Layla South
10-29-2007, 10:01 PM
a San Antonio & Austin (TX) escort agency -- is busted ..
San Antonio police raided two residences on the Northwest Side on Friday morning, finding what they said was evidence of the city's largest prostitution ring in recent history.
No one was arrested during the raids, conducted by the vice unit at locations operated by Executive Playmates, an Internet-based escort service that mostly serves clients in San Antonio and Austin.
Police, however, said the case is being prepared for a grand jury, and authorities plan to ask prosecutors to review the evidence they seized.
Those involved in running the business likely will face state and federal charges, they said.
While escort services are legal, police said Executive Playmates took it one step further, and offered sexual services to its clients.
Local authorities, the Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration have had an eye on the business since 2005, police spokesman Sgt. Gabe Trevino said. The operation, he said, is believed to extend across and beyond Texas.
"The vice unit routinely checks ads on the Internet and conducts investigations on possible illegal operations," he said of Friday's raid and years-long probe into the business. "It's not unusual to see an escort service that may involve prostitution."
Executive Playmates isn't registered in the Texas secretary of state records, so information about the business or its owners could not be found Friday.
Nor are the owners listed in an online directory of Web sites. But a disclaimer on its site states: "All rates are for time and companionship only. They do not constitute an offer of anything beyond that in any way. We do not condone or commit illegal acts."
Police Chief William McManus said there are at least two other locations run by the company, which bills itself online as "an opportunity ... to be discretely escorted by a beautiful woman whose desire is to entertain you and insure (sic) that your experience is one to remember."
Trevino said authorities seized computers, ledgers, business transactions and credit card information Friday during their raids, at a home in the 9300 block of Callaghan Road and an apartment in the 4000 block of Horizon Hill Boulevard. Both residences were searched at about 9 a.m.
At the home, Trevino said, authorities also confiscated a map that showed the locations of the company's alleged transactions. Thousands of alphabetized index cards also were taken from the house, and each included the client's name and the number of female companions that client had requested.
Some of the clientele, McManus said, are professionals, adding that as the investigation continues, "I suspect there will be some nervous people."
On its Web site, the business claims to provide two forms of service — in-call and out-call — to its clients.
For in-call service, the customer is asked to pick up the escort at an agreed-upon location, Trevino said, adding police believe the apartment on Horizon Hill Boulevard was the hub for that aspect of the operation. For out-call service, he said, the escort goes to the client.
Trevino said he couldn't recall the last time a raid of this grand a scope had taken place.
"We haven't seen one in quite some time," he said, "and none quite of this magnitude ever."
The last notable raid in the city was made in 1980 and involved the operations of Theresa Brown, who garnered headlines for a brothel she operated from her North Side home. Brown's extensive customer list included clients ranging from law enforcement officials to politicians.
Noting the police activity on Callaghan Road, neighbors said Friday they have noticed peculiar activity outside the home for quite a while. Aside from newly installed security cameras outside the residence, neighbors said there always seemed to be several different cars parked outside.
The vehicles, mostly SUVs with tinted windows and 24-inch rims, were driven by young, well-dressed men, said Adrian Arredondo, 28.
"The street looks like a highway sometimes," Arredondo said.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA102707.01A.ProstitutionRing.3631e7e.html
San Antonio police raided two residences on the Northwest Side on Friday morning, finding what they said was evidence of the city's largest prostitution ring in recent history.
No one was arrested during the raids, conducted by the vice unit at locations operated by Executive Playmates, an Internet-based escort service that mostly serves clients in San Antonio and Austin.
Police, however, said the case is being prepared for a grand jury, and authorities plan to ask prosecutors to review the evidence they seized.
Those involved in running the business likely will face state and federal charges, they said.
While escort services are legal, police said Executive Playmates took it one step further, and offered sexual services to its clients.
Local authorities, the Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration have had an eye on the business since 2005, police spokesman Sgt. Gabe Trevino said. The operation, he said, is believed to extend across and beyond Texas.
"The vice unit routinely checks ads on the Internet and conducts investigations on possible illegal operations," he said of Friday's raid and years-long probe into the business. "It's not unusual to see an escort service that may involve prostitution."
Executive Playmates isn't registered in the Texas secretary of state records, so information about the business or its owners could not be found Friday.
Nor are the owners listed in an online directory of Web sites. But a disclaimer on its site states: "All rates are for time and companionship only. They do not constitute an offer of anything beyond that in any way. We do not condone or commit illegal acts."
Police Chief William McManus said there are at least two other locations run by the company, which bills itself online as "an opportunity ... to be discretely escorted by a beautiful woman whose desire is to entertain you and insure (sic) that your experience is one to remember."
Trevino said authorities seized computers, ledgers, business transactions and credit card information Friday during their raids, at a home in the 9300 block of Callaghan Road and an apartment in the 4000 block of Horizon Hill Boulevard. Both residences were searched at about 9 a.m.
At the home, Trevino said, authorities also confiscated a map that showed the locations of the company's alleged transactions. Thousands of alphabetized index cards also were taken from the house, and each included the client's name and the number of female companions that client had requested.
Some of the clientele, McManus said, are professionals, adding that as the investigation continues, "I suspect there will be some nervous people."
On its Web site, the business claims to provide two forms of service — in-call and out-call — to its clients.
For in-call service, the customer is asked to pick up the escort at an agreed-upon location, Trevino said, adding police believe the apartment on Horizon Hill Boulevard was the hub for that aspect of the operation. For out-call service, he said, the escort goes to the client.
Trevino said he couldn't recall the last time a raid of this grand a scope had taken place.
"We haven't seen one in quite some time," he said, "and none quite of this magnitude ever."
The last notable raid in the city was made in 1980 and involved the operations of Theresa Brown, who garnered headlines for a brothel she operated from her North Side home. Brown's extensive customer list included clients ranging from law enforcement officials to politicians.
Noting the police activity on Callaghan Road, neighbors said Friday they have noticed peculiar activity outside the home for quite a while. Aside from newly installed security cameras outside the residence, neighbors said there always seemed to be several different cars parked outside.
The vehicles, mostly SUVs with tinted windows and 24-inch rims, were driven by young, well-dressed men, said Adrian Arredondo, 28.
"The street looks like a highway sometimes," Arredondo said.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA102707.01A.ProstitutionRing.3631e7e.html