Journal Star Pimping for Prostitutes
I’m no coupon clipper and usually ignore newspaper ads to the extent that I immediately pull out the two pound Sunday insert and toss it to the side, but recently I was thumbing through the Journal Star and noticed an ad that I had seen probably a hundred times before … The Tokyo Spa, located in the upper left-hand corner of the third page of the sports section. It has been there everyday for as long as I can remember.
So I started thinking why is there an ad for a Spa featuring an Asian woman in a bikini in the Sports section? How many people looking for a massage therapist go to the Sports section and how many people reading the Sports section are looking for a massage therapist? uh…
Without naming names, some claim that I can be a bit slow on picking up on these types of things but I eventually clued in on this one … it’s an AMP. Asian Massage Parlor. If you Google the Tokyo Spa you’ll find some interesting facts such as hosts Penny & Cookie are very popular, depending on your negotiating skills your wallet will be $40 – $100 lighter when you leave, there are 3 or 4 of these places located in Bloomington, and a few of them are located very near the State Farm headquarters.
Don’t believe me? Blogger J.W. Larson relates this experience:
We were sitting at my place on Sunday taking it easy. Somehow we get to talking about how a massage would be really nice. I said the only place I knew of that would be open and take walk-ins is Tokyo Spa. BUT, I knew they had been busted for prostitution. Now, my naive mind thought that it was a normal massage spa and that the hooker deal was just on the side. So, I get my phone book and she proceeds to call Tokyo Spa. I figured we could go, have a normal massage, and leave feeling refreshed. It was later that I learned that it was all about the hookers. No real “legitimate” massage side of the business. BUT I digress. So, she calls and the woman who answers tells her they are all booked up. I found that hard to believe. I noticed the Ivy Spa in the phone and they were open. So, Dawn calls there and is told to call back in an hour. Some time goes by and she calls Ivy again. Same story. We left and went by Tokyo Spa thinking maybe we could just walk in and see what the story was. I pulled up and sent her in alone as I’m a complete chicken. It was then that she started to see the truth. Black leather couch, mirrors on the walls and a little Chinese woman who would only crack the door to tell her “no” pretty much gave the situation away. Then, a few days later I searched and found that Ivy, Tokyo and 2 others here in town all operate as AMPs.
I have two questions:
1. I realize many newspapers allow these types of ads, including the Peoria Journal Star, but why allow advertisements for obviously illegal activity?
2. Why does Bloomington allow these places to exist and not crack down on them? If the answer is that it is hard to incriminate then simply place a cop car outside. If the business is legit, the customers will show up. If they aren’t, the customers will be scared away and in small order these places will be out of business.
August 14th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
[...] to Peoria Illinoisan’s blog. The evidence seems pretty [...]
August 14th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Good post. I would say that it’s not “obvious” there’s illegal activity. Nothing in the ad says they sell sex. You had to investigate to find a first-hand account. I can’t imagine the JS or any newspaper has time to investigate every iffy ad. But now that YOU have done some research, the JS has a decision to make.
August 15th, 2008 at 6:49 am
“I realize many newspapers allow these types of ads, including the Peoria Journal Star, but why allow advertisements for obviously illegal activity?”
Because tracking down every single shady ad takes FOREVER and requires one to make judgment calls. We used to get a lot of ads looking for “lingerie models” to work for $100/hour when I was at the college paper. We’d ignore them as long as they said nothing explicit until they reached a critical mass, then we’d “clue in” to their scheme. We also used to have a lot of bars advertise “milk” specials (as advertising beer in a newspaper targeted primarily to under-21s is a pretty fine line). But even though they were actually listing the beer specials as milk, they ALSO sold milk for the same price. So what do you do with that? Ignoring is easiest.
The ones that actually bothered me most were the ones for “adoption” that seemed OBVIOUSLY to be very desperate people attempting to purchase children, but didn’t say anything illegal in the ad. Well, that and the egg donor ads that were downright eugenicist, which is NOT illegal.
August 15th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I hope this story has a Happy Ending
August 15th, 2008 at 9:58 am
The real story is…why is nobody doing anything about Big Als? Does anyone really believe prostitution isn’t going on in there, or out of there? Don’t pick on this add, we have one right in our City.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:50 am
PI, I hear you’re quite the expert on these matters. >:D Yes, I heard. Don’t worry, I think politeness is a virtue (that I do not possess).
August 15th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
You are referring to this, I presume?
http://peoriaillinoisan.blogpeoria.com/2007/09/23/man-solicits-prostitute-loses-his-pants/
August 15th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Crap. It’s not nearly as funny now that I know you blogged about it. So much for the inside scoop, haha.
August 17th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Innuendo about this place with no evidence anything illegal is going on could be grounds for a lawsuit. If there were no pretty girl in the ad, would you have the same reaction?
August 18th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
“Pretty girl?” It’s more like a hottie in a bikini! I have wondered about that ad myself… odd that it’s only printed in the sports section. But, I don’t think the JS is doing anything wrong by printing at it. As other’s have said, it’s innuendo, not illegal. I wonder what lucky Bloomington Police Officer will get to do a sting operation?
As far as Big Al’s goes, I think Scott J. is a little off-base. I’ve had close friends that have worked there, and while some workers may cross the line on occasion, I don’t think it’s a hotbed of prostitution.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
If you want to read what others have to say about this place, turn off your safety search and google “Tokyo Spa, Bloomington”. Click on the first link.
As far as the Journal Star, I don’t think they’re doing anything illegal per-se.