Massage Parlor Boss Arrested in Bribe Case

A massage parlor operator who police said tried to bribe a city official and a police vice detective was arrested Monday, Newport Beach police said.

Newport Beach Officer Kent Stoddard said Chong Koo Lee, 43, was arrested at 8 a.m. in front of the Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana. He was booked into the Newport Beach Jail but later was released after posting $10,000 bail.

Stoddard said the arrest culminated a two-month investigation by police and the district attorney. Lee tried to make the alleged bribes to protect two massage parlors from police intrusion, officers said.

In November, Stoddard said, Lee contacted Glen Everroad, the city’s licensing supervisor, and offered him a $500 cash payoff. Everroad refused the money and notified the Newport Beach Police Department, which assigned Sgt. Richard P. Long to investigate.

A month later, Lee allegedly contacted Everroad again and asked that they meet at a Newport Beach restaurant. During the meeting, Lee gave Everroad several sweaters and offered him a cash loan, Stoddard said.

Later, Lee asked to meet again with Everroad and told him to include Long in the meeting. Lee and Long were acquainted, Stoddard said, because the detective earlier had arrested Lee at Lee’s business, Airport Massage, in the 4500 block of Campus Drive, Newport Beach.

At the meeting, Lee first met with Everroad and told him he wanted to give him and Long $1,000 each. Long then joined the meeting and was told by Lee that he wanted to pay him $1,000 a month to ensure that police stayed away from the Campus Drive massage parlor and another he planned to open in the 500 block of Old Newport Boulevard, Stoddard said.

Long also said Lee offered him $6,000 to cancel four pending citations against him and his employees and to give false testimony during a pending eviction case before a Superior Court judge.

Last week, Lee met again with Everroad and gave him $4,500 in cash, Stoddard said. Lee allegedly said $500 was for Everroad and the remaining $4,000 was for Long as partial payment of the $6,000 offered for the police protection and the false testimony in his eviction case.

On Monday morning, Long met Lee outside the courthouse where Lee gave him another $3,000 “to complete the deal,” Stoddard said. With the assistance of investigator Barry Foye of the district attorney’s office, Long then arrested Lee.