Story Published:
Feb 2, 2012 at 7:44 PM MDT
Story Updated:
Feb 3, 2012 at 4:53 PM MDT
BILLINGS - The "Massage-Escort" section of the "Billings Gazette" classifieds shows about ten businesses, but two in particular caught the eye of the Billings Police Department. Gregory and Myong Suk "Suzie" McFarland operated the establishments, Shangri-La Spa and Sauna at 437 Bernard Street and Far West Sauna at 1211 Mullowney Lane.
The investigation of the McFarlands' two prostitution businesses took several years. Authorities began keeping an eye on "Suzie" McFarland in the mid-1990s after one of her employees tipped off police.
The manager of the Holiday Inn contacted the Billings police in 2005 about neighboring business, Far West Sauna, saying guests had complained they were being propositioned for sexual services. Police then conducted a surveillance of the building. Customers told police they would ring a doorbell and pay $60 to enter. They would then pay between $200 and $300 for sexual activities. The businesses accepted credit card and cash payments.
Tom Bradford's business, Bradford Roof Management, is located next to Shangri-La Spa and Sauna. He said he had limited interactions with the McFarlands, and the only thing he found unusual was the number of cars at their business with out-of-state license plates.
"When we'd be going back and forth down the street, you'd see a lot of out-of-state vehicles. Every now and then we'd see dealer plates on cars that would be stopped there for a while and then they'd go. And those were local dealers," Bradford said.
Police found condoms and other evidence in dumpsters behind the establishments. They searched the McFarland home at 4605 Sticka Circle, finding hundreds of pages of ledgers, tally sheets, and credit card receipts. They discovered the McFarlands used more than $127,000 worth of illegal proceeds to make house payments between 2006 and 2011.
The company reported net earnings of $564,000 from 2005 through 2008. Tax returns indicated the McFarlands paid 35 women throughout their years in business. All women had out-of-state addresses, with the largest majority from Minnesota.
Bradford said he never saw anything that caused him to think something illegal was happening.
"They're very quiet. There's not a whole lot of activity going on over there," Bradford said. "You know as far as we're concerned they're very good neighbors. And I think anything big happening happened mainly when we weren't here. They were there during the day and all but never any issues."
Prosecutors determined the couple was promoting prostitution and participating in money laundering.
Shangri-La Spa and Sauna is now back in business under new ownership. It's listed under the "Massage-Escort" section of the "Billings Gazette" classifieds.
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