Neighboring Salon Owner Reacts To Prostitution Bust - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Spokane, WASH. – After eight spas and six homes were busted by police for alleged prostitution, promoting prostitution, money laundering, criminal profiteering, and controlled substances, the salon owner next to one of them says she isn't surprised.

Lee Ann Ochsner owns the Moxie Salon & Spa, just blocks off downtown – and just across the parking lot from the Oriental Spa South, at 415 S. Maple.

It was one of the eight busted by police, and Tuesday afternoon, undercover police joined uniformed officers from several agencies to gather evidence.

"When it moved in, we knew that it was what it is, and nobody seemed to care," Ochsner said.

She said her employees called over there, asking for a massage, and were told ‘We don't do girls here.'   When they asked if they gave sexual favors, Ochsner says they were told openly that they did.

She said customers would park in her lot and walk over, they'd ring the doorbell to get in the back door, and she never saw anyone use the front door of the spa.  On top of that, the entire building is outfitted with security cameras.

"The thing that killed me was that it's right off the ramp coming into our city, and the city let it sit there, and that's the first thing you saw," Ochsner added.  "And for us as a business, we have to use it as a landmark just to get in the alley, 'You have to turn by the Oriental Spa', it makes us sound like we're in the ghetto somewhere.  That's how I perceived it."

She watched, as officers took brown paper bags of evidence and loaded them into a truck, along with computers, fans, A/C or heating units, and what appeared to be a massage table.

If this is the end for the Oriental Spa South, and the others allegedly involved in these crimes, Ochsner says it couldn't have come soon enough.

"Yes, I would be very happy [to see them go]," she said.