IRS takes interest in sex industry plus cabbies linked to it

The year is new, but it's the same old violent story inside the local sex industry.

This week Metro released the identity of 39-year-old Young Park, a local escort service operator whose beaten and burned body was found near Hoover Dam on the Arizona side last month. Two suspects in the woman's slaying have confessed. Police say it was over a $9,000 debt and control of her outcall service.

She ran the busy, three-girl service out of a house in a seemingly solid neighborhood near Desert Inn Road and Rainbow Boulevard. Neighbors noticed the cabs and limos frequenting the house.

Uncovering violence and intimidation inside the sex industry here isn't difficult, but building criminal cases in a business where many are undocumented or intimidated isn't easy.

That, I suspect, is where Paul Camacho comes in. The Las Vegas IRS special agent in charge must have noticed Park, an undocumented immigrant, ran a lucrative business out of a large home and paid no taxes.

In recent months, Camacho has met with Metro Vice Section Lt. Karen Hughes in an attempt to coordinate investigative efforts of prolific pimps and outcall operators.

It's a matter of paying your share of taxes no matter what business you're in. It's all about trying to make sure crime doesn't pay while Joe Citizen gets stuck with the tax bill.

"We are in the business of tracking down big tax evaders, regardless of their source of income," Camacho said. "Metro Vice has given us insight into astonishing wealth accumulation by those engaged in certain criminal activities. Our cooperation extends beyond ensuring criminals pay their fair share of taxes. We will also flesh out federal money-laundering and tax evasion violations to bring to justice those who thought they were untouchable. This proud tradition stems back to Al Capone."

It's not just the pimps and residential madams who interest them. They also are intrigued by the cab and limo drivers who rope and deliver customers in exchange for cash.

I have an important tip to those who might think they are removed from criminal activity by merely referring or delivering customers to illegal businesses: The finder's fee you accept may have a much higher price tag than the reciprocal income tax. You may be engaging in a money- laundering conspiracy.

In general, financial transactions used to promote prohibited activities are violations of the federal money laundering statute.

POLITICAL FIRE: Wednesday night's vote by the North Las Vegas City Council to save 11 police jobs was unanimous, but for now you can expect the community's cops and firefighters to continue to gun for Councilman Richard Cherchio, a budget hawk who is up for re-election. Cherchio neglected to list all his real estate holdings on a campaign disclosure form and now faces an ethics complaint over the filing error and the wrath of the public employee unions.

That complaint will be well- known to his constituents by the time members of the NLV Police Officers Association and Firefighters Local 1607 finish knocking on doors and passing out 5,000 fliers.

The unions are calling Cherchio's now-amended paperwork miscues "extreme oversights." The union crows that one property was an apartment at ritzy Turnberry, a condo the councilman has since sold.

If Cherchio pondered whether 2011 had sprouted forgiveness from the unions he has jousted with over budget and contract issues, he need wonder no more.

Local 1607 president Jeff Hurley snarls, "How does a retired postal worker forget to list $1.2 million in real estate holdings?"

Cherchio responds: "It is unfortunate that misleading and deceptive political attacks have begun so early in the campaign season. The people of North Las Vegas deserve better."

Sounds like this will get uglier.

Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? E-mail comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.