking a judge to force the city to turn over documents detailing its undercover sting operation.
City officials have denied any wrongdoing, saying the sting operation was based on citizen complaints, and it looked at many different types of businesses that offer massages. The crackdown is one against prostitution and not against legitimate businesses, city officials said.
"We have had complaints on illegal activity, and I don't have a problem in doing away with them," Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers said of the proposed ordinance to ban any additional stand-alone studios. "If you are having that kind of negative use in our neighborhood, you want to stay away from that."
Henderson Councilman Jack Clark said he's concerned about the alleged prostitution because the city needs to be vigilant about protecting its reputation. He said the national marketing campaign for Las Vegas of "What happens here, stays here" and the general reputation that anything goes here shouldn't be misinterpreted as an invitation to prostitutes.
"I think maybe they come into town probably thinking nobody will do anything to them," Clark said. "They find out quickly that is not the case.'
The proposed ordinance wouldn't prohibit massage therapy that is part of a hotel, day spa or other businesses where it is not the primary use. It also wouldn't change a 3-year-old ordinance that allows massage therapists to travel to homes and hotel rooms to give rubdowns to members of the opposite sex.
"We have determined on a citywide basis that freestanding massage-only establishments are the ones we tend to have this kind of criminal activity," Conroy said. "We are not trying to be against massage or these type of free-standing businesses, but we will not tolerate them operating in an unlawful manner."
Henderson Oriental Massage at 1006 W. Sunset Road, Relax Spa & Massage at 1256 E. Lake Mead Parkway, and Sunset Spa & Foot Massage at 4451 E. Sunset Road have permit revocation hearings scheduled for May 3 before the City Council.
The city has given the owners of the three businesses the option of transferring their business to a new operator. The revocation hearing would be set aside in that case, but the massage studios would lose their right to operate in the future if they had convictions for prostitution, Conroy said.
The city is also seeking to prohibit expansion of those existing businesses and eliminate their use if they were closed for six months.
The revocation hearing for a fourth business cited in the prostitution sting, Sunrise Massage Spa, was canceled after the business was transferred to a new owner. If it has any future violations, the city would move to revoke the license, Conroy said.
Norvell, who represents Hong-Cheng Aaron Yan, the owner of Sunset Spa, said a hearing is set for April 21 before Las Vegas District Court Judge Allan Earl. She said she is seeking a postponement of the hearing and seeking documents detailing the city's undercover investigation against four Asian-owned businesses.
"We believe the city of Henderson is targeting Asian-owned businesses because they were only ones who were raided and licenses they are targeting," Norvell said. "You don't see them going to the Green Valley Ranch (Station) spa in Henderson and doing the same thing."
Conroy said the city received citizen complaints about therapists who worked at the stand-alone massage studio soliciting prostitution, but police looked at other businesses as well where massage therapy is offered. She said she didn't know how much was spent on the investigation.
"We did a broad-based investigation across a whole range," Conroy said. "We went to hotels, day spas, athletic clubs and doctors' offices."
Norvell said employees of the massage studio are independent contractors who speak only Chinese, so there very easily could have been a miscommunication between therapists and undercover officers. The woman may have been arrested after nodding or saying yes to something a undercover vice officer says without even knowing what the officer told them, she said. The prostitution cases haven't even been resolved in municipal court yet, she said.
Conroy said undercover officers even returned to businesses where prostitution was discovered to determine if it was an isolated incident or pattern of behavior at a business. The therapists openly removed towels of patrons and attempted to make sexual contact, she said.
"It was clearly a pattern," Conroy said. "That's why we went back to see. One of the attorneys of one of the establishments said to me they can't make it financially by just doing massages. I don't agree with that."
Las Vegas attorney James "Bucky" Buchanan, who represents Relax Spa & Massage, said the massage studio owner, John K. Lo, is fighting the revocation of his license. He said Lo did nothing wrong, but one therapist who he contracted with solicited an undercover officer and was fired. Buchanan said his client doesn't want to sell. The city should give his client one more chance, and if there are any more violations, he would lose his license, he said.
"It is not the owner's fault," Buchanan said. "He didn't know what was going on. How could you know what is going on in a massage booth?"
Buchanan said he didn't agree with Norvell that the city is targeting Asian-owned businesses. He said he understands the need to deal with businesses where there are repeated prostitution violations.
Conroy said she believes the city has avoided any prostitution cases involving therapists who visit homes or hotel rooms because of the city's requirements for national certification and completion of 500 hours of classes at an accredited school.
North Las Vegas permits free-standing massage studios and has one facility with no problems reported.
Las Vegas allows them as well, but prevents them from being within 400 feet of any church, school, park, child care facility or land zoned for residential use. They may not allowed to be within 1,000 feet of another massage facility and, their operational hours are limited to 6 a.m. through 9 p.m.
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