Real Work Was Prostitution, Escort Says : 5 Who Ran Agency Face Pimping, Pandering Charges

An Anaheim woman who worked for an Orange County escort service testified Tuesday that she had sex with 90% of her male customers, charging them $150 an hour for her services in hotel rooms or their homes.

Lisa Hayden, 29, said she committed dozens of acts of prostitution while working for She Escorts and Exotic Escorts, which police say is linked to Alfonso Lopez of Buena Park.

Anaheim police last April arrested the 43-year-old Lopez, his girlfriend, Wendy Haskin, and an associate, Calvin Walker, on 46 counts of pimping and pandering. Current law mandates state prison sentences on convictions of those charges. Also arrested and charged with pimping and pandering were David Koynok, 33, and Debra Dew, 29.

10 Years in Business

Lopez, wearing dark sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt during this week’s preliminary hearing, said in an interview that he was innocent and did not understand why police had singled him out after 10 years in business.

“I just have an answering service,” Lopez said, adding: “What they (women) do after is their problem. I have no authority over what goes on.”

Hayden, who used the name “Nikki” or “Marilyn” while she allegedly worked as a prostitute for the escort services, said she went out on an average of “15 calls a week,” keeping $100 for herself and handing over $50 to the escort agency for each hour she worked.

Under questioning by Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth O. Chinn, Hayden said she would typically get the name and phone numbers of a customer from Haskin, Walker or Koynok. Hayden said she would then call the customer, give him a physical description of herself and quote him the price. If the man agreed, she would go to his hotel room or residence, checking in with the escort service by phone when she arrived and again when she left.

Service’s Share of Money

Hayden also testified that she would meet Haskin, Walker or Koynok later at a gas station or convenience store to hand over the escort service’s share of the money.

In a 21-page complaint against the five defendants, prosecutors allege that Lopez, advertising in the Yellow Pages and the Orange County Register, also operated Chi Chi Escorts and Adam and Eve Escorts. Calls made to Executive Answering Service in Santa Ana and the four escort services were call-forwarded to Lopez’s, Walker’s or Dew’s residence, prosecutors alleged.

Prosecutors also charge that Lopez dispatched a married couple, Howard Lee and Mary Deborah Berman, to open another escort service in San Francisco. In addition, the complaint states that Walker, 39, allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse with many of the prostitutes--including Mary Berman--before hiring them.

Chinn said he plans to call 50 to 60 witnesses during Lopez’s preliminary hearing before Municipal Judge Kazuharu Makino. The hearing, which will determine whether there is enough evidence to put the five defendants on trial, is expected to last three weeks.