walker
06-07-2007, 09:54 AM
An Oakland man accused of helping import Asian women for prostitution in San Mateo County and Colorado will stand trial in July on four counts of pimping and pandering after declining to settle his case.
Ri Luo, 41, remains free from custody on $20,000 bail while awaiting his July 16 jury trial.
Luo ran an escort service in Pacifica and Foster City that was actually a front for a prostitution ring that extended down the Peninsula and Colorado, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Kwor “Tommy” Chou, 29, of Colorado, was arrested with Luo Nov. 21 by the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force. Luo was extradited for prosecution in local court.
In January, the Pacifica Police Department began investigating a possible brothel run out of an apartment on the 200 block of Gateway Drive based on Internet ads from Craigslist and other sites. A search warrant was also served on an apartment in the 700 block of Bounty Drive in Foster City. Police learned Chou had a common-law wife, Kah Cheah, living in Denver who allegedly ran brothels in the Denver area. Authorities believe all the brothels are part of the same network.
Authorities believe Korean and Chinese women seeking transport into the United States worked at the brothels to pay off their expenses.
Ri Luo, 41, remains free from custody on $20,000 bail while awaiting his July 16 jury trial.
Luo ran an escort service in Pacifica and Foster City that was actually a front for a prostitution ring that extended down the Peninsula and Colorado, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Kwor “Tommy” Chou, 29, of Colorado, was arrested with Luo Nov. 21 by the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force. Luo was extradited for prosecution in local court.
In January, the Pacifica Police Department began investigating a possible brothel run out of an apartment on the 200 block of Gateway Drive based on Internet ads from Craigslist and other sites. A search warrant was also served on an apartment in the 700 block of Bounty Drive in Foster City. Police learned Chou had a common-law wife, Kah Cheah, living in Denver who allegedly ran brothels in the Denver area. Authorities believe all the brothels are part of the same network.
Authorities believe Korean and Chinese women seeking transport into the United States worked at the brothels to pay off their expenses.