2 MASSAGE PARLORS ACCUSED IN SEX STING:ROHNERT PARK BUSINESSES MAY CLOSE FOLLOWING PROSTITUTION ARRESTS

Two Rohnert Park massage parlors face possible closure after undercover

police officers posing as customers were offered sexual services during a

sting operation Wednesday, the Public Safety Department said.

Two masseuses were arrested during the Wednesday afternoon operation, which

was prompted by what police said were ''numerous complaints of alleged

prostitution and/or illicit acts inside the establishments.''

''I've gotten phone calls from business owners in the area, and other

masseuses have been complaining about these places as well, so that's what

prompted our doing the sting,'' Detective Sgt. Jeff Nicks said Thursday.

Undercover officers went to three locations in all, including Cupid Massage

and Rainbow Massage, both on Commerce Boulevard between Professional Center

and State Farm drives.

Two women were arrested for suspected solicitation for prostitution, a

misdemeanor. They were identified as Xin Wang, 33, of Alhambra, arrested at

Cupid Massage, and Suphap Suktoem, 48, of San Pablo, who worked at Rainbow

Massage.

The third massage parlor was not identified. No arrests were made there.

Though Nicks said there was ''inappropriate touching,'' there was no

solicitation, he said.

He expected to include it when he goes to the city seeking revocation of

city business licenses for the three establishments, however.

''Typically if they're not abiding by the law, they (city officials) are

going to look hard and fast as to whether it's the kind of business that

should be operating in Rohnert Park,'' he said.

Across the county, there have been a number of similar busts, often

involving Asian women.

Santa Rosa police Sgt. John Snetsinger said suspicious operations get their

business licenses using far-flung credentials from obscure massage schools in

Los Angeles.

Undercover compliance checks two to three times a year reveal their true

nature, he said, frequently leading to solicitation arrests.

Snetsinger said two massage parlor workers were arrested in February and

another was booked in December in Santa Rosa.

A prostitution conviction can shut a business down, but new massage parlors

open in their places, he said. They promote themselves on Web sites, he said.

''As soon as we close them down, a new one pops up with a new name and

girls we've never heard of,'' Snetsinger said. ''It's a shell game that's

really hard to keep up with.''

Neighbors of the Rohnert Park businesses said Thursday they were not

surprised at the arrests.

Chris Lucero, the manager of Big O Tire Store near Cupid's, said soon after

the parlor opened a year and a half ago, it became obvious what was going on.

''We kind of figured it out, especially with the name, Cupid's. I mean,

come on,'' Lucero said. ''But it didn't bother our business in the least. One

of the women even bought some tires.''

A neighbor of the Rainbow massage parlor who requested anonymity said he,

too, had an inkling the business offered more. He said it was inappropriate

for a business park.

''I heard commentary from clientele who were visiting that made it

abundantly clear more than a massage was going on,'' he said.