tv Sex Slaves MSNBC June 18, 2016 12:00am-1:01am PDT
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san francisco, the business of sex for sale is booming behind the facades of illegal massage parlors. >> observed a license masseuse topless with her breasts exposed. >> young women from all over the world are trapped in a cruel game of debt and sexual servitude. >> get dressed if you don't mind. can you leave the room for a minute, please. >> this is not a massage parlor? >> no, it's not. >> it is a big game for them and they are good at it. >> eventually something's going to break and i'm going to be there. >> let's go. let's go. >> msnbc goes undercover with san francisco's human
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trafficking force. >> can you open up the door, please? open it up. >> as they crackdown on the city' notorious parlor games. >> what kind of massage do you do? >> and fight to end the exploitation of women working at happy endings. >> i want to make sure you are okay. is she freedom to come and go. if you want to walk out right now, you and i can walk out. nobody can stop you. ♪ the city of san francisco is home to some 300 massage parlors and spas. some are legitimate concerns, offering therapeutic treatment for aching bones and muscles, but many are just facades for the city's booming traffic in the business of sex for sale.
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>> i put together a list of seven places. >> to combat the problem the mayor's human trafficking task force combines personnel from several agencies that do regular inspections of local massage parlors looking for any signs of sex or labor trafficking. >> tonight we received a number of complaints regarding massage establishments in chinatown that are not operating with permits. >> posting says it is nancy, asian, chinese female. friendly yet playful. >> the task force including tony flores from the special victims unit. with 25 years on the job, flores spent the last decade working domestic violence cases developing skills that translate well to human trafficking cases. >> they are similar as far as the victims not wanting to come forward with. the victims mistrust of the police. if there are immigration issues, those issues come in to play.
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>> the frustrating part for me is that you can almost see in their eyes that they want to get out but they don't know how to get out. when you are ready. i'm ready. >> it is a little after 6:00 p.m. when the team assembles outside of their first inspection location, top therapy academy on clay street. at first, everything appears to be in order. customers receive therapeutic massage from male and female practitioners but upstairs they discover numerous health code violations, including indications that workers may be living on the premises. >> this is all an indication of living. are you living up here? >> no. what are all of the tables doing here. >> no customers up here, no. >> sure you don't do massage here? >> no. >> they sleep here. >> no sleep, just rest. >> rest. >> despite the manager's protest it is evident the second floor is used for massage and possibly to house immigrant workers. >> get her picture. >> that is obvious violations of >> no. >> they sleep here. >> no sleep, just rest. >> rest.
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>> despite the manager's protest it is evident the second floor is used for massage and possibly to house immigrant workers. >> get her picture. >> that is obvious violations of city and health codes are often the first sign of human trafficking. the task force moves to the next stop, a second floor walk up that goes by the name may sun beauty salon. they have received complaints the so-called beauty salon is a massage parlor. >> it is a tough one for us because you have to be a regular customer. you have to know somebody. it is almost like a club. >> knocks on the door go unanswered but they suspect the proprietors are huddled inside and waiting for the team to go away. >> we could tell, we knew there were people inside of there. when we are knocking we make enough sound. there's video cameras. so they know it's us. >> sergeant flores gets
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creative. >> do you have a fire escape. >> he asks the adjoining business owner to use the fire escape so she can peek in the window of may-sun. >> probably not the smartest move. you never know about the fire escape. >> yes, it is just another friday night in chinatown for san francisco's human trafficking task force doing whatever it takes to get a glimpse in the working of an insulated world. >> that was crazy. when he saw the police officer looking at him through the window they realized we have to do something. can you open up the door, please? >> yes, please. she's opening the door. >> finally that person opens the door. they said they didn't realize we were there. >> hi. >> thank you. thank you. hello, everybody. once inside, inspector walsh is greeted by the sights and unmistakable sounds of what appears to be a great big game of mahjong. but the premises shows massage
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tables that are still warm. >> very warm. >> leading them to suspect that they were playing a different sort of parlor game moments earlier. >> can you get pictures of the oils and everything. so we have evidence they are doing massage here and it is obvious. >> what took so long to open the door. >> what took so long to open? >> closed, not open. >> we knocked for five minutes. how come you don't open. >> because we're not open. >> if they were playing mahjong we would have heard it. that's loud. all of a sudden there is a mahjong game when we showed up. when somebody knocks on the door don't you open the door? what if somebody wanted to come in, like one of your friends. >> they call. >> oh, they call. they call. >> the way you get in here you
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call. you make a phone call, speak chinese and know somebody. >> may sun had been ordered to close after a previous inspection found condoms, lubricants and other indications of sex for sale on premises but the inspection tonight indicates they are still in business. this menu of services and prices is discovered in plain sight. >> long time ago. the old prices. they never used it. >> i get reports and complaints you are still doing massage. that's why we are here. i have people tell me you are still doing massage. not just because i decided to come. >> we haven't been doing anything. >> this young woman's denials are compromised by the fact that her pocket is stuffed with cash. investigators also notice a number of pornographic videos laying around, including one already loaded in to the dvd player. >> do you watch this?
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>> the items are not illegal but they are curious props for a so-called beauty salon. >> i'm wondering why is it inside of a beauty salon. do you play it for the customers? >> they probably pick it up from the trash can down stairs. >> yeah, but it is up here. >> customer brought it a long time ago. a long time ago. >> ridiculous, huh? it is a big game here. i'm tired of it. sign here, please. no massages. no massages, no massages. right there. >> the owner signs an order to appear at a hearing and once again may sun is ordered to close. >> bye-bye. >> bye-bye. >> but inspectors are barely out the door when they bump no a man who appears to be waiting for his appointment at the beauty salon. >> hey. >> the man is shooed away but for how long? there are more inspections to do
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in san francisco, investigators with the city's human trafficking task force are out on the streets of chinatown inspecting massage parlors and looking for indications of prostitution and forced labor. the relax center is one of the new venues in town suspected of operating without a massage permit from the city's health department. >> got any customers hear? >> yeah. customer over there. good thing he is here. >> we need to do inspection. how many workers do you have? >> i don't know. >> how are you? >> how are you?
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>> good. >> inside the massage parlor, inspectors find four female worker and two male customers. >> hello. >> from the police department. how are you? everything okay? >> yeah. this is. >> no problem with the girls or anything like that? >> no. >> did she try to do anything appropriately, did she touch your areas or anything like that? >> no. >> sergeant flores finds no evidence of sexual activity but the customers are rattled and quickly exit. >> hi. >> let me see your licenses. >> a routine check for massage licenses confirms his suspicious. although the women are licensed the business is not. >> you don't have an establishment license. >> she had one. >> in california, let me see. >> the owner protests pointing out her business is licensed by the state of california.
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>> by california. >> in order to operate a massage parlor within san francisco, she needs a city license or license exemption from the city. >> until you get a license, you can't do massage here. >> what is happening? what did you tell her tonight? >> she has to close because she doesn't have a health permit or an exemption for her establishment are. >> this is one of the many massage parlors currently slipping through the cracks from state laws men to encourage business and city laws to combat sex and labor trafficking. >> if you don't come to investigate you don't know. so by coming we know they don't have appropriate permits. if they want to go to medical massage they can be exempt. we can meet on monday morning and explain how to do it. >> how long have you been working here. >> sergeant flores has a chance to speak to one of the masseuses. >> yesterday afternoon. >> she said she just started yesterday this which is a common and often untrue response but flores is interested in gaining her trust and listening for
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hints she may be working against her will. >> are you happy with working here. >> i don't know. i just started. everything new. >> did they loan you any money or do you own them anything? >> do you sleep here or go home. >> go home. >> okay. >> i got you. okay. >> the woman has no complaints about the establishment, but her tenure with a previous employer is a different story. >> did he want you to do something you didn't want to do? >> yeah. i didn't want to do something. >> okay. i'll say it. did he want you to have sex with customers? >> no. >> oh, he wanted you to have sex with him. >> yeah. >> the woman says her previous employer sexually harassed her and other women working there. >> too stressful.
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very stressful. i felt so sad. she said he never asked her to engage in sex with customers but reading between the lines she said she and other women felt pressured to increase business by any mean s necessary. >> he said why is the business so slow, why is the business not good? i say, i try my best. i'm working hard. my body is broken. i am working very hard a. >> she's telling me, i just left this place a couple of weeks ago and these were the conditions and this is how it was. it was bad. he wanted me to do things that i didn't want to do and i'm sure there were some bad things she may not want to open up at this moment. that's okay. we are meeting for the first time. that's not uncommon.
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sometimes it takes somebody a while but you could tell something occurred. >> the girls working there don't have a license. >> the woman provides the sergeant with a tip for follow up investigation. flores makes a note and promises to stay in touch. >> we want to know about the good places. we want to make sure the girls are treated right and also about the bad places and those places taking advantage of girls. really not treating them right. if they didn't treat you right, i can imagine what he is doing to the other girls. >> inspectors are wrapping up when a man stops in looking for service. he is waved off by the proprietor and retreats, but the man does not leave. he simply waits patiently on the sidewalk outside of the massage parlor, and as inspectors file out he tries to go back in. >> turn out the lights. party's over. >> inspector walsh reminds the proprietor she must close for the evening and the man has to go. eventually he and another man are shooed away and left to go hunting elsewhere for massage
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services, thanks to city inspectors there will be no relaxation services here tonight. >> offered a massage. person came in here and was offered a massage. >> this is not a massage parlor. >> no, it is not. >> okay. >> i'm alex trebek. if you're age 50 to 85, i have an important message about security.
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>> okay. >> in recent years, the city of san francisco has gotten tough on massage parlors, closing more than 116 that were actually operating as brothels. but now there's a new kind of business popping up here they call themselves relaxation spas. specifically to avoid laws governing massage parlors. places like golden pearl on taylor street are the new players in the parlor game. >> all right. we set up our undercover inspectors to try to get inside. the place is labelled as a relaxation spa. >> once inside, the undercover is typically offered a massage and unguarded view of what
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really goes on in a so-called relaxation spa. >> i see improperly dressed masseuses all the time. i see them running, scattering to lied items such as a condom or money. >> hey. how are you doing? health department. >> police department. >> when the lights come on, the women cover up. at the same time, police spot this woman trying to leave. they bring her back inside. >> she's the older lady. massage $40. >> at first, investigators suspect she maybe the manager on duty. >> she's leaving again. >> once again the woman makes a dash for it. >> where are you going? >> this time one of our cameras follows. once again the woman is intercepted by police. by offering to arrange a massage for the undercover, she has confirmed suspicions that golden pearl is operating illegally. in this room down the hallway, sergeant flores finds evidence of sexual activity, including
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lubricants and condoms. >> what kind of massage do you do? >> the woman offers the usual denial, but sergeant flores is more concerned with her well being. >> we have to find out a little more. are you being controlled by anybody? are you free to go? is somebody feeding you? do you have lodging? is is somebody holding something over your head? do you ever do anything you didn't want to do with clients? we're talking to them and trying to make sure you are okay. and if you want to walk out right now, you and i, we can walk out, nobody can stop you. >> sergeant flores gives you the chance to air any worries, but his concern only seems to irritate her. what's wrong? >> you ask so many questions. i say i'm okay. >> okay. don't get mad at me because i'm here to make sure all of the
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girls and everybody who works in places like this are okay. sometimes you and i both know that sometimes they are not okay. we do the best that we can. you can't pass judgments on people that a make these mistakes because they are going to make them. eventually something's going to break and i'm going to be there. >> meanwhile, down at the end of the hallway, inspector walsh comes across a familiar face. >> how are you doing? >> the lady in the back. >> the former owner of sun flower. >> yes. >> health department. >> sun flower was a notorious brothel masquerading as a massage parlor that first appeared on the "sex slaves" series several years ago. during one visit, inspectors found women hiding inside of the walls trying to evade detection. investigators found cramped living quarters for women in the massage parlor. a telltale sign of human
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trafficking. finally after numerous citations and a lengthy court battle, the city revoked sun flower's license and the business was shattered. >> i knew i recognized you before. you were the former owner of sun flower. >> now it appears sun flower's owner has resurfaced in the business of relaxation. >> what are you doing here now? >> working. >> you don't own this? chau's name -- >> you don't have ownership. just a worker. >> what kind of work are you doing. >> i can do a lot of things. >> this is not a massage parlor? >> no, it's not. >> okay. >> while they contend it is not a massage parlor the woman who
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arranged the massage is in the cited for that and for improper attire. this woman says she has a massage license at home. >> you know me long time. >> you should have your license. >> you know i have license. >> show it to me. >> bring your license to my office. bring a license to my office. >> yes. >> inspector walsh says women like this are caught between the law and bosses directives to keep up the illusion that relaxation spas are not massage parlors. >> they have been told not to bring in massage i.d.s if they are on the premises.
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>> they are offering massages here. >> it will be used against them as offering massage. >> who's the manager? >> before inspectors can wrap up here, someone must sign the citation for the establishment. >> there are no volunteers. >> the lady in the back, i asked her to sign because i know she was the owner of the previous place and she said the cleaning lady is the manager. >> cleaning person. >> okay. thank you. >> the cleaning person is in charge. okay. so you are in charge, right? >> the cleaning lady seems more surprised than anyone that she is suddenly the boss at golden pearl tonight. >> you are the manager, right? >> huh? >> this is for the owner. sign this it says you received it. you are not in trouble. >> she's reluctant to sign anything until she is assured in vietnamese that her signature on
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this report is a formality. >> we want her to sign an inspect report. can you ask her to sign an inspection report? [ speaking vietnamese ] >> thank you very much. >> tonight's parlor game at golden pearl under scores the degree to which san francisco's long-time sellers of sex are reinventing themselves. creating new toys to avoid regulation and keep the black market cash flowing. >> i'm going to get dressed. can you leave the room for a moment, please?
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/news brief/ >> a few weeks after the last round of inspections, san francisco's human trafficking task force reconvenes for another night on the town. at the top of the list, familiar trouble spot for investigators, the a and y health center in the city's district. >> there was a complaint that there were men going in and out and girls around. >> after hours, they suspect there is some kind of prostitution going on and a lot of males going inside. >> a check of the internet tells sergeant flores what is on the menu at a and y this evening. >> 35 an hour oil massage by young beautiful girl.
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>> a lot of girls there, eight in there probably. >> inspector walsh is all too familiar with a and y. our cameras followed him there during a previous inspection in 2012. >> we have had numerous complaints in the past about illegal activity conducted here. this is a place we need to keep under surveillance. >> they noted a cramped living quarters on the premises, cluttered with food and clothes and indication that a and y might be doubling as an illegal house for boarding women. >> the purpose is they are all victims, we believe, but eventually somebody comes out and they will tell us something. they will tell us, no, i don't want to be there and that's the opportunity that we get.
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>> it's a little before 7 p.m. when the team assembles near a and y. an undercover health inspector goes in to request a massage. investigators give the undercover a moment to make the deal. >> let's go. let's go. >> and scramble to gain entry and observe the situation inside. the receptionist seems nervous, perhaps with good reason. there are two male customers in massage rooms down the hall. >> i'm going to get dressed if you don't mind. can you leave the room for a minute, please? >> picture. >> inspector walsh observed that both masseuses are dressed improperly for work. meanwhile, evidence of sex on the premises is recovered in a bathroom at the end of the hall. >> so in doing a trash pick in this trash can, i located two unwrapped condoms, wrapped up in toilet paper. >> upstairs investigators find a tiny living space cramped with
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beds, food and five women from china, thailand. >> do you have a massage license? >> not with them. >> the nervous women carry no documentation, no massage licenses and no legal i.d. they admit to being recent transplants from china and thailand but say the owner has their passports and all legal papers. the circumstances here are a red flag for experienced investigators prompting suspicion that a and y health center maybe engaged in human trafficking. >> any of them are identification? >> no. >> do you think it is highly likely that people are living there? >> very much so. i think all of these ladies should be talked to about that. >> before sergeant flores can talk to the women he must first run down one of the massage customers who attempted to exit unnoticed. >> did they solicit you in to prostitution of anything like
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that? >> the man denies wrongdoing. he is cleared and leaves. there is not enough evidence to press charges. sergeant flores turns to the second customer. >> did anyone offer you anything extra? do you want to be more specific on that. >> i wouldn't know. >> what do you think is going on in here? i didn't see that. >> none of the girls solicited you. >> no evidence linking this customer to anything criminal. >> thank you very much. he's allowed to leave. investigators turn to the women working here in the hopes of finding one who might possibly cooperate and shed some light on the business. >> thank you for calling. may i have your language. >> mandarin, please. >> sergeant flores interviews
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the women with the help of a translator. what's her job here. >> this woman that goes by tiffany says she is the owner's sister. >> so she liked the manager? >> tiffany says her sister is on vacation in las vegas. when sergeant flores directs her attention to the used condoms recovered from the bathroom she expresses surprise and says she has no idea how they got there. massage. they are not allowed to do anything else. >> surprised. who brought that in? >> but you are the boss. you are the one running the place. you are responsible for what goes on here >> tiffany insists she and her sister run a tight ship and all of the women are reminded of the rules. first and foremost, no sex with
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the customers. >> okay. well, obviously somebody's not following the rules, and there's evidence of somebody having sex in her establishment. her sister's establishment while she is running this establishment. >> i don't know. i never saw it before. if i find out i will fire this person. >> tiffany's interview illustrates the classic defense of brothels that are like massage parlor. plead ignorant and accuse workers of deception and promise to reprimand or fire them. in this parlor game the rules favor the house in the expense of the women who do the work.
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>> a massage parlor is being inspected by the city's human trafficking task force. >> how many girls do you have here tonight? >> inside the a and y health center, inspectors find a dozen women. almost all are working without massage licenses or dressed improperly for work. they also recovered two used condoms from a trash can in the bathroom, underscoring suspicion that sex for sale is on the menu here. >> is there any doubt in your mind they are selling sex?
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>> no doubt in my mind. no doubt. we'd like to have somebody come forward in a place like that. then we would have more power. >> is she free to come and go. >> to that end sergeant flores interviews the women working at a and y tonight looking for any indication they are compelled to serve here against their will. >> you treat her good? >> yeah. >> good to them. >> one by one, the women try to dismiss investigators' concerns about trafficking. >> anyone forcing her to work here? police say foreign women, like these, are frequently reluctant to come forward for a number of reasons. >> did she do massages today? >> even though they know san francisco is the sanctuary city, the myth is out there that if you say anything to the police they are corrupt, they will deport you and never see your kids. if they deport me, they will wipe out your whole family. it could be a lot of things.
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>> the task force finds reason to suspect that not all is well for at least one woman who works here. >> you say you are on a work visa? >> no american. >> this woman from thailand goes by the name lena. >> do you have a license? can i see it, please. >> an american citizen by marriage the only one here tonight with legal i.d. and a massage license. >> okay. this is the first one. you are the first one. thank you. >> she was also observed in a massage room dressed improperly for the job. >> i don't want time. >> lena said she was rushed and didn't have time to change but inspector walsh is duty bound to issue her a citation. >> i have to report this to california massage therapy council, the people that issued the license. >> you can not do that. listen to my reason why i dressed today. >> all i know i saw what i saw.
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the camera showed you are not dressed properly. >> although the infraction is minor, lena channels her frustration directly at inspector walsh. >> that's not fair to my license. you are not helping the girl. you are making a problem for the girl. >> she is cited for being improperly dressed. there's something else going on there. she got so emotional and so aggressive towards me. >> want to kick me out of license. next year you come i don't have i.d. and you happy? you want to do like that. >> i'm not happy. >> so this time you are not listening to my reasons. i come from a poor family. i cannot get another job and you have to kick me out.
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i get i.d. you said you want to leave, stop your california i.d. why do you do that? this is not fair. i want to know your name. >> my name is right here. my name is right here. >> yeah. not fair. >> that's my telephone. >> why are you not listening? >> i'm listening. >> listen, you want me to pay a ticket. >> it is not a ticket. it is a notice to come to the hearing. you come to the hearing and explain to the hearing officer what you told me. you said i.d. card. >> i'm not the judge. i'm in the judge. i don't decide. the judge decides. tell the judge the same story you told me. >> okay. >> i think there's more going on there. i think she's obviously working for somebody. she one working for herself. if she lost her license it would
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be, the end of her. she would be done, either somebody would hurt her or she -- maybe she owes somebody a lot of money and this is the only way she can get to pay off this debt. >> i work alone. caring for my family. >> you pay for your whole family in thailand? >> yes. >> with the money you send home. >> you send the money home? >> yeah. >> how many relatives are you supporting. >> i have one niece, my father and i take care of my mom. >> your brother is in jail? >> yeah. >> lena's story offers a rare glimpse at the heavy psychological burden shouldered by many women working in illegal massage parlors even if they want to leave the life a sense of duty to family back home often compels them to stay in servitude. as for the people who profit
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from the labor of women like lena, the city of san francisco is placing them on notice. >> i hope that your sister can come up with the licenses for all of these people. if she can't, you are in trouble. this place will be closed for a long time. what happened was that night since nobody had a license, that gave the authority to close the place. we said there is no massage, nobody has a license. you are done until you can provide a license. we went through this before. >> i know. >> it's not funny. this is the second time we did. this you have to close tonight. nobody has a license. >> i know. i know. >> okay. >> you know, okay. it is closed now until they clean it up and then they can show proof they all have licenses and if they stop playing this game of not showing their licenses when we come. >> i observed later identified masseuse kim with her breasts exposed. >> she said no improper activity had been going on and she said she bent over and one of her
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across think street from san francisco's city hall the department of public health headquarters plays host to regular hearings where massage parlor owners and their lawyers contest citations from the city. inspector walsh presents his findings from a recent visit to a and y health center. >> the violations we found was the owner was employing eight uncertified massage practitioners it is used as a and three were not dressed properly. >> these citations stem from the inspection documented by our cameras. >> what happened was that night since nobody had a license that gave me the authority to just
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close the place. >> during that visit inspectors also recovered used condoms from a trash can in the bathroom. >> what do you think is going on in here? >> that evidence of sex on the premises is not part of the citation as the city avoids prosecution that may discourage sex workers from using protection. >> i want to address the most important issue. that is the unlicensed masseuses present. >> attorney christopher hall specializes in representing massage parlors in san francisco. shortly after the inspection and closure hall and the owner of a and y were highly motivated to iron out their problems with the city. >> so they had to get reopened. they are losing a lot of money. i got a call, i think two days later from the lawyer saying we have licenses and we want to reopen. okay. come on in and show the licenses. >> hall and his client arranged a meeting to present inspector walsh with documents that they claimed were the required massage licenses for all of the
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employees but walsh and his team checked them against the state license registry and discovered they were forgeries. >> my client was duped. >> the attorney says he and his client were shocked to learn the massage licenses were phony and he places the blame squarely on the masseuses. five chinese illegals who have all since vanished. the owner claims to have no knowledge about their whereabouts. >> we are saying they provided false licenses to the owner. >> they provided false licenses to the owners. some working three or four days, maybe others up to ten days, two weeks. the point is my client did not know she was being duped in to this. >> while it is possible that she was unwittingly duped by her workers, it's important to remember that attorneys like christopher hall are paid to deflect culpability away from their clients. >> entered the facility. >> such was the case at another
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massage parlor where inspectors observed a topless masseuse in the room with a naked man. >> i observed later, identified licensed masseuse kim exposed breasts trying to cover up using her smock. >> these facts seem simple enough but in the hands of an experienced defense attorney he can push the boundaries of credibility. >> i think what happened is this. she was wearing a white jacket. ms. kim does not wear a bra many times because she has a medical problem in her stomach. it's too tight. it gives her acid. she said there was no improper activity carried on. he was laying on the table. she was massaging him. she bent over and one of her breasts had been exposed at the same time that mr. perry walked in. >> in rebuttal, health inspector said that is not what happened. >> when i opened it she was barely trying to get her jacket on and both of her breasts were
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hanging out. we write our statement and notes at the time of inspections and we stick to what we saw and we state to the facts. >> she had been massaging this individual. >> the attorney insists that the inspector did not see what he says he saw. a claim that moved some in the gallery to laughter. >> there was a malfunction. she had been massaging this individual and one of her breasts, not the nipple, had been exposed. >> i think it is a big game for them and they are good at it. >> certainly massage parlors are entitled to vigorous defense against accusations of wrongdoing but sometimes the best defense is to remain silent. >> i have been working in that area for a little over a year now. >> a prime example occurs when a and y counsel proceeds cross-examination. >> it is suspicious, activity. >> allegations. yes. >> nothing you have investigated on your own to substantiate
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illegal activity. >> my investigator from my office says given me a report that i think suggests there is that activity going on. >> he suggested it? >> no, the evidence suggested it. >> what was the evidence. >> with that question, he opens the door for inspectors to disclose the used condoms recovered at a and y. >> that is not an allegation. >> you asked the questions an i answered them. >> it was my understanding it is not cover in the scope of the hearing. >> it is not but it is in my report. if you refer to page 3 of my inspection report. >> apparently miffed at the turn of events, mr. hall directs his ire at inspector walsh and the health department. >> this is the problem with ed walsh and his department. they spring this stuff at the
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last minute, which is at the hearing before your honor. >> if i plead and present the evidence. >> she contentious. i'm up there. i'm held to provide evidence and i see what may staff sees. i don't make things up. >> despite his efforts to deflect, mr. hall cannot erase the simple fact that his client was caught operating a massage parlor with eight unlicensed undocumented women who have now disappeared. >> after weighing the evidence the hearing officer declares the business in violation and levies a $3,000 fine against the establishment. >> is there any fine against the masseuses? >> no. >> against the owner. >> for the record, a and y provided valid licenses for the remaining masseuses and the massage parlor reopened two weeks after inspection. but msnbc's attempts to gather more details about their compliance were unsuccessful. the owner and her attorney declined the interview on camera.
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so the parlor game goes on but the rules are finally beginning to change. in 2014, the san francisco city council enacted a new law giving inspectors more power to crackdown on illegal massage parlors. >> all i need is one prostitution case for any ms. age parlor. i don't need a long history of violations over a long period of time. i only need one incident and i can fine the facility 5,000 and close the facility for four months. >> the new law has helped city inspectors shut down a dozen illegal massage parlors in the first half of 2014. the public servants like ed walsh and tony flores won't rest until they bust them all. ♪
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♪ every year, millions flock to orlando, florida for the sun, family fun and increasingly fantasy sex. >> do whatever you can do. you are really hot. >> i'm up for pretty much anything. >> but in polking county, buyer and sellers of sex beware. >> welcome to polk county. you are under arrest. >> where sheriffs police enforce the law. >> the john, they are the one that funding all of this. >> and find women dazed and
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