http://www.mercurynews.com/patty-fisher/ci_15918157?source=rss&nclick_check=1Fisher: Woman s massage services were not appreciated in Los Gatos
By Patty Fisher
Mercury News Columnist
Posted: 08/29/2010 07:00:00 PM PDT
Updated: 08/29/2010 10:33:36 PM PDT
The ad on Craigslist for massage services by "beautiful Asian girls" caught the attention of the Los Gatos vice cops. But while Amy Hu, a certified massage therapist at Relaxing Massage on North Santa Cruz Avenue, is indeed beautiful and Asian, when an undercover cop asked for a "happy ending" massage, she indignantly refused.
"I don't do that, I do massage only," says Hu, mortified that anyone would think the business she and her husband opened last year was a front for prostitution. "I'm a good girl."
A good girl and a good massage therapist, according to her clients. But not, apparently, a good enough businessperson to pass muster in Los Gatos.
While the police sting turned up no hanky-panky, it did uncover some code violations. On an April afternoon, the police burst into Relaxing Massage and hauled Hu's husband, David Jie, to jail while she and their 6-year-old daughter watched in horror. The town yanked their permit and now Hu and Jie face losing their business and their reputations.
"We thought Los Gatos was the perfect town," Hu, 36, told me Friday, her eyes filling with tears. "It was clean and nice and the people were friendly. I think they did not want us here."
Not a good fit
Los Gatos may be clean and nice, but it's not a place to bend the rules -- at least not for Asian massage therapists. None has stayed open downtown more than a few months. Hu thinks it's because businesses
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offering $59 massages aren't welcome in classy downtown Los Gatos, with its boutiques, home furnishings dealers and high-end day spas.
But Town Attorney Michael Martello says if the cops are particularly tough on massage parlors, it's because the industry is rife with prostitution and unlicensed operators.
"They are not like other businesses," he said. "When they are massaging and touching people, they are getting intimate with them -- not in biblical sense, of course -- people have a right to know who they are, that they aren't criminals."
I understand his concerns. Yet I think the cops may have gone overboard on this one.
Chinese immigrants Hu and Jie borrowed $40,000 to fix up their studio and signed a three-year lease. Their landlord, Joe Vieira, told me Hu was meticulous about getting the necessary permits and licenses from the town before opening in October. If she violated any laws, he believes it was out of ignorance. For example, it's illegal to put signs on the sidewalk, but lots of downtown businesses do it. Why was she the only one cited?
"I think she's getting a raw deal," he said.
Stung by the cops
According to police records, the provocative Craigslist ad, which Hu says a friend created for her, started it all. An undercover officer twice tried to catch Hu providing illegal favors, but she didn't take the bait. At one point, the cop reported, his genital area was left uncovered briefly, a code violation. During another, she had a therapist assisting her who didn't have a town permit.
Then he asked to come in for a massage after hours, claiming he was a chef who worked until 10. Hu says she reluctantly agreed, not wanting to disappoint her customer. She had no idea it was a setup.
Clearly Hu made mistakes. Martello says she made too many to forgive.
"If you say everything was a mistake, then you don't know how to run your business," he said.
But this business never posed a danger to the good citizens of Los Gatos. By closing it down, much more is lost than gained.
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and how much will it cost to local taxpayers and voters?