Read the whole story at The Billings Gazette…

4 accused in prostitution bust; parlor shut down

Four people face prostitution-related charges after an investigation of the Tokyo Massage parlor west of the city.

Prosecutors have charged two people with felony promoting prostitution and conspiracy. They made an initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court on Friday, but did not enter a plea. Judge Michael Patchen set bail for both women at $75,000.

Prosecutors have also filed a conspiracy charge against another man. He allegedly worked at the parlor and drove Tokyo Massage employees back to Denver after they spent a few months in Casper. His bail was set at $5,000.

Assistant District Attorney Dan Itzen called one of the women an “extreme flight risk” and said authorities had seized her bank account, which contained large amounts of money.

Itzen said the women had previously been investigated or convicted of prostitution-related offenses in other states.

Natrona County Sheriff’s investigator Aaron Shatto said the investigation into the Tokyo Massage parlor began last year after a disturbance involving a woman whose husband had allegedly had sex with a prostitute there.

The man told a responding investigator that he passed on a sexually transmitted disease to his wife after paying a prostitute at the massage parlor $200 for sex, according to an affidavit filed by Shatto.

Court records said a confidential informant told investigators he’d had sex with about 55 women in the 11 years he’d gone to the parlor. He told investigators the woman had, on average, two prostitutes working for her. The prostitutes would rotate through Tokyo Massage every three to four months, the man told investigators.

In her interview with investigators, the women had found prostitutes by advertising in a Korean journal and the Washington Post. The women would take half a customer’s payment, giving the other half to the prostitutes.