413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

(D13). Another respondent reported a business that rented cars without requiring a license:
It wasn’t a legitimate business, but this dude rented out cars to people without showing a
license. As long as he felt you were cool and responsible enough. You paid the money to
rent it out and he gave you the keys. Like a tow yard with a whole bunch of cars. At first I
was paying him for the cheapest cars I could, but then I started making more money, and
wanted the nicest ones. For a week, you would pay like $300 or $350. You’re making that
money back easy though. Go back and forth, girls drive. (B5)
Car dealerships were not the only retail locations offering discounted prices to pimps. One respondent
reported receiving discounts on a different business expense—condoms:
Well I was getting a deal at this—they knew what I was doing. They would sell me like
two—the big box, 24 or something like that. I would get two of those for ten dollars.
Normally I would go buy the three that come in a box. That was like $2.99. I would buy
five boxes of those, to start the night off. Depending on how many tricks I had I would
buy more. Some nights I would buy like 15. (D13)
Another respondent similarly reported, “I had deals at a sex shop [as a] permanent customer. Deals on
everything they sell. It was a percentage off” (D3).
Travel deals and legal services were also offered at discount rates. Travel was a lucrative business practice
for some pimps, and a respondent explained, “I knew there was a lady who everyone knew to get airplane
tickets to fly from” (B4). Another respondent reported that a lawyer cut deals for him. He stated, “My
buddy introduced me [to the lawyer]. One time I had got arrested and I called him and he was like ‘Yeah, I
got you.’ He told me if I give him some clients, every client I give him, he would give me $500. That’s how
we became partners. I had made him $15,000. He done good” (D4).
Finally, maintaining relationships with bail bondsmen was important to some respondents. One
respondent explained that there was “Never more than one [employee that] was in jail at a time. I’d
always send a bail bondsman” (G15). Another respondent who once worked in Atlanta noted the
importance of bail bondsmen in different cities: “Well, in Atlanta you have to know somebody who knows
somebody [in order to post bond]. I knew a bondsman who would get girls out. If you don’t know
someone, they are not bonding the girls out because they knew they were flight risks” (G3).
Relationships with Law Enforcement
They’re the biggest ones that buy. The same people locking me up are the ones breaking
the law. (C4)
Police officers reportedly developed relationships with pimps because they were customers. One
respondent explained, “Maybe 5–10 percent of the client base is law enforcement” (D18). The same
respondent went on to explain that relationships between law enforcement and sex workers could involve
force, manipulation, and rape. He stated, “We called them dicks in uniform. Several officers would tell
girls to sleep with them or go to jail” (D18).
Business relationships with law enforcement could provide pimps with a sense of immunity to the law.
One respondent explained, “I felt I wasn’t going to get caught. I had a lot of law enforcement [who] knew
me, a lot of them used to date my girls. I had contact with them. I thought I wasn’t doing nothing wrong, I
couldn’t be stopped” (G3). The same respondent later noted: “[The] police officers I had—that was a good
thing. He would come through and date my girl and then look out for me. Let me know when stings were
going on. He gave me a heads up” (G3).
Not all interactions remained positive, and pimps resented their relationships with law enforcement
following their incarceration, noting the hypocrisy of being locked up by one-time customers. A pimp
explained, “I had lawyers, police officers, all kinds. I had so many officers that came” (H7). After he was
incarcerated, the same pimp explained: “I went through the county [jail] and some of the men working at
the jail ducked. I said ‘Yeah, put your head down. I won’t see you this weekend’” (H7).
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