Lengthy prostitution probe remains active case

A now four-year investigation into a prostitution ring that resulted in the terminations or resignations of seven Tucson police employees remains an active case, according to county prosecutors.

The investigation came to light in the months following searches on Jan. 27, 2015, where police seized cash, vehicles and hundreds of items associated with the prostitution ring, but no arrests were made.

However, more than 10 employees of the Tucson Police Department were caught in the fallout, with investigators saying they knew about the illegal massage parlors or were customers.

Seven of those employees no longer work for Tucson police: officers Nathaniel Luttrell, Oscar Ramos, Daniel Santa-Cruz and Martin Walker, and crime-scene technician Enrique Wilkins were all terminated. Sgt. Michael McGuire and Officer Jesus Maldonado resigned before the investigation was complete. Two officers were cleared of any departmental wrongdoing and another officer who was initially fired has since gotten his job back.

Although the Pima County Attorney’s Office sent a letter to the department in May declining to file criminal charges against the police employees, no decision has been made as to the fate of the alleged operators.

Clarissa Lopez, Ulises Ruiz and Stephanie Garcia were identified by police as the operators of two illegal massage parlor businesses, “By Spanish” and “Daisy’s Delights,” that were operating out of numerous locations, police records show.

However, more than six months after Tucson police turned the investigation into Ruiz, Lopez and Garcia over to the county attorney’s office, the case is still under review, said Amelia Cramer, chief deputy county attorney.

“There is a lot of information to be reviewed in this matter, and our prosecutors had to await the conclusion of the Tucson Police Department’s investigation before they were able to receive some of the information,” Cramer wrote in an email.

She explained that while prosecutors are directed to act as quickly as possible to complete the charging process, time frames can vary greatly depending on the evidence. Some cases can take minutes to review, but others, such as the 1996 bombing case of Tucson businessman Gary Triano, can take years to complete, she said.

$15,000 fed into ATM

In December 2014, Ruiz was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault, after allegedly striking a neighbor with a small bat while she was attempting to photograph vehicles parked at his north-side Tucson home, that police believe was being used for prostitution, records show.

Ruiz eventually accepted a plea for disorderly conduct and is on probation.

The $15,000 cash that Ruiz’s girlfriend and business partner, Lopez, fed into an ATM in the jail’s lobby to pay his bail, was found to be obtained through illegal means, and forfeited by the state, along with two vehicles, a house and hundreds of items seized in the raids, including leather paddles and eleven pairs of women’s underwear, documents show.

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Taking their $40 cut

In November of 2011, Tucson police began receiving tips regarding an illegal massage parlor called “By Spanish” operating out of several locations in Tucson. Police learned the operators were using a pet store and a salon to launder money for the prostitution ring.

Court documents say Lopez and Ruiz took a piece of the money paid for every sexual act, or “happy ending” — usually $40 — and in exchange provided employees with “advertising services, scheduling services, a location to work out of, supplies to perform their work and cleanup services.”

Based on that $40 cut, Lopez and Ruiz had the potential to make more than $250,000 per year, according to court documents.

During the course of the investigation, it came to light that a former massage employee started her own business, “Daisy’s Delights.”

Officer reinstated

In addition to police officers, it was also discovered that government employees, area firefighters, Border Patrol agents and Air Force personnel were customers of the massage parlors. In June, Tucson police released 14 names of men they interviewed, but none was charged with a crime.

Last fall, four of the terminated Tucson police employees reached agreements with the city, changing their personnel records to reflect they resigned in lieu of termination. In exchange, they withdrew the appeals of their firings.

Walker went through with his appeal, which was rejected by the city’s Civil Service Commission.

Officer Vincent Valenzuela, who was fired last summer for an unrelated personal relationship with one of the operators, did not withdraw his appeal.

In a closed hearing last month, the commission overturned the department’s decision and reinstated Valenzuela.

Last week, McGuire surrendered his state certification for police work, and in a December meeting, the Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board voted to initiate proceedings to revoke the certification of Santa-Cruz.