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20 arrested in alleged sex scam at Las Vegas businesses
Published Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010 | 3:24 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010 | 7:25 p.m.
Metro Police said today they arrested 20 people during Wednesday raids who allegedly enticed victims -- mostly male tourists -- to spend money with the belief they would eventually get sex.
Police said the raids were part of an extensive investigation into the conduct of three businesses. The raids occurred at Club Exclusive, 3595 S. Polaris Ave.; Sensations, 3233 South Industrial Road; and Entyce, 3915 West Twain Ave.
The three locations were portraying themselves to the victims as reflexology businesses, police said.
But according to arrest reports, Metro Police have identified the businesses as “clip joints” — a term used to describe places that swindle mainly tourists by making them pay steep fees for the promise of adult entertainment, typically sex, but provide nothing in return.
At Sensations and Club Exclusive II, the hostess would provide a brief description of services to customers, insinuating sexual gratification if the victim paid more, according to arrest reports.
The initial fee started at $200 per person, with a kickback of about $180 going back to the taxicab drivers, who knew about the kickbacks through fliers distributed by the businesses and by word of mouth, reports said.
Once the victims went back to a private room with an “attendant” — generally a scantily-clad woman — the attendant would try to up-sell the victims to a VIP area, using ambiguous language such as, “In the VIP, I can touch more places, particularly the ‘lower extremities,’” police said.
For a fee starting at about $500, the attendant would take the victims to the VIP room, where they would maybe massage the victims’ hands and feet. If the victims protested and solicited prostitution but wouldn’t offer more money, security would come and instruct them to leave, threatening physical violence if the victims continued to protest, according to the arrest reports.
A similar scenario played out at Entyce, except the initial fees were generally a bit lower, police allege.
Most of the victims initially were reluctant to speak to police because of the activity they were involved in, investigators said.
The Nevada Taxicab Authority assisted in the raids. Authorities said cab drivers allegedly delivered customers in exchange for kickbacks from the businesses, police said.
Those arrested during the raids face several charges, including racketeering, conspiracy and various crimes relating to fraud and obtaining money under false pretenses, police said.
The following people were arrested: Antoni Patalano, 32, Las Vegas; Kristen Weisenberger, 21, Las Vegas; Gia Jonette David, 45, Henderson; Jamie Seaton, 21, Las Vegas; Britani Lampkin, 23, Henderson; Rover Elvis Dugan, 48, Henderson; Roberta Gutierrez, 21, Las Vegas; Deborah Jeanne Dugan, 45, Las Vegas; Tracy Viton Ibarra, 28, North Las Vegas; Catherine Stephanie Dale, 25, Las Vegas; Alycyn Marie Allred, 24, North Las Vegas; Alicia Marie Haskell, 19, Las Vegas; Nathan J. Ellington, 33, Las Vegas; Marie Desmine Valerio, 23, Las Vegas; Anthony Hurtado, 30, Santa Paula, Calif.; Darver Jermaine Ballew, 37, Las Vegas; Jessica Decker, 20, Las Vegas; John Allen Sorget, 23, Las Vegas; James Buford, 44, Henderson; and Leah Montes, 31, Las Vegas.
Police said Thursday afternoon the investigation is ongoing.
The Reflexology Association of America defines reflexology as "the systematic, manual stimulation of the reflex maps located on the feet, hands and outer ears that resembles a shape of the human body."
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The Sun
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Perfect example of how all races and ethnicities can work together for a common cause.
PWNED.
Those poor men. They think they are getting ripped off because the woman didn't engage in an illegal activity that they thought they would receive? Why not bust every strip joint. If you don't think the women imply the man will end up with something as they drink and tip all night your nuts.
A fool and his money will be soon parted and these guys are FOOLS
17/20 is the only descent looking one.....
17/20 is nice looking, but 1/20 is the best looking one. I'd like to put Neiman1 in a cell with 3/20.
Or maybe Neiman1 would prefer 12/20 since everything for him seems to revolve around one particular 'illegal' issue?
Maybe these joints didn't want to play ball with Metro.
The smiling photos are the best. Hey these photos are later use to identify their bodies.
Wonder if Metro caught on after reading about the Rub-n-Tug special in the LVweekly magazine.
Another 20 Nevadans unemployed thanks to Harry Reid and his ridiculous "racketeering" and "conspiracy" "laws."
Keep the government out of our illegal businesses! Vote for more clip joints! Vote Sharron Angle!
""Metro Police said today they arrested 20 people during Wednesday raids who allegedly enticed victims -- mostly male tourists -- to spend money with the belief they would eventually get sex.""
Well,if that is the case,metro should close down every 'danceclub' in LV. Come on,doesn't Metro have anything better to do?
I'm hoping that the dudes that are pictured are cab drivers and bouncers and not "reflexologists."
From the photo bank you have above are you sure they were not the ones trying to pay for sex? Talk about a homely looking bunch.
Axiom is right. #1/20 is the best looking one. The people at the Can Can Room told me about that scam many many moons ago.
@brebs, I read or heard somewhere that Reid was their biggest customer.
Just legalize it n tax it big time.....
Why don't they publish the pictures of the guys that were trying to get sex from these people?
The assumption for many tourists has generally been that either (a) prostitution is legal in Las Vegas or (b) that the cops look the other way with "entertainers" or "escorts."
I think many citizens in Vegas believe Metro does look the other way, especially in terms of higher end "entertainers" and "escorts," just as they look the other way on the dirty money from high rollers that circulates through casinos.
So how hard would it be for Metro to call the CityLife ads and set up stings?
So where's that arrest warrant on Tiger Woods, or all the judges, lawyers, and doctors who patronize illegal prostitutes in Las Vegas?
Would Sheriff Dizzy Gillespie be able to respond to these questions and allegations?
Tom Shermspun
The Great Ruins of Las Vegas Tour (on Facebook)
Guess they will be closing every black jack table in town now.
They ALL are dogs!!
This is new? Where the hell has people been for the past 20 years?
Dayum, some of these women look like they just came from a Manson Family reunion. I just hope the "victims" each got their $1.35 back.
Are the photos really necessary? It seems utterly crass and sensationalistic, a move without any journalistic merit or integrity.
I'd like for an editor from the Sun to tell me how they think the mug shots enhance this story.
And if you can't provide a plausible rationale, then I'd say the Sun is no better than the R-J was back in February 2009 when it ran the mug shot of the "50 Most Prolific Prostitutes" on the front page of their "newspaper."
I expect better from the Sun. I guess I expected too much.
I don't understand the pencil thin eyebrows. Who thinks that's sexy? Scary sure, sexy, not so much.
"It seems utterly crass and sensationalistic, a move without any journalistic merit or integrity."
You were expecting maybe "The Economist?"
Thomas,
Metro DOES set up stings on a near nightly basis. Just because they don't publicize normal police work doesn't mean it doesn't happen. The prostitutes who aren't caught are the ones who know how to not get caught. The law is very strict when it comes to what a person has to be observed doing by police officers in order to be charged with soliciting prostitution.
#9 is the only one who got what he paid for.
You should get what you pay for. This was a scam and they deserved to be busted.
OMG this has been going on forever, as a former driver I have dropped people off at these places. This is VEGAS after a few months Metro will shut them down. In days they have a new business license under another name and it's on again. I fault the tourist because anyone that would let these SKANKS touch them needs needs a reality check. Tourist be smart try our massage parlors. This is Vegas!! Happy Endings!!
I guess cabbies know where all the hookers hang out.A cabbie takes afew people at $180.00 thats a good nights work.
hey, at least they are working ! LOL
Throw the book at them. Prostitution is almost as important to the Las Vegas tourism economy as gaming. Giving ho's a bad name will result in fewer people coming to Vegas and more lost jobs. Legalize and control. Ignore and you get this.
"Most of these girls look better than thier (sic) mugs..."
I would imagine that a lot of the loose-cannon Libertarian contributors to the local papers' "Discussion" threads look better on their Facebook/Myspace pages than they do in their mug shots as well.
everyone in town knows that the only happy ending places are the Oriental Massage parlors scattered all over town.. at least the illegal aliens that work there are making the legal residents of this country happy for a change..
Once again the corrupt cabbies of our city are involved in this operation. One would think that with these types of kick backs and the strip club bonuses that they would not long haul tourists right off the plane at the airport.
To make matters worse these poor guys did not even get a "special ending" after all that money doled out. Not nice...
Check out my always entertaining and insightful LV blog:
http://jimmyhoofa-lv.blogspot.com/
love get drunk and make da babies,
now i'am a victim
Is the lady in picture #20 naked? She looks pretty happy in any case
Have to agree that the posting of the pictures is sensationalistic since many crime articles in LV Sun don't have pictures. It seems to take metro on average a week to release pictures of wanted suspects. There is an article online today that they just released a picture of a Pizza Hut robbery from early July.
I drove a cab for a few months last year and the only way to make money is from the kickbacks from the strip clubs and massage parlors. They tell you three things when you are a new driver; where the massage parlors are that pay the most, don't tell the guy that he can get sex, and never pick up a passenger at a massage parlor. The second and third keep the driver in the clear legally and from getting beat up.
There goes our tourists. Even though the machines were rigged,the tourists could always experience some afternoon delight. What a screwed up city. No wonder everything is falling apart!
if prostitution was legalized there would be less of these scams..
good job! who's going to be next?
word of warning to those who indulge in the sex trade, if you try to hide behind the massage laws, you will be busted.
If these places are defined as "clip joints" what are casinos?
The last time we visited Vegas from the UK we had left Spearmint Rhino and the cab driver took us to Sensations without even asking us! As we realised we weren't on the way back to the hotel and had in fact parked up outside this dodgy looking shack with a tatty neon sign, we shouted to the driver (who by this time was out of the vehicle) to get back in and take us back to the hotel. Which he did, thankfully. Evidently, drivers are/were getting big payments from Sensations for dropping tourists off there. Thank goodness we 'made our excuses and left'. Back in Vegas in October - and already looking forward to it!
No wonder I can never get a cab to take me from Summerlin to the airport. They are all too busy with lining their pockets from illegal activity. But this is Vegas, right!
so, who got the "Happy Ending" ????
The Las Vegas Visitors Bureau should rent a mega billboard and paste these mugs as the NEW "Faces of Las Vegas" in one big collage!
Welcome to Las Vegas!
Keyword search: bait & switch, methamphetamine, convicts, neck tattoo, gangbangers, thug, strip-club, taxi, bird-dog, kickback, scam, intimidation, credit card, California, girls, Rehab Hard rock, guest list, my other life, Bail bonds and facebook.
Sounds like someone is using Terry Gordon's "How To Tease For Profit" Guide... Mr. Gordon used to have all those tease clubs--Pigalles, Chasens, Alleys--back in the 80's.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/videos/2008/j...
Back then the come-on was private drinks of fake bottles of Champagne (at around $200 per to start, which cost pennies per bottle as they were purchased in a property auction). Now it's "reflexology"? A modern update on an old scam!
One thing the Sun oughta check out is who is the landlord on these properties. That would be interesting...
ok.. i used to work at one of these places (not one mentioned above) and i can tell u rite now we ALWAYS told the men they werent gettin anything.. 2 they deserved it for being dirty nasty pervs most of whom had wifes waiting for them at their hotels... i think we were doing them a service by preventing them from getting stds from real prostitutes and bringing it home to their wifes.. doesnt metro have anyhting better to do???
and most girls there are not SKANKS... plus the cab drivers lied to the men telling them anything they could to get them to these places ( we sold drugs, did fetish fantasies.. were a gay club, anything and everything) so screw the cab drivers to.. people shouldnt comment on what they dont know about thank you!
If this is all about guys forking over money thinking they were gonna get sex then why weren't the prospective johns arrested as well for soliciting prositution.... seems to me that's what they were doing as they were forking over all that extra dough (expecting sex in return).... kinda lopsided, I'd say...
Legalized, certified, licensed prostitution would eliminate scams like these. Of course we would get some preaching and judgment from the bible thumpers, but we get that already so what's the difference? -- Legalized prostitution = tourism increase 10-fold!
Most cabbies are thieves, long hauling their passengers every chance they get. It doesn't surprise me that they'd be involved with these 20 model citizens. #3 is a beaut! They all look like they need another hit off of the meth pipe. $500 to go into a VIP room with one of those chicken heads?!
SKANKS. Does 3/20 have a neck or what?
I'm shocked to find pay-for-sex scams are going on in Vegas! lol
The Sun does the public a favor by publishing photos of the accused provided that sufficient evidence exists to clearly link them to the crime. For some, it will help serve as a deterrent if similar crimes are being contemplated. For others, nothing serves as a deterrent.
Some of the worst scum in our society, right there. This needs to be cleaned up. Anyone that thinks this isn't disgusting trash needs to have their head examined.
at least they nabbed sensations. that place had nasty women, the mini black guy from compton acting like a broke dog pimp....made me laugh.
on a side note, i find this issue a waste of police resources because its a crime that could be avoided if clark county would allow prostitution, regulate it, tax it...now there are 20 people in jail taking up space that is not required and could be occupied by real criminals, not women that play horny guys for cash.
I am going to start driving a cab at night. Actually I wonder if I could use my own car to transport people to these places. Seems like good money to me.
Actually a few of these scrubs look familar! Think I have seen them at a few clubs dancing and hanging out. If they want a sugar daddy all they had to do was ask.
LMAO, thoes Johns must have been really Butt-ugly, to be willing to put out $700 total for a few min. of pleasure. I may be wrong, because I haven't been to Vegas in awhile. but back then, if you didn't act like a idiot, it wasn't that hard to meet a nice lady, to wine, dine, a few shows, and dancing. All for under $500.00. And if she didn't go back to your room with you that night, YOU were most likely acting like an IDIOT. But at least you had some fun. I don't know how it works now. But DADBURNIT, thats a lot of money for nothing. lmao
Curious if they'll get easy plea deals. They should get the max.
"allegedly enticed victims -- mostly male -- to spend money with the belief they would eventually get sex."
If that is the standard for criminal conduct Metro better be closing down every flower shop and jewelry store in Vegas. Dating might even be against the law with this standard.
Does this now mean the ladies have to give it up for free?
This IS a pretty progressive town after all.
Reminds me of how this is related to the Republicans screwing America !!!
The sudden shortage of highly-trained reflexology specialists due to this work stoppage has caused lots of patients extreme and unbearable stress and pressure. Luckily, there's something being done about it...
https://www.americanlowlife.com/ap/news?...
I'm not positive but weren't some of the women arrested a couple months ago for prostitution activity at Strip casino's pool areas?
one of these ladies worked at Douchebags, an for a little extra she would send you home with herpes.
They weren't prostitutes, they were con artists. Legalizing prostitution wouldn't have changed a thing.
If they wanted sex they could have spent a couple dollars down on Fremont and without the hassle of an investigation... They would probably even give it up for a baloney sammich and a lighter to ignite their crackpipe,, oops,, I mean peace pipe...
James Buford is the ringleader and should be sent to prison. Prosecute all these bums to the full extent of the law. Jail time and heavy fines are in order. The cabbies who drove the victims to these fleece joints should lose their jobs.
some rough looking/scary broads.. im sure their parents are proud.
Was the last chick wearing a bra and if not can we guess her bra size? I'm saying a 34B!!!!!!!
Is this an April Fools joke? Gillespie really has metro going after women that "entice men to spend money with the belief they would eventually get sex."??? You HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!
Oh my god! photo # 9 looks like he just won the lottery! Where is Tiger's picture?
They need to fire and permanently ban those cab drivers and anyone else in the cab companies who were accessories. And boy are those girls skunky. Who would want sex with them???
"What is it about the sex industry that makes most people want to look away, to pretend that it is not really as bad as we know it is? Although other types of gender-based violence such as incest, rape,and wife beating are similarly hidden and their prevalence denied, they are not
sources of mass revenue. Prostitution is sexual violence that results in massive economic profit for some of its perpetrators. Like slavery, prostitution is a lucrative form of oppression. And both slavery and prostitution are rife with every imaginable type of physical and sexual violence."
Prostitution should be decriminalized. Pimps should be punished to the extreme. For anyone who thinks pimping should be legal, please read this article.
http://www.prostitutionresearch.com
/pdfs/FarleyYaleLaw2006.pdf
I am just amazed that pimps actually got arrested. This must be a Las Vegas first.
2 more quotes from Melissa Farleys research paper ____ Prostitution, Trafficking, and Cultural Amnesia:
What We Must Not Know in Order To Keep the
Business of Sexual Exploitation Running Smoothly
"On the other hand, survivors of prostitution have described it as "volunteer slavery" and as "the choice made by those who have no choice." If you're a woman or girl, global forces that choose you for prostitution are sex discrimination, race discrimination, poverty, abandonment, debilitating sexual and verbal abuse, poor education or no education, and a job that does not pay a living wage. All drive girls and women into the commercial sex industry."
"In Las Vegas, Nevada, three law enforcement sources and one investigative reporter have
separately estimated that the sex industry and its ancillary operations (including both legal and illegal activities such as legal lap dancing, extortion monies paid to taxi drivers for delivery of customers to specific strip clubs, and tips to valets and bartenders for procuring women), generate between $1 and $5 billion per year. This research is forthcoming in a report on Nevada prostitution/trafficking to be released by the author in 2006. Melissa Farley, Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada, 2006,(unpublished manuscript, on file with author)."
Here is a quote from an interesting article about "men who buy sex" The study was conducted in England.
http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/...%...
"Asked what would deter them from using women in prostitution, the men's responses suggest that there are a number of equally effective alternatives. These include being added to a sex offender register, prison or being publicly exposed via billboard, newspaper, Internet or letter to family or employer. Higher fines, greater criminal penalties and having their driver's licence suspended or their car impounded would also deter these men from buying sex, if they were convinced that laws and penalties would actually be enforced. Being required to sign an Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) or receiving an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) would, according to this study's interviewees, serve as a deterrent to approximately three out of four of these men If I'd get in trouble for doing it, I wouldn't do it. In this country, the police are fine with men visiting prostitutes."
One man suggested that the reason the laws are not enforced is that
"the big guys that make the law all see prostitutes themselves.
The bosses of the world are not going to make it difficult for themselves to see a prostitute.
They're not going to make the law too hard on themselves."
Holmes (2009) has discussed evidence for
the role of political corruption in facilitating trafficking for prostitution."
HELP, HELP, the phony hookers stole my money and didn't give me any sex. Please someone call the police, I'm a victim. Weeeel, if ya hadn't been there in the first place ya idiot it wouldn't have happened would it ?
Noam Chomsky - the price of pleasure
Hey kid if I give you some food then it's ok to abuse you right? At least you have food.
If you take a job in a sweat shop working for 16 hours a day, it's ok if the place burns down because of unsafe conditions; with hundreds of workers being killed. At least they were getting paid right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNlRoaFTH...
Is our biggest concern about making abuse more profitable or slightly more comfortable for those being abused?
Shouldn't the focus be about punishing the abusers?
God bless those poor girls. I want to know why they did not put one of the pimps on the cover.
I bet the scumbags who were trying to take advantage of these women in poverty aren't as good looking as that poor unfortunate cover girl. How come there are no pictures of the foreign perps? Maybe they weren't good looking enough?
Doesn't Las Vegas have the highest unemployment in the country?
How come the rich married men who live here don't try to protect their fellow citizens? Probably for the same reason that the rich married men who make and "enforce" the laws. They would rather just take advantage.
http://www.rapereliefshelter.bc.ca/issue...
"Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution is a gift to pimps, traffickers and the sex industry.
What does legalization of prostitution or decriminalization of the sex industry mean? In the Netherlands, legalization amounts to sanctioning all aspects of the sex industry: the women themselves, the so-called "clients," and the pimps who, under the regime of legalization, are transformed into third party businessmen and legitimate sexual entrepreneurs.
Legalization/decriminalization of the sex industry also converts brothels, sex clubs, massage parlors and other sites of prostitution activities into legitimate venues where commercial sexual acts are allowed to flourish legally with few restraints.
Ordinary people believe that, in calling for legalization or decriminalization of prostitution, they are dignifying and professionalizing the women in prostitution. But dignifying prostitution as work doesn't dignify the women, it simply dignifies the sex industry. People often don't realize that decriminalization, for example, means decriminalization of the whole sex industry not just the women. And they haven't thought through the consequences of legalizing pimps as legitimate sex entrepreneurs or third party businessmen, or the fact that men who buy women for sexual activity are now accepted as legitimate consumers of sex.
CATW favors decriminalization of the women in prostitution. No woman should be punished for her own exploitation. But States should never decriminalize pimps, buyers, procurers, brothels or other sex establishments."
http://www.rapereliefshelter.bc.ca/issue......
"There is no doubt that a small number of women say they choose to be in prostitution, especially in public contexts orchestrated by the sex industry. In the same way, some people choose to take dangerous drugs such as heroin. However, even when some people choose to take dangerous drugs, we still recognize that this kind of drug use is harmful to them, and most people do not seek to legalize heroin. In this situation, it is harm to the person, not the consent of the person that is the governing standard."
I didn't read everyone's comments, but I wrote a similar piece on my blog: http://sinafterdark.wordpress.com/2009/0... about the filtering of funds from the top down. These taxi drivers have known about moving brothels in this town for years, and the money filters it's way from the casino doormen, bellman, bartenders, directory ads, and last but not least the girls. See, if the revenue was lost because they went legal, not as much money would be filtering it's way into these other peoples hands. Heck, the strip clubs have been dealing with taxi driver extortion for years and clubs have closed as a result. So, the next best thing has been to open all these "undercover" businesses and keep the extortion going one way or another...that's Vegas Baby!!