And people wonder why LE get such bad reps.Police Paid Informers To Hire Prostitutes Montgomery Prosecutors Rejected Tactic By Phuong LyWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, April 20, 2001; Page A01 Montgomery County police used paid informers to hire suspected prostitutes for sex during at least two recent investigations -- even after prosecutors twice warned them that such tactics would be inappropriate.Four informers, one of whom said he was a friend of a vice detective involved in the investigations, were given at least $100 each and told to go into the massage parlors while police waited outside, according to court charging documents filed by the investigators. The men later told police that they were propositioned and engaged in sexual intercourse with the women, the documents state.No other police agency in the area appears to allow sexual contact in prostitution investigations. Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler (D) said in an interview yesterday that his office does not permit evidence obtained by informers who engaged in sexual acts to be used in court.Five women, arrested last month at a massage parlor in downtown Bethesda, are slated to go on trial Monday. They were charged with knowingly being in a place of prostitution after police used informers to engage in sex with two of them.Deputy State's Attorney Katherine Winfree, who told police before they began their investigation of the Bethesda location that there should be no sexual contact, said her office is reviewing the other evidence in the women's cases.In an interview last night, county Police Chief Charles A. Moose defended the use of informers who engage in sex, saying that it is legal and that informers can use tactics that officers cannot."It's frustrating about what to do about the problem of these massage parlors being prostitution fronts," he said. "We thought we were doing what's right."But Moose said that based on Gansler's policy, he would instruct his officers to stop using informers. He said there might have been a "miscommunication" between his officers and prosecutors.One reason the informers were used, he said, is that officers are not allowed to engage in sex during an investigation or to be informers when they are off duty. "We don't want our police officers to have these values and morals," he said.Three criminal justice experts said they did not know of any departments that allowed or condoned using informers to have sex with prostitutes, although the practice is not illegal.Police and these experts said they worry about potential liability from informers who contract sexually transmitted diseases and about a public outcry over tax dollars subsidizing such activities."You've neutralized all your good intentions and all your good work," said Michael E. Buerger, a criminal justice professor at Northeastern University in Boston and a former police officer.Before Moose arrived in the county in August 1999, he headed the Portland, Ore., police department, which for 30 years has paid informers to have sex as a way of gathering evidence against prostitution suspects. The Portland force appears to be one of the few departments to do so. It is unclear how long Montgomery police have used the practice.Montgomery police and prosecutors started focusing on massage parlors last year after they received numerous complaints from residents and business owners. Police have said they suspect that at least 15 massage parlors in the county are offering sex or have employees working there who are not licensed by the state to administer massages.In January, county attorneys also filed lawsuits alleging that the owners of two massage parlors knew or should have known that employees were engaging in prostitution.In the lawsuits, the county is asking a judge to allow police to conduct random checks of the spas and to require that property owners and massage parlor owners post bonds that could be forfeited if prostitution was discovered.Del. Sharon Grosfeld (D-Montgomery) said yesterday that while she wants illegal massage parlors closed, she does not condone police using informers to pay for sex in an investigation."It sounds pretty outrageous to me," Grosfeld said. Winfree said she told vice officers in an Aug. 2 meeting -- before the latest investigations began -- that there should be no sexual contact between an informer and a massage parlor employee. She said the meeting came after her office threw out several cases involving such informers.She said she told police that they should investigate by interviewing customers leaving the businesses and by asking informants to make observations, such as used condoms in the shops.Over the next two months, according to charging documents, police sent two informers into Spa Capri in downtown Wheaton. On both occasions, the men told police that they had sex with the women inside, the documents state.Winfree said prosecutors told vice officers again this year that sex between informers and suspected prostitutes would not be condoned.But on March 21, two informers visited Kona, a massage parlor in downtown Bethesda, and with money provided by police, paid for and engaged in sex, charging documents state.Three women who worked at Spa Capri were convicted in December by District Court Judge Mary Beth McCormick of knowingly being in a house of prostitution and were fined $500 each. In the trial, informer Jeff Tyson testified that he had never been to Spa Capri before but had been asked by Detective Mike Herbert, whom he had known for 20 years, "if I'd like to participate in an investigation."Winfree said that if she had been aware of the police tactics in the case, she would not have allowed prosecutor Kristen Bender to use the information from the investigation in court.Fairfax County and District police officials said they use undercover officers to go into massage parlors where they've received complaints. Officers are to make the arrests as soon as they are propositioned.Fairfax County police Lt. William Desmond said his agency would not use informers because their reliability might be questioned.D.C. police said they also use business regulations to shut down massage parlors or hotels that offer sex for sale. Lt. Erich Miller said uniformed police make visits, record evidence -- such as condoms in trash cans and the presence of convicted prostitutes -- and then work with the city to cite the establishments for business violations.One area jurisdiction that previously allowed sexual contact no longer does. Howard County prosecutors decided not to pursue a 1996 case in which two women were accused of performing sex acts on undercover officers during massages. The investigation prompted intense debate on police practices and was challenged by defense attorneys.A Howard police spokeswoman said the current chief, G. Wayne Livesay, does not permit such tactics.Staff writer Katherine Shaver contributed to this report.