Reports documenting interviews with 14 men Tucson police questioned in connection with a years-long investigation of an alleged prostitution ring were released Friday.
The men were identified by police as clients of massage parlors investigators say had workers engaging in sex acts for money. The Star is not naming the men because none has been arrested.
Tucson City Attorney Mike Rankin confirmed the city declined to issue charges against the men, primarily because the information provided by investigators was insufficient.Β
"While the men interviewed provided much circumstantial corroboration of the suspected activity at the unlicensed businesses the crucial specifics of their involvement e.g. who, when, where, how much? were often vague or entirely absent," wrote Senior Assistant Prosecuting City Attorney Alan Merritt in a memo dated April 27. Β
The new records include men who told detectives they worked for the Tucson Fire Department, Border Patrol, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and a local chruch. At least one man questioned said he worked for a Tucson school, the records show.
In many of the reports the men described details of the fees they paid and sex acts the allegedly engaged in as clients.
The occupation of several of the men questioned were not listed in the 152 heavily-edited pages of reports released to the Star Friday afternoon under a public records request seeking more details about the more than three-year probe.
On Monday, Police Chief Roberto VillaseΓ±orΒ told reporters several of his officers are under investigation. But that information has been turned over to the Arizona Department of Public Safety for a separate investigation.
The names of the police officers linked to the case have not been made public. Those are expected to be released in the coming weeks when the state DPS investigation concludes.
In November of 2011, Tucson police started receiving tips about an illegal prostitution business called By Spanish Massage that advertised on websites such as Backpage.com and began an investigation.
Through a confidential informant and one of the alleged operators, Clarissa Lopez, officers learned details about the businessβs operation and her expectations of employees β a $40 βcutβ for each βHappy Endingβ provided.
Investigators determined that Lopez and the other operator, Ulises Ruiz, had the potential to take in up to $250,000 per year based on the $40 cut.
After more than three years of investigation, six locations connected to the business were raided with hundreds of items seized. No arrests were made.
