Read more at The San Francisco Chronicle…

San Francisco prostitution crackdown leads to 51 arrests
by Jaxon Van Derbeken

In response to neighborhood complaints about a rise in prostitution and accompanying street crime, San Francisco police said Tuesday that stepped-up enforcement in the downtown area has led to 51 arrests since Jan. 1.

Police arrested three dozen suspected prostitutes and 15 would-be johns in the first two weeks of 2010, authorities said.

Those arrested for prostitution all came from out of town, some from as far away as San Diego, police said.

Police targeted Polk Street from Sutter to Washington streets, as well as portions of Van Ness Avenue and Leavenworth Street.

Read more at The Contra Costa Times…

Former Stanford law school grad turned call girl sentenced to home detention
By Howard Mintz

A former Stanford law school graduate was sentenced Monday on a federal tax conviction related to running a high-priced call girl service, punishment that includes restrictions on her ability to keep advertising as an escort while she’s on probation.

During a hearing in San Jose federal court, U.S. District Judge James Ware concluded he needed to impose those restrictions on Cristina Warthen after federal prosecutors disclosed she’s continued to advertise herself on the Internet as a high-priced escort, even as she awaited sentencing on federal tax evasion charges related to her days as an upscale prostitute named “Brazil.”

Warthen gained notoriety when she was busted as a jet-setting call girl who sold her services to pay off her Stanford Law School debts. She got her law degree from Stanford in May 2001, but quickly began to run a steamy Web site with offers to jet off for liaisons with clients in cities around the country, including New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

She eventually pleaded guilty to failing to pay taxes on more than $133,000 she earned as a prostitute in 2003.

Under a plea deal with the government, Warthen was sentenced Monday to one year of home detention with an electronic monitoring device and three years of probation. She also has to pay the government a total of about $243,000, less than the original $313,000 set out in her original plea arrangement.

Read more at CBS5.com…

6 Arrests In Sonoma Undercover Prostitution Sting

Officers in Sonoma County made several arrests Friday evening during a prostitution sting conducted near Santa Rosa, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff’s deputies from a community policing unit and agents from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control conducted the undercover operation in and around the area of Santa Rosa Avenue at about 6 p.m., according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department.

Read more at KTVU.com…

Court Orders Closure Of San Francisco Strip Club

A judge Wednesday granted San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s motion to immediately close a North Beach strip club that allegedly violated city codes and had been cited for prostitution, according to the city attorney’s office.

The civil injunction granted by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Charlotte Walter Woolard is the latest development in a confrontation between San Francisco and the Heaven Mini Theatre, which sued the city last September for allegedly selectively enforcing state and local laws.

According to Herrera’s office, which filed the motion for a civil injunction in July, the club operates on the second floor above another adult establishment in violation of a city code that prohibits adult entertainment venues from operating within 1,000 feet of one another.

Additionally, the club never sought a permit authorizing commercial use and ignored repeated notices that it was in violation, the city attorney’s office stated.

Police cited a female Heaven Mini Theatre employee for prostitution in March, according to court filings.

Read more at KCBS.com…

SF Strip Club Dispute Heats Up

A dispute between a strip club owner and the city of San Francisco is intensifying.

The club owner claims he’s refused to pay bribes.

Police and the San Francisco City Attorney’s office want to close the Heaven Mini Theatre, claiming it doesn’t have the proper permits to operate and is a front for prostitution.

However, according to published reports, the club’s owner says he’s simply being targeted because he has refused to pay bribes to police and other city officials. The owner has refused to offer names of those allegedly involved in the bribery, but claims he is the victim of selective enforcement because other clubs in the North Beach area are allowed to operate.

Police and city officials deny the owner’s allegations, claiming they are nothing more than one final attempt by the club to stay open.

A couple of months after Craigslist implements changes in the erotic ads/adult ads section, The SFGate evaluates the impact.

Mixed views on Craigslist crackdown on hookers
by Verne Kopytoff

A self-described sexy, open-minded hottie wants to “pamper your every desire,” according to her ad on Craigslist. Miss Honey, another poster, says she’s an eager and motivated bombshell with a beautiful bedroom.

Pressured by law enforcement, Craigslist launched a crackdown on prostitution in May by promising to review adult ads. While largely stamping out overt solicitations for paid sex, the new policy has prompted a proliferation of more vaguely worded offers of good times, sensual massages and overnight companionship.

By many accounts, prostitution hasn’t been eliminated on Craigslist. It’s simply more discreet.

“Offers of sex for sale are now disguised – though their intent is transparent,” said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who plans to ask Craigslist to take more aggressive action soon.

Craigslist implemented its new guidelines amid criticism by various state attorneys general, led by Blumenthal, who accused the company of operating an online brothel. Clean up the ads or face a lawsuit, the attorneys general warned.

Under its new policies, Craigslist staffers or contractors – it’s not clear which – monitor adult ads and block those that solicit prostitution or include graphic images. New adult listings cost $10, or $5 to be reposted, payable by credit card only.

…

On a recent day, nearly 900 ads filled Craigslist’s Bay Area adult section touting busty women, two-girl specials and sinful services. A handful quoted their prices in roses per hour, code words often used for soliciting paid sex.

Be sure to visit KCBS and listen to the radio news report…

Burlingame Police Attack Online Prostitution

Cyber-solicitation for prostitution is on the rise, and Burlingame police are going high-tech to bust hookers.

Street prostitution is not too visible in the upscale community of Burlingame, but police have noticed an increase in men and women advertising sexual services online.

Burlingame does have a number of hotels, so Captain Mike Matteucci with the Burlingame Police Department says officers are conducting undercover stings.

“We have detectives that pose as customers,” said Matteucci. “The girls show up, and as soon as the officer is solicited we have a team in the room next door that comes in to make the arrest.”

Read the whole story at NBC Bay Area…

Pimp Ring With Luxe Digs Started on Craigslist
High-end rent makes group’s lowbrow intent
By LORI PREUITT and GEORGE KIRIYAMA

A prostitution ring right in the middle of suburbia included luxe apartments hiding a lascivious enterprise, police say.

In all, five people are suspected of being involved in the organized online prostitution ring.

Last week, San Jose police arrested five people.  All were booked into Santa Clara County Jail on charges of pimping and pandering. The arrests come after a 10-month investigation.

Police said 16 additional people were also booked into county jail for other prostitution-related charges.

Investigators say members of the ring successfully blended into the community to the point where neighbors had no idea what was happening right next door.

The group started its operation on Craigslist and eventually moved it to the adult service Web site Myredbook.com, police say.

“It does present a challenge for us as law enforcement.” San Jose police office Jose Garcia said. “So many people using the Internet. It’s hard to track everyone.”

Here’s how it worked: “pimps” would rent high-end apartments as their base of operations.

Neighbors of one such place on the Alameda in San Jose say they had no idea what was happening next door to them.

“It’s very surprising. There are kids that live here are community oriented. It’s very shocking,” Raquel Schaefer said.

Tough times for a San Fran Gentleman’s Club. Read the story at CBS8.com…

SF City Attorney seeks to shut down strip club

The San Francisco city attorney is trying to shut down a North Beach strip club he claims operates without permits and serves as a front for prostitution.

Dennis Herrera filed court documents in San Francisco Superior Court Wednesday asking a judge to immediately shut down Heaven Mini Theater.

Herrera says the club also appears to be linked to an April shooting that injured two doormen at a competing club nearby.

Gregory Walston, an attorney for Heaven, says the shooting and prostitution allegations are “just ludicrous.”

Walston claims the club is being unfairly targeted after it tried to properly navigate a city permit system he calls byzantine and contradictory.

San Francisco implores residents to report pimps, escorts, and johns on sight!  Read the whole story at NBC Bay Area…

San Francisco Tries to Outpimp Prostitution
Flashy gimicks are not just for pimps anymore
By SAJID FAROOQ

San Francisco is getting creative about cracking down on prostitution. And the City it is taking a page from the pimp playbook to get citizens to help out.

This week San Francisco doorsteps were flooded with neatly designed flyers asking residents to “report prostitutes, pimps and Johns every time you see them” to the San Francisco Police Department, according to our friends at Mission Mission. In case you are not hip to the lingo, a “John” is a prostitute’s paying customer.

It was not the street wise vernacular used on the flyer or the fact there was a leaflet at all but instead it was the hip design that grabbed the eyes of residents.

The catchy flyer didn’t need a purple suit of a fedora hat to make its point. Instead the black and white leaflet featured bold typography that looks more like a piece stolen from David Carson’s portfolio than a public service announcement.

The timing of the flyer is prudent as well. Every summer when tourists flock into San Francisco, the number of prostitutes walking the streets goes up, according to the police department.