Nevada
Board of Massage Therapy
turns its back on neighborhood
massage parlor prostitution
Las
Vegas Worst Kept Secret...
Board
of Massage Therapists
Board of Massage Therapists
1755
E. Plumb Lane Suite 252, Reno, NV 89502
101 Convention Center Dr. Suite 830
Phone
(775) 688-1888 Fax (775) 786-4264
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Email:
nvmassagebd@state.nv.us
Phone (702) 486-2212 Fax (702) 486-3658
Web
Site: http://massagetherapy.nv.gov/
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
July 26, 2010
LAS VEGAS - These ads in the current Las
Vegas CenturyLink phone book tell it all.
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Click on page to enlarge
If the above advertisements are not for
prostitution, why do legitimate massage therapists have to run ads
in the same directory stating that their services are "NON SEXUAL," and
list their Nevada Board of Massage
Therapy (NBMT) license number to prove it?
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Most taxi drivers will tell you that the
majority of local massage parlors are fronts for prostitution. Many parlors
offer male patrons what is called a "Happy Ending," or in some cases
a "Full Girlfriend Experience" for an extra fee. These specialties are
not taught in accredited
massage therapy schools.
There are those who suspect certain Strip
hotel and casino owners actually condone the nearby massage parlors and
escort services that supply a quick release to male casino patrons.
The alternative is a five or six hour round trip to Nye County where prostitution
is legal.
Casino insiders tell INSIDE VEGAS that
trips to Nye County take gamblers away from the tables for too long, so
quickies
with escorts or Asian masseuses are tolerated in the hotels or just down
the street in our town's neighborhood shopping centers.
This may be the reason that Clark
County District Attorney David Roger has joined with the NBMT commissioners
in ignoring the problem. The commissioners are appointed by the governor.
The governor and DA solicit campaign contributions from the casino owners
who don't like it when their gamblers lollygag for half the night and spend
thousands at Sheri's,
or the Chicken Ranch sixty miles away.
The massage parlors that are fronts for
prostitution pay cabbies up to $90 per passenger delivered, so many cabbies
go out of their way to protect the identity and location of the most cabbie
friendly parlors, a number of which are located along Sahara Ave. in
the city of Las Vegas, or along Spring Mountain Road in China Town.
Taxpayers are supporting a state agency
that is supposed to be regulating an industry, but instead, regulators
turn their backs on massage parlor "Happy Endings," and "Full Girlfriend
Experiences" for
sale in Las Vegas neighborhoods adjacent to some massage parlors.
Just think of how embarrassing it is to
be a legitimate massage therapist in Las Vegas when you must compete
with prostitutes to try to make a living?
When I go on vacation, I look forward to
getting a professional massage in my hotel's spa. I couldn't care less
what the female masseuse looks like, or if she's "Friendly and Discrete,"
"Classy," "Loving," "Sweet," or "Charming," I just want a relaxing massage
for an hour or so.
On Wednesday, July 21, the Las Vegas City
Council led by Ward One Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian (left) sent a clear
message to the Nevada Board of Massage Therapy; "Start doing your job!"
when the council voted unanimously to revoke the business license of the
Oriental Angels massage parlor and fine its owner Jinli Ran $50,000. The
council also hopefully sent a message to many other Oriental Angels-type
businesses: "You may be next!" There are still over fifty neighborhood
massage parlors operating in the greater Las Vegas area, and many are suspected
of being clones of Oriental Angels.
For many years Nevada Board of Massage
Therapy board members: Billie Shea (Chairman) Reno; Michelle Viesselman
(Vice Chairman) Las Vegas; Robin Graber (Secretary/Treasurer) Reno; Joe
Cracraft (Board Member) Las Vegas; Michael Smith (Board Member) Las Vegas;
Tree Allemang (Board Member) Reno; Kathleen Pilgreen (Board Member) Las
Vegas; Sergeant Lenny Lorusso (Advisory Member) C/O Las Vegas Metro PD,
have ignored out of control prostitution and human sex slave trafficking
occurring in our neighborhood massage parlors.
Even more responsible for this tragedy
are the board's well paid staff members; Lisa O. Cooper, Executive Director;
and Rebecca Wagoner, the Field Inspector in Reno, and Lynette Carpenter,
Office Manager; Julie Root, Administrative Assistant I; and Jatasha Millikin,
the Field Inspector in Las Vegas.
What are they being paid to do? What exactly
are the duties of Field Inspectors Wagoner and Millikin? Inspecting fields?
Wagoner and Millikin must be aware of the
twenty pages of purported massage parlor advertisements in the Yellow
Pages. If they aren't, then they live on another planet!
Each of these ads cost thousands of dollars
per month, and CenturyLink requires a one year contract. It's unimaginable
that humble state licensed masseuses can afford this expense.
These TV news stories (videos included)
are a clear result of the Nevada Board of Massage Therapy's negligence:
http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/24343085/detail.html#
http://www.mynews3.com/story.php?id=23529&n=5035
And if Wagoner and Millikin need more proof,
they should watch this video of the LV City Council hearing that shut down
Oriental Angels:
Go to:
http://www5.lasvegasnevada.gov/sirepub/agdocs.aspx?doctype=agenda&itemid=40820
Slide the dial to 2:14:30. At this time
in the hearing, Jinli Ran states she fired "massage therapist" Zhao Fu
after she was arrested for soliciting prostitution. Ran then explains that
she bailed Fu out, and rehired her after other massage parlors would not
employ Fu because they want "younger, skinnier masseuses."
Ran then tells the council that Fu was
arrested again at Oriental Angels, and again she bailed her out.
Ran also explains that she requires each
"therapist" to deposit $2,000 with her in case they are arrested, and that
they must agree to forfeit the money if they violate Oriental Angels' supposed
rules that forbid prostitution.
After hearing this questionably legal requirement,
the council had heard enough and voted unanimously to revoke Ran's business
license at her Oriental Angels parlor only, and fine her $50,000.
Ran
still owns and runs three other massage parlors located near the intersection
of Sahara Ave. and Paradise Rd. within the city limits in the ward of Mayor
ProTem Gary Reese (left). There have also been numerous arrests for prostitution
at these parlors.
Shangri La Health Clinic; four prostitution
arrests were made between 2006 and 2009; Asian Garden; four prostitution
arrests were made between 2007 and 2010; and Desert Paradise 430 East Sahara
Avenue; one prostitution arrest was made in 2009.
Ran's operations comprise only a fraction
of similar businesses in Clark County that are still allowed
to operate without Nevada Board of Massage Therapy licenses for their employees.
In 2007, I interviewed Lisa Cooper who
is the Executive Director of the NBMT while she was attending a UNLV forum
on the sex industry.
Upon being asked why her agency does not
police neighborhood massage parlors, Cooper nervously explained to me and
Dr.
Melissa Farley that the "massage therapists" employed at the dozens
of neighborhood parlors do not need Nevada state certificates as long as
they have a certificate of completion from a massage school in Los Angeles.
I told her that all massage therapists
working in Strip hotel spas are required to have their Nevada Board of
Massage Therapy license on public display, and asked what is the difference
between a spa in a hotel and a spa in a neighborhood shopping center where
display of each Nevada state license is not required?
Ms. Cooper refused to answer the question,
and ended the interview.
At this time in history, Las Vegas deserves
better.
MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/21/prostitution-concerns-prompt-city-close-massage-pa/
http://www.lvrj.com/news/massage-parlor-loses-business-license-after-prostitution-arrests-98956919.html#blogcomments?submitted=y
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/5-31-10_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.americanmafia.com/inside_vegas/3-20-06_inside_vegas.html
