Massage businesses vanish during crackdown

As many as half the massage establishments in Mesa may have shuttered their doors since police began a crackdown on illicit activity two months ago.

The vanishing businesses are a result of police arresting employees on prostitution charges and issuing other citations on a large number of the shops.

Police say the massage detail has been welcomed by legitimate businesses as a special team has inspected shops and told operators about tougher regulations expected to take effect in March.

But as police have gone to many shops, they’ve been greeted by locked doors about half the time, Sgt. Ed Wessing said.

Police visited the apparently closed shops during their posted business hours, but Wessing said one of the many problems with that industry is some operators have quietly opened after hours to evade detection.

“How many are actively operating, we don’t know,” Wessing said.

Still, some operators have cleaned out their spaces in shopping centers and appear permanently closed.

Councilwoman Dina Higgins said some places have video cameras outside and only unlock the door when they feel the person at the door is a client and not a cop. That makes it difficult to measure the precise impact of the crackdown, but Higgins said she knows some operators have thrown in the towel.

“I had noticed a couple places 'closed-closed’ and they were ones that were questionable at the start,” Higgins said.

Higgins and Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh have been vocal about tougher regulations on massage establishments, whose numbers swelled recently as Phoenix and Scottsdale toughened rules to drive out prostitution. Mesa has 120 registered establishments, ranging from resort-like day spas to shops in strip malls where unlicensed employees greet clients while sporting bikini tops.

The City Council is expected to approve stricter rules Dec. 7, and they’ll take effect 90 days later. Still, police will keep the massage detail in place even after the rules take hold to drive out unlicensed therapists and tell massage businesses about the new rules.

The regulations require employees to have state-issued certification, that businesses keep logs of their therapeutic activities and that managers register with police.

So far, police have made 32 prostitution arrests while issuing 107 citations against 82 people. The city made 177 inspections and found violations at 54 shops.

The owner of three Massage Envy shops in Mesa welcomed the crackdown and the new regulations. Sam Biggs is one of several owners police talked to as they crafted the rules and he said the new ordinance doesn’t require much more than reputable businesses already do. The illegitimate owners won’t survive if the rules are enforced, Biggs said.

“It’s about time,” Biggs said. “If they’re not living up to the standard that massage really is meant to be, then they shouldn’t be in the industry.”

Kavanaugh said he hasn’t heard complaints and wants the crackdown and new rules to create a “toxic atmosphere” for seedy operators.

“We hope we’re making life difficult for people who are the bad guys and I’m hoping that has an effect.”