Whorehouse for sale!
Harris County has a whorehouse for sale.
Commissioners Court has on its hands the Velvet Touch, a business that operated on Highway 6 South, and will consider this morning how to dispose of it.
The county came into possession of the brothel after Houston police shut it down in April 2008. A three-year investigation included a confession from the owner that she worked there as both prostitute and madam, according to court documents.
With the court's approval today, the county will schedule an auction for Aug. 5 at the downtown Family Law Center. The bidding starts at $196,779.
When asked what the purchaser can do with the property, Bob Gaskins,who as general manager of the county's Right of Way Division is responsible for the sale, said, “There's no limit.”
He quickly added, “Anything legal.”
The white bungalow has boarded-up windows with little inside, judging from prosecutors' photos, but a small stage with a pole in the center.
Gaskins, whose duties generally consist of buying property to make way for roads, bridges, buildings and bayous, said, “This is a new one as far as I can recall.”
The Harris County district attorney filed suit to seize Velvet Touch because it was purchased with the proceeds from felonies — in this case, money laundering and prostitution — according to court documents.
The alleged madam was not prosecuted for anything that happened at the business that advertised “rubdowns” from “models.”
Eliamar Rodriguez pleaded guilty to money laundering. She had deposited $2 million into her bank accounts despite “no known legitimate sources of income,” police investigators found. She was sentenced to six years of probation.
As for the building, buyer beware: The county makes no guarantee on the condition of the building “or any hidden defects in or on the property,” according to a proposed sale document. “The sale and conveyance of the property is ‘as is,' ‘where is,' and ‘with all faults.' ”
Proceeds from the auction will go to the district attorney's asset forfeiture fund and will be shared with Houston police.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/7020486.html
Commissioners Court has on its hands the Velvet Touch, a business that operated on Highway 6 South, and will consider this morning how to dispose of it.
The county came into possession of the brothel after Houston police shut it down in April 2008. A three-year investigation included a confession from the owner that she worked there as both prostitute and madam, according to court documents.
With the court's approval today, the county will schedule an auction for Aug. 5 at the downtown Family Law Center. The bidding starts at $196,779.
When asked what the purchaser can do with the property, Bob Gaskins,who as general manager of the county's Right of Way Division is responsible for the sale, said, “There's no limit.”
He quickly added, “Anything legal.”
The white bungalow has boarded-up windows with little inside, judging from prosecutors' photos, but a small stage with a pole in the center.
Gaskins, whose duties generally consist of buying property to make way for roads, bridges, buildings and bayous, said, “This is a new one as far as I can recall.”
The Harris County district attorney filed suit to seize Velvet Touch because it was purchased with the proceeds from felonies — in this case, money laundering and prostitution — according to court documents.
The alleged madam was not prosecuted for anything that happened at the business that advertised “rubdowns” from “models.”
Eliamar Rodriguez pleaded guilty to money laundering. She had deposited $2 million into her bank accounts despite “no known legitimate sources of income,” police investigators found. She was sentenced to six years of probation.
As for the building, buyer beware: The county makes no guarantee on the condition of the building “or any hidden defects in or on the property,” according to a proposed sale document. “The sale and conveyance of the property is ‘as is,' ‘where is,' and ‘with all faults.' ”
Proceeds from the auction will go to the district attorney's asset forfeiture fund and will be shared with Houston police.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/7020486.html
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