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.
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