Did you ever want to stop a boring conversation and receive immediate attention?.

Sunday, July 09, 2000

Did you ever want to stop a boring conversation and receive immediate attention?

All one has to do is mention the word "sex."

But, mention the word "prostitution" and watch conversations begin.

The word is being mentioned in Austin; frequently and in all social circles.

Old-timers recall when police looked the other way at the world’s oldest profession.

They name names, recall places, tell stories of how it was almost a seasonal epidemic in Austin. Most of the old timers’ stories have a "boys-will-be-boys" flavor to them; of innocent pleasures and victimless crime.

Everyone telling the stories, men to be sure, remembers "the first time" they paid for sex with a woman with a "heart of gold."

Heart of cold

Jenea Larae-Nichol Weinand, 18, of St. Paul, had neither a heart of gold nor gold itself, when she allegedly agreed to have sex for money with Juan Vincente Ramirez, 41, in the early morning hours of June 30 at the Downtown Motel in Austin.

Weinand and Janet Elizabeth Hall, also 18, of South Minneapolis, and other unidentified women were brought to Austin by men described as their boyfriends to go into business as prostitutes.

When Ramirez inadvertently showed Weinand a cache of money he kept rolled up in a red bandana handkerchief, the heart of gold became cold and a robbery plan was hatched.

But even as the sex act is not always perfectly executed, neither was the heinous crime of robbery.

Sex for sale became a botched robbery – the thieves never got the money, $8,900 in cash – and they left behind a shoe and a mask.

They also left behind two dead bodies.

Ramirez and Raul Pedro Guiterrez, 26, of St. Paul, were shot to death. Benjamin Moreno Hernandez, 21, of St. Paul was wounded. Another man and a 14-year-old boy escaped injury.

Today, Vernon N. Powers, 27, Scott P. Christian, 29, and his brother, David K. Christian, 28, all of St. Paul, are in the Mower County Jail on serious felony charges of aiding and abetting murder in the second degree and robbery in the first degree.

Powers and Scott P. Christian are believed to have been the men who burst into Room 28 at the Downtown Motel to rob a room full of roofers and then shot two of them while wounding a third. David K. Christian is believed to have been the getaway driver.

Weinand and Hall, their companions, also are in jail facing the same charges.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Mower County Third Judicial District Court, Weinand, the alleged prostitute, was upset with the gunmen as they drove down Fourth Street SE to leave Austin.

It was her idea to steal the money, but the gunmen ran from the room with a wallet; not the $8,900 the victim had in the handkerchief.

Not quite the picture is painted in official documents of a prostitute with a heart of gold is Weinand.

Not quite the picture of a victimless crime is this instance of prostitution in Austin.

Other illegal activities

Paul M. Philipp has walked a beat as a patrolman for the Austin Police Department. Like other officers assigned the duty, he patrolled the downtown bar area when Austin had many more bars than it does today.

A St. Paul native and third-generation law enforcement officer, Philipp was promoted to sergeant and then chief.

On the day he is interviewed about the violence stemming from one man’s visit with a prostitute, Philipp has just returned from the Twin Towers high-rise apartments, which is owned and operated by the Austin Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Residents, largely senior citizens with a number of handicapped people, also have security concerns. Their buildings are only a block from the Downtown Motel, 209 First Ave. SE. From their vantage point, they see things happening in the neighborhood and when windows are open or when they go for walks in the area, they also hear voices and the conversations are not pleasant.

One of the residents, Pam Cahoon, does not like what she hears or what she sees.

"I lived in the second house from the motel for three years and I’ve lived at the Twin Towers now for three years," Cahoon said. "It was not that bad before it got sold, but now it’s worse."

When the downtown bars close, Cahoon claims the motel becomes a mecca for loud and possibly criminal activity.

"There are loud voices. There are fights over money. People run away after leaving a room. Women shout. People swear all the time. It starts when the downtown bars close and goes on and on," Cahoon said.

"I remember a few years ago when I complained about the noise and activity to a policeman. I told him ‘There’s going to be a killing over there some night. Somebody is going to die,’ and, ya’ know what? There was," she said.

The police chief has heard such complaints before, and he must juggle community policing priorities because of a manpower shortage.

Now, the attention is focused on the downtown bar area. Tomorrow, who knows.

Presently, the Austin police force has 24 sworn officers, or four less than the 28 the Austin City Council allows to be employed. When Philipp joined the department, there were 34.

The police chief said he needs more officers and points to the times when only three officers are on duty.

"Whenever we have a domestic incident or a medical emergency, we have to send two officers," he said. "When we do that and those calls can frequently last a long time, that leaves us with only one officer to patrol the entire city until those two officers can return to their patrols."

But, the June 30 double homicide at a motel located so conspicuously – the U.S. Post Office is across the street, the city’s fire station only a block away and two heavily traveled city streets on either side – uncovers another problem that may be at the root of the loud, objectionable and possible criminal activities originating from the downtown area: prostitution.

"Prostitution used to be limited to a specific time of the year in the community," Philipp said. "Today, the problem is occurring more regularly. We have more free-lance prostitutes. They are not organized. These are women who come to Austin to get dancing jobs and don’t get them and turn to prostitution or those who do get them and continue to prostitute on the side.

"Austin has become a destination to come here and do that illegal business," he said.

The women and the men who bring them to Austin come mainly from the Twin Cities area, but also from Madison, Wis.

If anyone believes otherwise, the police chief is adamant about one thing: it’s not by accident the prostitutes come to Austin.

"They are coming here to do business. It is a destination. They arrive on Thursdays and check into a motel and they’ll be here until Sunday when they check out and return home. While they’re here they will prostitute and deal drugs. We know that," he said.

Arrests increase

There were two arrests for prostitution in 1997 and two more in 1998. Last year, there were seven and already this year (January through June 30), there have been five.

To say that prostitution is on the increase is but only part of the story. When the increase is from two to seven and compared to arrests for other crimes, it is not by itself significant.

But today’s prostitutes don’t stop with selling sex.

"The crime itself is a hard crime to deal with because of the nature of what they do," Philipp said. "Also, there are more people engaging in this illegal activity now than even 10 years ago.

"For the most part, they are adult women, and we have some who work in certain bars and women who work out of the cars in the parking lots nearby," he said.

Reports are frequent of women stopping men walking in the area bordered by Fourth Avenue NE on the north and Second Avenue NE on the south plus First Street NE to the east.

When a Mower County Sheriff’s Department deputy, newly hired, agreed to go undercover and participate in a sting, he was propositioned twice after he got out of his car and walked across a downtown parking lot to a bar.

"Some undercover stings are successful and some are not. People recognize officers or know what a cop looks like," he said.

But, the illegal activity does not stop with prostitution.

"We’re also concerned about drugs," he said. "That is my biggest concern. Not only do they break the law, but they bring other illegal activities into the community."

Philipp and others interviewed for this story identified two bars as being frequented by prostitutes: the Brown Derby, owned by Marvin J. and Karen Peters, and Hey Rube!, owned by Tammy Nelson. (The Peters were out of town, according to an associate at the Brown Derby. Neither Tammy Nelson nor any other employee at Hey Rube! answered repeated telephone calls to the number listed for the bar.)

Police reports verify more trouble calls originate from the two establishments than any others in Austin.

They are also the only two establishments that feature nude dancing.

According to Philipp, both the Peterses and Nelson have agreed to cooperate with the Austin Police Department to give police the names of dancers they hire so that law enforcement can run background checks.

"That way if a person with a significant criminal history is discovered, they do not have to hire them," Philipp said. "It’s been in place for the last six months, and it’s been somewhat successful."

Seeking solutions

Citizens complain "Where is a cop when you need one?" when they witness behavior that disturbs the peace and quiet of their neighborhood.

However, when Austin police are present they also get complaints.

"There are two sides to the story," Philipp said. "Sometimes we are accused of having too much of a presence by the downtown bar owners who say it keeps people away from their businesses. Then, you will have people say we have too little of a presence."

When the Austin police start their second and third shifts, and depending upon other duties, they routinely make a pass through the downtown bars to "let people know we’re around," Philipp said.

More officers needed

The police chief will again make a request to Austin city officials to expand the number of full-time sworn officers in the department.

Austin officers will continue to protect and serve to the best of their abilities. But, a double homicide and the growing presence of prostitution in Austin is forcing consideration of another solution: banning nude dancing.

The movement is driven by the recent events as well as the apparent on-going problems encountered by Austin police.

"I think that it’s (prostitution) a problem that needs to be watched and dealt with," Philipp said. "Not just prostitution, but the problems associated with prostitution. That’s still my greatest concern.

"Bar owners can make a difference in how they run their bars," he said.

Dick Lang is a bar owner; albeit not in the downtown area.

Lang owns and operates Bobee Jo’s, one of a handful of bars along 10th Street NE. The establishment is named for his daughter.

He is also a popular Third Ward City Council member and chairs the council’s ordinance committee.

"If we see that this is becoming an increasing problem, we will definitely pass an ordinance or otherwise do whatever is necessary to protect the citizens of Austin," Lang said.

Would that mean going as far as to either rezone the downtown area or revise applicable ordinances to outlaw nude dancing?

Lang said, the ordinance committee has been discussing such a possibility for the last 18 months.

However, Lang, the businessman, scoffs that to be successful or profitable a bar must offer nude dancers.

"I’ve been in this business for 40 years, and I’ve made a living, and I never had any nude dancers in my place," he said.

Also, if known prostitutes are allowed to work from local bars or to use any motel for their illegal activities, Lang said that must be dealt with also.

If the bar owners allow the dancers to engage in table-dancing or lap-dancing in their facilities, Lang said, "I’d be very concerned about that. I’m a strong advocate of defending all the laws of the community."

Richard Chaffee, Austin’s council member at large, urges more restraint in handling the renewed concerns about something Austin, as well as nearly every other city its size, has had forever.

"It was a terribly tragedy when the two men were shot. Obviously, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Chaffee said. "But as far as prostitution goes, I wonder if we aren’t possibly overreacting.

"We have fewer bars today than years ago," Chaffee said, "The Brown Derby and Hey Rube! are the only ones.

"If it (increasing violence) is brought to our attention, we will review the situation thoroughly," he said. "Possibly, we need to have the bar owners do some policing of their businesses on their own."

Perception vs. reality

The double homicide and involvement of prostitutes and their managers – today’s politically correct term for "pimps" – occurred on the eve of arguably the happiest time in Austin: the SPAM Jam celebration and the SPAMTOWN USA Festival. The twin summertime celebrations scheduled over the Independence Day holiday bring thousands of visitors to Austin each year.

This summer, the city is in the midst of the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce’s "Pigs in the City" promotion and the 40 400-pound concrete pigs throughout the city has garnered national media attention.

All are image-builders for a city.

Double murders and prostitution are not.

Austin Mayor Bonnie Rietz had to grin and bear the strange juxtaposition of two very different events in the city’s recent history.

Now, city officials are struggling with a perception of something nobody truly wants to admit exists and the reality of how serious is the problems of prostitution and the other illegal activities that follow it into town.

The mayor said the city is "looking into" both growing violence and crime and how to deal with it.

"We’ve looked at it for the 12 years that I have been in city government," she said. "The subject of a possible nude dancing ban comes up from time to time.

"Legally … we know that’s something we can do," she said of possible rezoning measures. "Maybe this tragedy and the circumstances surrounding it will bring it to the foreground. In the past, the idea of rezoning or a nude dancing ban has really not had the momentum to cause the council members to take action. Maybe these events will cause us to take a closer look."

Rietz met with the police chief immediately after the double murders were reported. The quick apprehension of the perpetrators – made within 16 hours of the homicides – may have helped dissipate citizens’ fears that Austin was unsafe as well as the summertime celebrations that happened so soon afterward.

Now, it is up to city officials to address, if necessary, any official actions they can take to satisfy citizens’ and police concerns.

"I don’t think any one thing will solve all of our problems, but it is a step in the right direction," the police chief said.

Philipp also said that the city would be better served if officials looked at responding to on-going problems, which, he says, can be documented.

"Prostitution has been around for as long as I’ve been a police officer. It existed when Chief (Don) Hoffman was here. It exists today," he said.

"Most people really don’t know what goes on in Austin in certain areas at night. They are completely unaware."

How can citizens put the recent events and revelations in perspective?

"They should be aware of the fact," he said. "but all people don’t believe, for instance, that we have gang activity in Austin either and we do. I think it involves education and awareness that, yes, these illegal activities do exist in Austin and how are we gong to deal with them as a community."

Sad but true

It’s easier to be detached about the deaths of two men if there is something else to think about.

One week later, the mayor still shakes her head sadly at the deaths and then makes a statement.

"We need to do whatever we can do to help Austin be a better place for the citizens," she said.

What does that mean? According to the mayor, it means looking at the police chief’s requests for additional personnel and more.

"We need to look if there is anything we can do," she said. "I believe the ordinance committee should meet and take another look at reviewing the ordinances that apply to this situation.

"The council may be ready now to make that change," she said.