413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

transactions completed were in-calls or out-calls, the cost of local travel could add up quickly. One
respondent noted, “Gas money was through the roof—I’d say about $500 every two weeks” (A1).
Respondents would at times rent cars for business travel rather than using personal cars.
Interviewer: Would you rent cars
Respondent: Yeah, I don’t take my cars out most of the time. Cars in one of girls’ names
who had a license.
Interviewer: What rental car company
Respondent: Enterprise, Hertz, wherever had cars available. If I rent a car, I’d get a
Cadillac truck or Charger. They had more room.
Interviewer: How much would they cost
Respondent: About $1,000 [per week]. (G12)
Reported rental car expenses ranged from $40 a day to $400 to $500 a week.
Housing
Sixty-five percent of employees also reported operational expenditures on apartments and homes to
house their employees. Costs varied; one respondent reported paying only $50 per week on housing costs,
while another offender spent $450 a week on a condominium in Las Vegas. Respondents also reported
purchasing homes ranging from $118,000 to $580,000.
Appearance
Employee appearance expenditures could be significant for the 45 percent of respondents who reported
covering some or all of the costs of employee clothing, makeup, hair, nails, and accessories. Some
interviewees reported spending $3,000 to $4,000 on employees’ shopping sprees each week, while other
respondents did not pay for costs associated with employee appearance. Respondents also reported
spending money on their own personal appearance, which they considered a business expense to attract
new employees.
Purchasing clothing gave respondents the opportunity to control the appearance of their employees. One
pimp explained how he used clothing to dictate his employees’ image:
I wanted them to look like they wasn’t trying to get in any trouble. I would put them in
tight warm ups, tennis shoes, summertime put them in some short, short shorts. If we
going out, and it’s a Friday or Saturday, I get them real sexy. Because I am going to be
there with them and we are going to be in the party atmosphere. (D13).
A female pimp reported imposing significant control over the money she allocated to employee
appearance, giving different amounts to her employees based on the amount of time they were with the
business. She explained, “We would do nails every other week. And we tanned every day, and we would
shop twice a month and spend $500 to $600. And then the other girls would get $100 or $200 a month …
and once they would get around for six months, they would get more money” (A8).
Advertising Costs
Almost half of respondents (45 percent) reported expenses that were directly related to producing and
disseminating advertisements. Expenses included both photographs to include in advertisements and the
actual cost of posting the advertisements on a host website or in a print source.
Multiple respondents took photographs of their employees to post on advertisements. Others used fake
photographs: “You might have some girl that you put up a fake pic. Or you might put up two girls and
really just be working off one” (B3). Pimps who used actual photographs either took pictures themselves
or hired professional photographers. Given the expense associated with producing photographs and
advertisements, some pimps waited until they had a commitment from an employee to remain with the
pimp:
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