HOUSTON—Business is booming along FM 1960, but not all of it is legal.
11 News recently tagged along with undercover investigators from the Precinct 4 Harris County Constables Regulatory Enforcement Unit on a crackdown against illegal massage spas in the area.
"They’re tucked back from retail centers, away from the immediate view of 1960," Constable Ron Hickman said.
The investigators were looking for state-issued operating licenses and massage therapists’ licenses.
In Texas, you have to have them, but the owner of New Asia Massage gave only excuses.
"I don’t know English," the owner told investigators.
Those words have become more common in the area along FM 1960 in north Harris County.
"This seems fairly typical in what we find in massage locations that just spring up," Hickman said.
And Hickman said they’ve been springing up a lot – a trend that might trace its origins to ongoing investigations in the city of Houston.
Nirja Aiyer, a senior assistant city attorney, is part of a multi-agency task force that has been using the common nuisance statue to target illegal spas in Houston.
"We’ve had quite an effect on these businesses," Aiyer said. "It gives us a cause of action against the property owner, not just the operator of the business."
They’ve shut down 20 illegal spas in the last year alone.
One of them was in Rice Village, of all places.
"They only had a male clientele," Andrew Ruthven, an employee at the Main Street Theatre, said.
Main Street Theatre is located directly beneath where the Rice Village spa once operated.
"They would go up the stairs, and then they’d be back fairly quickly," Ruthven said. "Once we knew what it was, we were surprised it lasted as long as it did."
Turns out, there are plenty of spas and massage parlors in Houston.
"The challenge for the city is the number of these locations," Aiyer said.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation keeps tabs on the licensed massage spas. Most of them are located in either southwest Houston or the 1960 corridor. No one knows for certain how many unlicensed spas have set up shop.
"The city is not going to allow these illegal businesses to operate here," Aiyer said.
Some lawmakers believe that tough stance has led to an exodus into other areas, like 1960.
"We’ve got to do something. We’ve got to fix this problem," State Rep. Patricia Harless, who represents the Spring area, said.
"They’re at the entrance of our subdivisions and next door to our day cares. They’re next door to our churches," Harless said of the spas.
So recently, she authored a bill designed to give Harris County Commissioners the ability to adopt tough restrictions with civil and criminal penalties.
Meanwhile, deputies are working to compile the evidence needed to keep the businesses from spreading.
"We are in the enforcement business," Hickman said.
And they’re taking aim at an underground industry that continues to thrive.
