Orange County authorities cracking down on Vietnamese cafes

[ScottThuy 140]

Link to the article

In Garden Grove, Westminster and other cities, some of the coffeehouses include not only loud music and strong java, but nudity, gambling and prostitution. Many in Little Saigon are hesitant to speak out against the establishments.

The tinted windows at Cafe Miss Cutie in Garden Grove are a giveaway that this isn't your ordinary coffeehouse.

At about 20 tables, men play cards and smoke, tossing cigarette butts onto the wood floor seconds before lighting up again. High-pitched pop music pulsates as waitresses dressed in sexy lingerie and sometimes less deliver the brew the customers crave: Vietnamese coffee, strong and sweet, in a small glass topped with whipped cream.

The cafe is one of about 20 in this Orange County city, which includes part of Little Saigon, one of the largest Vietnamese American enclaves in the U.S. It also is among those raided in March by more than 150 federal and local law enforcement officials, exposing an underbelly of what police say includes nudity, gambling and prostitution.

Even the Garden Grove police weren't prepared for what they found.

"We were shocked," Sgt. Tom Dare, with the department's special investigations unit, said of the proliferation of arcade-like gambling machines. "A lot of these places want to be legit, but how do they compete with these other businesses? It's almost a chain reaction, where one business tries to one-up another."

In the raid, police seized 186 arcade machines that they say can be turned into a keno or blackjack machine with the push of a button. Also confiscated was more than $145,000 in suspected gambling profits, including $35,000 from one cafe alone. The investigation is ongoing.

"These guys are very organized, they are very intelligent," Dare said, pointing out that profits from a single machine can exceed $3,000 per day. "The reward outweighs the risk."

In response, the Garden Grove City Council recently approved new restrictions, targeting even the tinted windows, that go into effect next month.

Nhut Luong, who coordinates immigration services next door to Cafe Di Vang, one of the older businesses in the area, said he's gotten used to the loud music and is otherwise unbothered.

"We don't care," he said, stressing that local businesses need to support one another.

Nguyen Uong, who lives in Fountain Valley not far from several of the coffeehouses, said the problem isn't the loud music but the nudity and gambling.

"Things like that have been going on for a long time and nobody has spoken up," he said. "It makes me feel like we live in a Third World country"

Many in Little Saigon, which includes neighboring Westminster, are hesitant to speak out against the cafes. None of the waitresses would agree to be interviewed.

There are signatures that many of the cafes share: No alcohol is served, big-screen televisions line the walls, California lottery tickets are for sale, and the coffee is served by Asian women often wearing high heels and nothing more than string bikinis or see-through lingerie. In some cafes, that uniform has dwindled to pasties and a thong.

Lan Duong, an assistant professor of culture and media studies at UC Riverside, has studied the tradition behind the cafes.

"It's not about ogling women per se," she said. "It's about the camaraderie."

Chanh Do, a 57-year-old engineer from Orange, agrees. The subdued Mai Tay Hien off Bolsa Avenue is where he spends his happy hour. Almost each day for more than two decades, he has taken a seat at the far end of the counter to read the newspaper, drink coffee (black, with sugar) and smoke Marlboro Lights.

"Here, it's time to relax," Do said. Everyone there knows his name and knows not to sit in his seat. Waitresses in sweaters and jeans know his order.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg-urVCd4bE

Edited May 24, 2011 by ScottThuy

[tcTTct 37]

They are also trying to implement a 50% breast coverage rule which I'm happy to report has not yet taken effect...

[Jerry & Fiona 1]

Interesting story.

[VinceN 25]

So are they gonna shut down strip clubs too? There's lotta nudity in there.

[ScottThuy 140]

Sounds like VK discrimination to me....

[luckytxn 2,264]

Give this a thumbs up.

[dtc 1]

nooooo...... dont let the police shut them places down , not before i go down there 4 a visit

[Matt_Stevens 5]

I've been following this story but, unfortunately, cannot personally investigate.

Likely it is much ado about nothing. The police are throwing around phrases like "suspected prostitution" and yet they have not arrested anyone for it in the establishment. Talk about slander.

Being served by girls in skimpy outfits does not = illegal and it shouldn't. Big fricken deal. If the cops can prove prostituion is taking place, then okay. But prove it first. Don't just say it is there because you don't like looking at pretty little Asian bodies.

Let me add this: Prostituion being illegal has lead to the continued increase in the number of girls, many of them underage, sold into slavery and forced into brothels all across this country. The more it is illegal, the more innocent women and young girls will be exploited in a life of brutality. I'm speaking with real knowledge here after researching the issue for a book I am working on. Porn is legal, but prostitution is not and that has lead to serious crimes being committed that no one wants to talk about.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Porn is legal, but prostitution is not and that has lead to serious crimes being committed that no one wants to talk about.

So to fix that, you always have a video camera on hand to record the "deed" and then you've simply paid her for being in your self produced & directed Porn production!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

There are a bunch of the same sort of coffee shops in San Jose. They occasionally get visits from the local cops, so they don't let you throw your cigarette butts on the floor. They give you an ashtray made from aluminum foil. If the cops come in you crumple up the ashtray and drop it into the trash outside.

Other than that, they're the same. Girls barely dressed. Lots of big screen TV all around, most tuned to different sports channels. Some have the arcade gambling machines, and others don't. All have at least one bookie taking bets on sports games. Occasionally, someone will walk down the hall past the restrooms and into the back. I don't want to know what's going on back there.

[Dau Que 6]

I've been following this story but, unfortunately, cannot personally investigate.

Likely it is much ado about nothing. The police are throwing around phrases like "suspected prostitution" and yet they have not arrested anyone for it in the establishment. Talk about slander.

Being served by girls in skimpy outfits does not = illegal and it shouldn't. Big fricken deal. If the cops can prove prostituion is taking place, then okay. But prove it first. Don't just say it is there because you don't like looking at pretty little Asian bodies.

Let me add this: Prostituion being illegal has lead to the continued increase in the number of girls, many of them underage, sold into slavery and forced into brothels all across this country. The more it is illegal, the more innocent women and young girls will be exploited in a life of brutality. I'm speaking with real knowledge here after researching the issue for a book I am working on. Porn is legal, but prostitution is not and that has lead to serious crimes being committed that no one wants to talk about.

Agree with the bold part. As long as someone else's wife or daughter doing the nekkid part, I'm OK with it. Just not my own! See the immoral part of this logic, anyone?

[Dau Que 6]

In Houston there are lots and lots and lots of Cafes popping in biz lately. I guess lots of ladies figuring instead of hard working at McD's, or Home Depot, whatever, they might as well "take advantage" of their "assets". Lots of folks where I work often invite me to join them to pay visits to these "cafes" after work, especially on the weekends and/or Fridays evening.

I told them "Sure, who wouldn't wanna some fun? But if I see one of my daughters or my wife working in there dressing up like that, do you think I still enjoy my cup of java?".

Their response? "Do I care? As long as they're not my wife, daughter, not my prob!"

I guess it's the same feeling for prostitution as well.

So for those folks who think it's no harm, no foul, read the above story and reevaluate your moral meter.

[dtc 1]

as long as women choose to do it for a living , not being force into doing that then let them be. after all it a free country .

if people truly wanna stop stuff like strip clubs and prostitution then create decent paying jobs for those women , that is the best way to deal with it, not making it illegal and jail them. think out side of the box people .

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Their response? "Do I care? As long as they're not my wife, daughter, not my prob!"

I guess it's the same feeling for prostitution as well.

The issue isn't nudity or even prostitution, it's that somewhere sex & nudity were deemed to be immoral outside of certian situations.

I don't like the thought of either of my daugthers having sex, has nothing to do with getting paid for it or not. It's something that will happen and that's that.

There are a lot of other things I don't like the thought of my daughters or wife doing, only difference is the absence of moral judgement. Here are a few examples:

Changing diapers/bathing another adult, this is required for any CNA.

Working in dangerous conditions, I would prefer they don't.

Dirty work, shoveling manure for example but then someone has to do it for me to get the fertilizer that makes my lawn so green.

[ScottThuy 140]

Its part of VN culture in many ways.. it may be illegal there but that is beside the point... the video I added at the bottom of the article says alot... and is funny as heck at the same time...