Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | 9:21 a.m.
The Henderson City Council on Tuesday revoked the licenses of three massage parlors accused of offering prostitution and set a May 17 hearing for an ordinance that would ban new stand-alone massage studios.
The council's decision to revoke the permits of Relax Spa & Massage at 256 E. Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson Oriental Massage at 1006 W. Sunset Road and Sunset Spa & Foot Massage, 4451 E. Sunset Road, will prompt a challenge in District Court, lawyers representing the massage studios said.
Two of the attorneys said their clients shouldn't be punished for what their employees did, and a third attorney accused the city of punishing her client for the actions of a previous owner. All three attorneys said employees were fired for alleged misdeeds and no more violations have been uncovered since the allegations surfaced.
The council's action followed nearly four hours of hearings that were a mix between a court trial and city meeting. In the end, council members said the license revocations were necessary to send a message that prostitution won't be tolerated in Henderson.
"When you cross over the line, you should be revoked," Councilman Andy Hafen said.
Mayor Jim Gibson called having to deal with the issue a "a bit of a shock to our system."
Linda Norvell, the attorney for Sunset Spa, said she will ask a District Court judge to dismiss the council's action and reinstate the license. Norvell, who has accused the city of targeting Asian-owned businesses, last week unsuccessfully asked District Judge Jennifer Togliatti to prevent Tuesday's hearing from proceeding.
Norvell said her client, Chinese-born Hong-Cheng Aaron Yan, shouldn't be penalized for the actions of a previous owner. Yan didn't take over operation of the studio until July 15, 2004, more than two months after a Henderson Police sting uncovered alleged prostitution. Under Yan's ownership, an employee was charged only with a city code violation of failing to cover a client with a towel.
"I am disappointed in the City Council," Norvell said. "They are holding my client responsible for the sins of a previous owner. That will have a chilling effect on businesses that want to locate here. I feel sorry for Henderson."
But Henderson Assistant City Attorney Liza Conroy questioned why Yan said he didn't know of prostitution cases involving the business that dated back to 2001, 2002 and 2003 and whether he was a front for someone else owning the business. She even cited a complaint from a woman in February who alleged her husband was a patron of prostitution at the business. Conroy also questioned whether existing therapists are licensed as required.
Councilman Jack Clark said he couldn't understand how Yan could buy a business for $40,000 to $50,000 without knowing how much revenue it generated in the past. Yan, an engineer, said the business broke even in the first five months he owned it.
But Councilman Steven Kirk, who supported two of the three revocations, urged his colleagues to postpone a vote on the Yan case until more investigation could be done.
"It is not against the law if you don't have business acumen," Kirk said.
Nine women from four businesses were charged with prostitution and related code violations as part of a Henderson Police Department undercover operation from May through July. Most of the criminal proceedings are pending with the Municipal Court allowing the cases to be dismissed if the women have no more arrests, according to Conroy.
Henderson officials said their investigation of the four businesses showed a pattern and not isolated incidents. Conroy said the revocations were warranted to prevent prostitution. She denies the city has targeted Asian-owned businesses and said the investigation was triggered by citizen complaints.
Richard Schonfeld, the attorney for Henderson Oriental Massage, constantly objected to the proceedings and the city's right to revoke the permits based on findings from a police report. He told the council the city's codes allow him to hear the evidence, as he sought to question officers who uncovered the violations.
Conroy said the council could revoke the permits with the information it has. She said she wouldn't want to bring undercover officers to a public meeting because it might jeopardize an existing investigation on some other case.
Council members chided Schonfeld for fighting the allegations on behalf of his client and the owner, Julia Liu, for not showing any remorse or repentance. They said it's obvious to them prostitution occurred.
"It is clear to me what is going on, putting aside all this legal mumbo jumbo," Clark said.
Las Vegas attorney James "Bucky" Buchanan, who represents Relax Spa & Massage, questioned how the city could revoke licenses before any employees of a business were convicted of prostitution. He said there is no evidence for the council to act, and that the owner, John K. Lo, who has his own construction business, shouldn't be punished.
"If a drunk driver killed someone, are you going to revoke the license of that bar?" Buchanan said.
Conroy countered that a conviction isn't necessary to show a business isn't following the city's codes.
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