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tv   Vegas Undercover  MSNBC  May 19, 2013 2:00am-3:01am PDT

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> this may not be the las vegas you know. this is the underbelly. an underworld filled with criminals. >> you got make your next move be your best move. >> with undercover cops trying to catch the crooks. >> i told them to catch me if they can. >> in this episode, pimps and prostitutes. >> -- on my arms. [ cries ] it's a very dangerous world.
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we go along on an all-out manhunt for a suspected pimp. with our hidden cameras rolling, the undercover police officer was literally on the street for less than four minutes. shocking encounters in very public places. then we confront the pimps. >> there is no crime in having 15 girlfriends. >> and the prostitutes. >> i am done with vegas and vegas is done with me. >> and deeper into the mind of a criminal. >> if i was a so-called pimp, i would never let my girls solicit someone while they are with me. that's just dumb. >> it's real. it's revealing, and it's raw. hello. welcome to "vegas undercover raw." i'm chris hansen.
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for more than a year we gained unprecedented access to the las vegas police department including efforts to combat prostitution. they go after the prostitutes, the pimps that control the women and the johns seeking their services. until now we have broadcast only a small portion of the footage by showing more of the video and my confrontations with some of those arrested we hope to shed light on this illegal and often dangerous way of life. we have recorded. first we take a look at the pimps and give you an incredible view into how the police try to shut them down. >> they have a unit here in las vegas called the pimp investigative team and one of the operations that they run is they have an undercover police woman stroll down the strip posing as a prostitute. within minutes, pimps start
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approaching her. you need someone to take care of you. what do you expect the scenario to be tonight? >> tonight our target are pimps. these pimps are watching our girls work. >> pimps. if that is a new girl that they don't recognize as having a pimp or knowing that she belongs to another pimp, they will try to recruit her. >> lieutenant karen hughes runs the vice squad. her unit arrested nearly 100 pimps in 2009 while seizing more than half a million dollars, 19 vehicles and seven guns. there's this image that some people have of prostitution in vegas being glamorous high class girl of call girls. >> that is a fallacy. it is violent, vile and degrading. >> you go after the pimp, you are going after the top of the criminal organization. and you eliminate a lot of the abuse. they are making big money.
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>> they are making huge money. through manipulation they make these women believe this is their lot in life this is their new family and he is everything. he becomes their daddy. >> i haven't been here for that long. how long have you been here? >> we were allowed to go along on one of these investigations. we had incredible access. what they do is they have an undercover police woman stroll down the strip posing as a prostitute and they wait until pimps or would be pimps approach her and try to recruit her. >> i'm in promotions. >> i need a promoter. >> is that right? what do you do? >> i have a cameraman over here. i have a cameraman over there. and a hidden camera over here. and the guys are really aggressive. i knew the stuff went on, don't get me wrong. but to see it in realtime, to be
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within feet of it, it was remarkable. the undercover police officer was literally on the street for less than four minutes when she was approached. the conversation is continuing. she didn't think he was a pimp, she would have walked away by now. >> so how's the money? >> i guess it's okay. last night i made $400. three dates. >> three dates? are you serious? >> i charge a hundred bucks for sex. >> you can do better than that. you need somebody to call when the chips are down and when the chips are up. somebody that will be there for you and keep you motivated and focused. it's not easy out here. i mean, for anybody. especially in the business. it gets scary sometimes. >> it's like they have a script. the streets are a young place for a woman to be a prosecute without a pimp and they work them and work them. >> is this your first time out there? wow, sweetheart. you have lots to learn.
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you are fortunate for meeting me. a lot of guys will try to take advantage of you or steer you in the wrong direction. >> like try to have sex with me and not pay? one guy tried to do that. >> guys will do that. that's what you'll get out of a service. guys are going to pay. honestly i am getting nervous out here. i am sitting out here. >> the undercover has to be very careful. some of the guys are violent. even though this is out in the open and precautions are taken to ensure she is safe, you got to be careful. it's really hit or miss. you really got to be careful. >> somebody to gi me guidance? >> you need somebody. >> i don't got anybody. >> you need my help. >> well, i mean, yeah, to get going, for referrals, to help me out with -- you know, whatever you're going to help me out with. >> that's not a problem at all. i'm at your service. >> she knows exactly how to play it.
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and every word is being recorded and listened to by other investigators so they know right when the line's been cross the. >> let your next move be your best move. if you want me there for you, you got invest me in me. >> once he starts selling his services he is crossing the line. he's breaking the law. >> so i mean, i can't do things for free. >> she makes up an excuse to leave. she tells the guy she has got go see a john. she goes away for an hour. we come back to the meeting spot. she gives him the money. a percentage of what she earned from turning the trick, and in that time, the investigative time, the law's been broken, and that's when they get him. they arrest him. they question him. they take him away. at one point i get a chance to ask him some questions. can you tell me what happened? >> i was going one way, and they
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was going the other. she said something, i said something back. next thing you know, i'm in cuffs, man. >> so you just talked and that was it? >> as far as i know, yeah. what else did i do? >> did you promise her anything? >> i didn't make her any promises. >> did you offer her anything? >> i didn't offer her anything but a friend. >> a friend. did you tell her you could be her pimp? >> i have never been a pimp in my life. >> you never have been? >> i'm not a pimp. >> how did you get that money in your pocket? >> she put it in my pocket. >> she put it in your pocket. why would a woman who you just met tonight give you money like that? >> she is working for the police. >> she also told you she was a prostitute. that she was going to turn a trick and you would meet, like, 40 minutes later, and that money that she gave you was supposed
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to be from the trick she turned. >> that's not what she said. >> what did she say? >> it was all a blur. >> all a blur. seems like when i ask the difficult questions about being a pimp it's all a blur. everything else you remember. >> i feel like i am a victim of circumstances. >> you're the victim. not the woman you tried to recruit? you didn't have to promise her certain things. that a pimp would promise. >> the economy's bad. i can't find a job nowhere. my intention was to get a couple drinks and go back home. >> what made you notice her? >> she's a good looking woman. i'm a good looking dude. that's what i feel like attracted her to me. >> and you wanted to be her pimp? >> never. >> so you were set up. >> i am set up. >> unlike other suspects and criminals i have interviewed who admit to what they have done, because they've seen the videotaped evidence, these guys arrested by the pimp
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investigative team won't give up a thing. she is a good looking girl, i am a good looking guy. i'm just trying to make conversation. i mean, they do not give up a thing. but in court, christopher does concede more than he did to me and gets a suspended sentence. of one to four years with probation. coming up -- vegas pd on the manhunt for a suspected pimp. >> i understand you are not over there but is there anyway you can go to the house. >> they enlist the help of this woman. >> if you had not escaped when you did, where would you be today? >> the hospital or the morgue. >> then i confront the suspect. >> what about at the restaurant that time when she says -- >> was you following us around? >> when vegas undercover raw continues.
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[ explosions ] this is the police department. >> the pimp investigative team also does street operations. and it was interesting because we were actually at their offices in the middle of a very active case. [ sirens ] the swat team went to a house to try to arrest this guy. we watched this case unfold in real action. the swat team is in the house now doing a thorough search to see whether or not this guy is in there. if they find him they will bring him out. if he's not there, the investigative team will go in there and begin to make their case. how the cops got here is interesting story. it started with not one but two 911 calls. the first was from a woman. >> do you live there? >> my boyfriend was there. but he just beat me up. >> and another call from a man
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claiming he was being victimized. >> i want to report a domestic violence. >> the police figured donna was telling the truth. and they figured that steven had a history of violence. we start early in the morning. the police are aggressively pursuing the case. hey, donna, chris hansen, nice to meet you. the victim, donna, is with them. we are in a parking lot. the goal is to try to find steven harris. it had to be a heck of an experience to find yourself trapped. >> yeah, pretty much. probably one of the worst experiences in my life. >> donna lives in florida. she was in the air force for a while. she was online, myspace. meets steven. they develop an online relationship. he invites her to come to vegas. she thinks this could be a legitimate, romantic opportunity. how long were you here in vegas
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before things went bad? >> approximately a week and a half. >> we saw a pimp trying to recruit someone that he thought was a prostitute. with donna we see an accused pimp trying to recruit someone who isn't a working girl at all. what happened? >> everything was fine. we went out to eat. there were a couple older white gentlemen. he said why don't you go over there and talk to him and see what you can do for us. i thought he was kidding. so i kind of laughed it off. he didn't say anything until we got home. he told me, well, why didn't you do what i told you do? i make the decisions now, you don't make your own decisions. you were supposed to go over there and talk to those gentlemen and make us some money. >> make some money? >> yeah. >> you mean, turning a trick? >> yes. >> he wanted me to turn a trick and prostitute. >> you had to be thinking this isn't what i signed up for. >> is that really what you brought me out here for? he said yeah.
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did you think i really wanted to be there for you? i tried to get out of the house. >> what did he do? >> he put his right arm around my stomach and grabbed my hand. that i had my cell phone in. i tried to pull away and he threw me across the room. i landed on my back and he started beating me. >> he beat you? >> yes. >> so you got out of the house? >> i sat on the bed and we talked and then i went to the bathroom and he watched me go to the bathroom, which is humiliating. and then, after that -- [ cries ] sorry. >> that's all right. if you had not escaped when you did, where do you think you would be today? >> either in the hospital or the morgue. >> the cops need to find steven harris and this is all happening very quickly and donna bravely agreed to help the police find steven harris. >> hey. what are you doing? i mean i just wanted to know if i could come by and get my stuff.
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i can find my own way back. >> steven harris tells donna that he's not home. >> i understand you're not over there, but is there any way you could go to the house? >> he's not going give up the location where he's at. >> okay. all right. whatever. >> the police don't know whether he is lying. he could be hiding out in his big home. they figure when they do get there it's either going be an arrest warrant, a search warrant, perhaps both. [ explosions ] >> steven harris, las vegas police department. come outside. >> there was nobody home. steven harris apparently hadn't been there for a while. all of a sudden, steven harris calls one of the detectives on the pimp investigative team who had been trying to reach him for days, trying to track him down. this is where it gets interesting. >> hey, steven, how you doing,
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man? let me ask you a question. it's not mandatory or anything, but would you fill out a written statement just to get your side of the story? they set up a meeting. it's a sprip mall area. and here he comes, steven harris. they arrest steven harris as they are taking him to the police car, i approach him. i ask him if he wants to talk. >> i am chris hansen. >> once he figures out who it is he wants to tell the story. >> we are doing the story on pimps in las vegas. >> co-incidence. >> lucky for me. >> you ever see our show to catch a predator. >> what is she? 17 or something? >> no. >> good. >> but the word on the street, steven, is that you're a pimp. >> no. >> she just made this up?
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>> she made a lot of stuff up. >> what about at the restaurant that time -- >> was you all following us around at the restaurant -- >> okay, go ahead. you tell her to go up to a group of men. >> no. that never happened. >> so she is making this up. >> i told her to -- >> you said go up to that group of men and see what you can figure out. >> if i was a so-called pimp, i would never let someone of my girls go solicit somebody while they are with me. come on, get real. why would i do that? that is just dumb. if i was a pimp i wouldn't do that. so that story is a lie. made up. >> the picture that starts to come together here is one of you grooming her like so many other pimps groom women. >> i told her she could be my woman. we did everything that you would do with a woman and even some more. >> how come you whooped her? >> i didn't whoop her.
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she told you i whooped her? she said that. she said she was defending herself from you. >> did you see anything where she was beat up? >> so you are the victim? >> honestly, i'm the victim. first, she beats me up, and i call domestic violence on her, and now i am going jail on pimping. >> so you are saying you have never pimped any woman? >> no. i called domestic violence on the girl because she beat me up. the next thing you know, i'm in the jail for pandering. that's our system. men out there, if you think you want to call the cops because your spouse beat you up, you might want to think about that again. >> all right. i appreciate you talking to me. >> no problem. >> after our meeting, steven harris pleads guilty to pandering and is sentenced to 90 days in jail. coming up -- >> he sat on my arms. >> two women with the same pimp tell remarkably similar stories. >> how many times did he beat you? >> too many to count.
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>> and i confront him. >> how do you make your living? >> i am one, too? >> you're a one, two what? >> i am an entertainer. whatever you want to call it. i am an entertainer. >> when vegas undercover raw continues. [ male announcer ] running out of steam?
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las vegas. ♪ casinos -- ♪ restaurants -- ♪ and shows, drawing 40 million tourists a year. ♪ it's known as an adult playground. here is doug gillespie who runs the las vegas police department, and is away of his town's reputation. sin city. there is a perception across the country that certain behavior is tolerated. >> i know the advertising that you see out there may give people that impression but it's far from that. we're a very proactive hard
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working progressive police organization. >> i think there is also the perception that prostitution is legal. >> in clark county it's illegal. it's a very dirty business. there is a lot of criminal activity associated with it. we're very aggressive in going after the three components of prostitution. you have the pinks, you have the prostitutes, and then you have the clients. all three get attention by us. >> one of the reasons why the pimp investigative team is so aggressive about going after the pimps is that in many cases, they are violent guys. we are introduced to two women, jessica and elizabeth who tell remarkably similar stories about living with, working for, and being abused by. mario. >> how are you? >> mario is slick. he meets with elizabeth, senses apparently that she is in a real
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bad spot and within an hour convinces her to come to work for him. >> how did he come off? was he a charming guy? >> absolutely. you know, he would drive up in his escalade, $10,000 worth of jewelry on. of course it's attractive. >> what did he tell you? >> he asked me what i wanted to do with my life. you know, what i wanted. that he can make it all happen. and i packed my stuff and an hour later i was in his condo. >> how much would you talk? >> i had a quota. you know? i had to make that quota. >> what was the quota? >> 1,200 to $1,500 a night. >> what would happen if you didn't make that quota? >> he would make sure. >> elizabeth tells tales how mario used threats and intimidation to keep his girls in line. >> so he shaved your head? >> on the lowest setting of the clippers.
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>> he knows your weaknesses. >> oh, yeah. >> he knows how to exploit them. >> it got to the point, i would be so scared of him, i would pass out before he got near me. >> did he ever hit you or abuse you? >> yes. >> tell me about that. >> i saw him hit one of the girls and he was so nonchalant and i had never been exposed to anything like that and i was like you know what? i don't respect men who hit women and he slammed my head into the floor. >> he slammed your head into the floor. >> yeah. >> why did you stay? >> i really had no other choice. you know, after that, yeah. i tried to get out. and there was no leaving. he wouldn't let me. >> what would he do? >> he would be like all right. go pack your stuff. if i actually did he would beat me so severely. >> how many times did he beat you? >> too many to count. >> too many to count? yet you stayed. >> i couldn't leave. >> but elizabeth does leave.
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mario is out of town and she decides enough is enough and makes her daring escape. >> elizabeth tells her story. to the police. mario is arrested. he makes bail. then, when he's out on bail is when he apparently beats up jessica. >> he beat me up because he thought i was lying to him. >> he thought you were lying? >> he thought i was cheating on him. >> remarkably, jessica's story is almost identical to elizabeth's. >> i woke up and he started yelling at me asking me who it was and before i could answer him, yeah, he picked me up and threw me off the couch. >> what did he do then? >> slid on the floor. he sat on my arms -- >> pinned you down? >> uh-huh. that's when he hit me in my face. >> similarly, when he is accused
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of beating up jessica, he also cuts off some of her hair. jessica agrees to be interviewed by detective above boffman. the detective gets a warrant and basically there is a manhunt. there is an interesting parallel because that detective actually went to high school with mario. and mario knows that chris is coming after him and chris knows that mario is going do his best not to get caught. >> is mario here? where is he at? do you know? you don't know? all right. all right, chris. he is not here. what we did find -- i told you about the hair he cut, he chopped off her head. >> they check out two other locations where he has been known to stay. >> nobody home. >> he is not there. and then there is a phone call. it's mario's lawyer. he has agreed to turn himself in. he makes bail again and this is
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when i decide to go pay a visit to mario at his home. >> i wanted to get your side of the story on this. >> i'm innocent. only thing i am guilty of is being black and having a girlfriend who is a prostitute. there is no crime in having 15 girlfriends. is there a crime? i'm not married. i'm still young. >> there is no crime in having 15 girlfriends. really? >> that's all i'm saying. >> the question is, were they going out and turning tricks and giving you money? >> no they wasn't. i never told her and told her she could go sell [ bleep ] and she could give it to me. >> how do you make your living then? >> i am one, too. >> what? >> i am an escort yourself. >> so you make money being an escort? >> i am an entertainer. however you want to call it. i'm an entertainers. i am addicted to pretty women. that's all it is. >> they were turning over their earnings to you? >> they don't have no evidence.
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>> jessica had a black eye and bruises all over her body. >> like i said -- >> she claims she -- >> that's what she -- like i said, that's what she claims, but i will tell you like this. i am innocent of all of that and in the end the truth will come out. >> mario davis denies wrong doing to me but he pleads guilty to pandering and is sentenced t five years probation. you know, it's interesting. five years probation seemed light to a lot of people, and i posed this question to chris boffman, and his answer was, look, we got a guilty plea. we got it on the record. and if he does one thing wrong in five years he will go away for a long time. so either he stops doing it and we have achieved our goal or he messes up and he is gone for a long, long time. coming up, vegas police set up a sting operation to catch
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prostitutes turning more than one trick. >> you only have 20? okay, so take this out of the 60? when vegas undercover raw continues. ench fry. yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle.
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hello, everybody. i'm betty they gin. dozens of people were hurt in damascus, virginia, happening during the trail days event. a broken rail is being studied in connecticut to see if it derailed on friday, slamming head-on into an oncoming train. in clay county, alabama, 20 people had to be rescued from quickly rising floodwaters. overnight rains had flooded camp grounds there. now back to "vegas undercover." >> welcome back to vegas undercover raw. we have seen vegas police officers putting themselves on the line to hunt down the
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dangerous violent men controlling the prostitution industry, the pimps. next, in never before broadcast footage, yurl see what happens when the vegas vice squad sets up another undercover sting. this time to take down the call girls. what are you looking for tonight? >> tonight, we are targeting the prolific prostitute that makes her living out of more than just prostitution. >> las vegas police lieutenant karen hughes is in charge of the vice squad. and in this sting operation, she isn't just going after the working girls for prostitution, she's also taking aim at theft. >> she is stealing from her clients and we call those trick rolls. >> the male undercover officer checks into a hotel room wired with cameras and microphones. there is an expensive watch and and some watch and a wallet
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they see if the woman takes it. how often does this go on? >> goes on all the time. >> the reason the police do the trick roll sting operations is because, and the reality is that a lot of the guys are not going report this because they are embarrassed by what's happened. >> the undercover police officer posing as the john calls for the escort service or the call girl and literally within minutes the woman is knocking on the door. so this woman was familiar to you guys? >> yes. she was encountered last night by the enforcement team. >> how long has she been in the game? >> probably a couple of months. she works for an escort service now. worked at a strip club and was a preschool teacher prior to that. >> so she was a preschoolteacher? >> went into cocktails. didn't make enough money there, so three months later, here she is. >> we are going actually have sex, right? >> uh-huh.
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>> the trick is when the undercover police officer posing as the john asks like he is turning in and passing out. >> are you really that drunk? >> thus creating the opportunity for the woman to take the money, the watch, or whatever is out there. >> do you need help? >> can you give me a back rub or something? >> yeah. >> she gives him a massage. he passes out. she checks to make sure that he is out. and then she takes a substantial amount of money. something like $1100.
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>> go. >> how strong is the video tape as evidence? >> almost irrefutable. not only do you have the undercover officer that will testify that that is the same individual that he encountered but we have the video tape as well. >> the former preschool teacher pleads guilty to soliciting but gets the larceny charge dismissed as part of a plea arrangement. she's sentenced to time served. when another party arrives, instead of playing drunk, the officer is in a wheelchair and police are in for a surprise. >> you got me off the red book, right? >> yeah. >> oh, my god. >> i'm in here, too. >> it's kind of hard to believe, but this woman is actually pregnant. this is one of those sad cases. how bad is this woman's life that she while pregnant turns up
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to turn a trick in someone's hotel room? i think that's a sad case. >> the pregnant suspect helps the undercover officer over to the couch. she seems kwen genuinely concerned about the job. >> are you okay? >> they negotiate the deal for
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$500 for two hours, and even though she's clearly pregnant, she said there's no limit to what she can do for him. >> go. don't put her down. do not put her down. relax, relax, relax. stand up. stand up. turn around. turn around. police department.
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>> it's important to say not everybody stole. many were quite concerned about the well-being of the so-called john, the undercover police officer, even though maybe in her mind, she was taking the money she's owed, it's still elle legal, and she was arrested. the pregnant prostitute pleads guilty to so listing. sentenced to aids awareness counselling and fined $500. coming up. the sting that's one of las vegas's most active prostitutes. >> ooh, those are nice! >> this woman is consider advice enforcement top offender. she is one of the 50 most prolific prostitutes. here in las vegas. and i get to talk to her. i am chris hansen at "dateline" nbc. find out what life on the streets is like. how did you end up in this situation? when vegas undercover raw continues.
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las vegas police department vice squad targets pimps, prostitutes and johns. they have been a very busy unit, trying to put a scare into the criminal community. over a two-year span from 2008 to 2009, they make more than 7,000 arrests for soliciting prostitution. of those arrests, nearly 500 come from their trick roll sting. and they give us an all-access pass to witness the sting firsthand. it is an undercover operation with inherent danger. >> drop it! >> i didn't even do nothing. >> the goal is to round up women who are not only selling their
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bodies but turning some other tricks on their customer. >> it's a hotel room and it looks like a guy has been staying there. an expensive watch out. in this case a rolex. some chips, cash, and a wallet. if somebody wanted to take advantage of the situation, it's all right there and all being recorded by hidden cameras and microphones. as our cameras record the action, some suspected prostitutes steal. >> just take a couple more. >> yeah. two more bills. >> it's important to point out that a fair number don't take anything other than the negotiated price. they may have been honest -- >> relax, relax, relax. turn around. police department. >> but they are still arrested for so listing it and the cops recognize some of the ladies coming through the door like this woman who is a very familiar face. police know her by name. shannon. [ whispering ]
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this woman is considered a v.i.t.o., one of the 50 most prolific prostitutes here in las vegas and because of that they believe she is more likely to try to rob a john. >> ooh, those are nice. >> just like in an earlier undercover arrest, the officer is pretending to be passed out. ho many times has she been arrested? >> lots. >> 30, 40 times, maybe. >> what's surprising, you know, is how somebody so young can be so prolific. you can see the toll that it has taken on her life. it's rough. >> she is trying to check out the wallet but she can only do that's not giving her enough -- she already knows what she has in the chips. >> she's tucking the money into her skirt. >> she hasn't even touched that rolex. >> it ain't over yet.
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>> a tension moment for shannon. the phone rings and she is worried that the john is going wake up. >> he's going to go back to sleep. good, go back to sleep. she's going to consider those chips. >> a couple those. >> right there. [ phone ringing ] >> she just needs to leave. take your stuff, and then go. >> you see it coming. so once the woman takes the money or the chips or the watch, you know she will be arrested. >> oh my god. >> coming up, a candid conversation with one of las vegas's most prolific prostitutes. >> we heard that you had been arrested some 50 times is that true? >> probably. >> an opportunity to tap into the mind of a career criminal.
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>> i'm done with vegas and vegas is done with me. and this is not the life for anybody to take, seriously. >> when "vegas undercover raw" continues.
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>> go. >> the las vegas police department pimp investigation team. >> stand up. turn around. >> i didn't do anything. >> ran a sting operation to catch prosecutes in the act. >> ooh, those are nice. >> not just for soliciting but for stealing from johns, too. some took the bait. others didn't. but the only thing for sure is behind the glitz of the vegas strip, there's a dark story to be told. i first saw shannon, designated one of vegas's most prolific prostitutes when she entered the hotel room. wired by the vegas police. and after her arrest -- >> how are you doing? >> -- i wanted to find out from
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her what makes a woman arrested nearly 50 times keep going back to that life. what happened? >> i was stupid. >> we had heard that you had been arrested some 50 times. is that true? >> probably. i think so. >> do you know what veto is? >> yeah i am. yeah i do know. >> shannon has been in trouble with the law so many time she has been designated a veto. vice enforcement top offender. >> you are one of the top 50 most active prosecutes in las vegas. >> that's why i am mad at myself right now. i really hadn't been -- i have been trying to settle down but -- every time i try to settle down, i get in trouble. >> how did you get designated? >> i am -- i have been out here eight years. i have been out here every single day. i have been busted more than a million and one times.
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>> more than a million and one times? >> by every single police officer in las vegas. >> how old are you? >> 24. >> how did you end up in this situation? >> an ex-boyfriend of mine. >> is that how you got into the life? how old are you now? >> i was 17, 18. >> how much money can you make doing this? >> you don't make good money no more. that's the whole point. >> you got make some money. >> i mean you make the money because you want to get things, like i used to make money. like, i would make money. >> back in the day, how long ago? >> like five years a day. i made two grand a day. >> two grand a day? what did you do with the money? >> stupid stuff. >> drugs? >> no. when i first started doing it yeah i was on drugs. >> what kind of drugs? >> i used to do speed. i had a baby and gave my baby up for adoption, and i haven't done drugs since. >> you have been clean what? four or five years?
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>> no, two years. >> what kind of men do you meet? >> sometimes i meet weirdos. like really weirdos. >> how weird? >> they call me a little girl and want me to tell them that they're my daddy, like i'm 10 years old and all that other stuff. >> do you have a pimp? >> i had one a long time ago when i first got into it and he pistol whipped me three times. >> pistol-whipped you? >> i got welts all over my hand. >> so you ran away? >> he actually went to prison for life. >> now how much money can you make doing this? >> i don't know. now i really don't count. i am not out there like that. i am banned from vegas. i am done with vegas and vegas is done with me and this is not the life for anybody to take. seriously. >> where do you go from here? >> i think i'm going jail.
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>> at some point after being arrested 50 times, that's going lead to a serious sentence. >> yeah i'm in some -- >> how do you get out of this? >> i guess giving it up. >> is that your plan? >> yeah. >> is there anything else you want folks to know? >> don't do it. don't get in it, because it's not -- it's not fun. it's not at all. >> shannon pleads guilty to the felony charge of theft, and gets probation. but when she commits another crime, the probation is revoked and she is sentenced to one to five years behind bars. >> here in vegas there is the thought that prostitution is legal. there are numerous 800 numbers,
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call girl services. it's here. it's sad. sad. very dark. i don't care if they are the most prolific prostitute in las vegas, these are hard lives. while there's certainly good reason to do an investigation like this, i mean, nobody who saw or took part in it was high fiving that they caught somebody doing it. the las vegas police department stepped up their vice squad investigations like the ones that we have shown you this hour in response to a significant spike in criminal activity. soon after they reported a 40% reduction in vice related theft and all major crimes involving pimps, prostitutes, and johns started trending downward. a trend they hope will continue in an effort to reach their goal of making las vegas the safest community in america. that's all for this edition of
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"vegas undercover this may not be the las vegas you know. >> i can get you all brands of mustangs all day long. >> this is the underbelly. [ bleep ] >> shoot him in the face. >> an underworld filled with criminals. >> make your next move be your best move. if you need me there, you got to invest in me. >> with undercover cops trying to catch those crooks. >> catch me if you can. >> in this episode, police set up a sting. a fake fencing operation for stolen goods. >> i got them all here. >> with hidden cameras rolling,

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