$1 Million Tabbed For Veterans

Absences, Baggy Pants Draw District's Attention

By ANTHONY COLAROSSI; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, August 08, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





PLYMOUTH TWP. -- One of the undercover police officers investigating
alleged prostitution at the Purple Heaven Massage Parlor on U.S. Route 11 was
masturbated to the point of ejaculation, according to an arrest affidavit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The documents released Wednesday detail two separate occasions last week in
which a Plymouth Township police officer entered the massage parlor and
received sexual favors for money. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The investigation brought the arrests of three women on prostitution
charges last week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Friday, the day the arrests were made, one officer received a genital
massage, but stopped the masturbation before being brought to climax, the
affidavit said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But on Thursday, another officer did not stop the same sex act allegedly
performed by 31-year-old Patricia "Tricia" Switek of Wilkes-Barre, the
affidavit says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Tricia proceeded to move her left hand north to the undercover police
officer's penis, putting the hand firmly around it," the affidavit said.
"Tricia proceeded to perform a hand release on the undercover police officer
to a point of ejaculation occurring." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sgt. John Fisher of the Pittsburgh Police Department said Wednesday he has
conducted hundreds of undercover prostitution investigations, including
several focused on massage parlors, but he has never completed a sexual act
with the suspects. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I've never completely gone through with a sex act," said Fisher, who has
frequently been called as an expert witness in criminal prostitution cases.
"There's a question of whether you're crossing the line and patronizing a
prostitute. Once she would start to do it, I would say, `Whoa! Wait! You're
under arrest.' The minute she started, I stopped." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Plymouth Township Police Chief Robert Lehman Jr. said the legality of the
"Purple Heaven" investigation was researched before any officer entered the
business at 1475 W. Main St. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We checked all our case law," Lehman said. "There's was nothing wrong with
that (the masturbation) happening." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lehman said that out of fear of jeopardizing the prosecution of the case,
he could not comment further on why the officer allowed the completion of the
sex act. "Some things I just can't explain at this time." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Township Supervisor John Rhinehimer said the officers tried to gather as
much proof as possible to build a strong case against the operators of the
massage parlor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Legally, the fact that the sexual act was performed to completion on one
officer could solidify the Police Department's contention that the massage
parlor actually employed prostitutes, Rhinehimer said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I feel that's what they had to do," Rhinehimer said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The massage parlor appeared to be closed for business early Wednesday
afternoon. Preliminary hearings for the three women charged -- Switek, Phyllis
Savage, 45, of Hunlock Creek and Justina Lee, 19, of Mountaintop -- are
scheduled for Aug. 29 before District Justice John Hopkins of Edwardsville. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Charles Tocci, a spokesman for the state police in Harrisburg, said his
department would not consider an officer allowing masturbation to the point of
ejaculation a criminal act. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Our view would be that it's not a crime because there's no criminal intent
involved," Tocci said. "There's all kinds of different circumstances that can
take effect when an individual is undercover." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Tocci also said state troopers would not be allowed to go so far as
part of their investigations. "It would be something we would prohibit our
troopers from doing." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Patronizing a prostitute is a misdemeanor offense in Pennsylvania. And
Fisher said case law has definitively identified masturbation for money as a
form of prostitution here. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fisher's name was found in an Atlantic Reporter legal account of his 1994
investigation into a Pittsburgh massage parlor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fisher's probe, which resulted in a conviction of an individual who
performed a massage on him, resembles the Plymouth Township case, except for
the completion of the sex act. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The guy didn't need to go that far," Fisher said. "He should have stopped
her and placed her under arrest. If you get a sharp defense attorney, they're
going to attack that." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He compared undercover prostitution work to undercover narcotics
investigations. "If you're trying to buy drugs undercover, you're not going to
sample the drugs." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Fisher said the Plymouth Township officer was probably inexperienced
and probably not abusing his authority. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Capt. Gerry Dessoye of the Wilkes-Barre Police Department's Special
Investigations Division, refused to fault the Plymouth Township police. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But he did say he would try to find other ways to make a case against a
massage parlor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dessoye said when he was faced with a massage parlor in Wilkes-Barre
suspected of providing masturbation for money, he sent in a female undercover
detective to apply for a job at the business. That operation occurred last
January, and the business was closed down. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The detective was told she would have to masturbate clients to climax, and
that sealed the case, Dessoye said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "They're a tough, tough, tough thing to get," he said. "Sometimes I think
you have to use extraordinary means for extraordinary problems." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sex Act In Sting Divides Police 
While No One Condemns A Local 
Officer's Conduct At An Area 
Massage Parlor Last Week, One 
Investigator Expresses Surprise At The Method Used

Sex Act In Sting Divides Police While No One Condemns A Local Officer's Conduct At An Area Massage Parlor Last Week, One Investigator Expresses Surprise At The Method Used