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Pittsburgh Vice Cops Raid Illegal Massage Parlors

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's moving day for Pittsburgh undercover police. Vice cops are loading up everything they can carry of value from so-called spas around the city.

Police say there is nothing about these businesses that resemble a legal spa.

"It was just an open brothel," an undercover officer said. "They were offering sex services. All you had to do was ask."

The business was set up right in the heart of Greenfield next to a bank and a synagogue. Debbie Biton was suspicious from day one.

"I went to the lady and said, 'Do you do nails?'

"And she goes, 'No, no, no, no.'

"And I said, 'Do you do facials?'

"She goes, 'No, no, no, no.'"

Police say a woman arrested Friday night was running a so-called spa set up in Brookline. It's a business where police say employees were making upwards of $20,000 a month performing sex acts.

Pittsburgh police have been there before and they're fed up with it.

"Very frustrating," an officer said. "I've been running the vice unit for about four years and this is at least the fifth time we've been here to shut this place down."

The tactic is simple. Take anything worth anything out of the place – light bulbs, televisions, wires for computers. Take those assets and then use the D.A.'s office to take their bank accounts and shut the businesses down for good.

"Put some pressure on the building owners to not allow these businesses to re-open and if we do come in and clean the place out to make sure it's not open again in a few weeks," police said.

If aggressive action isn't taken, police say the woman arrested and the others who work at these businesses will be out of jail by Saturday and will be back at work performing illegal sex acts at illegal sex parlors somewhere in the city by Saturday night.

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