MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Prosecutors have charged the owners of a downtown Madison massage parlor with running a brothel.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Rising Sun massage parlor owners Charles Prindiville, 64, and his ex-wife, Catherine Prindiville, 56, both of Middleton, were charged Monday with conspiring to keep a place of prostitution. The Rising Sun's accountant, Donald Goodweiler, 69, of Madison, also was charged with conspiring to keep a place of prostitution.
Police have been investigating possible prostitution at the Rising Sun since October 2010, when officers raided the establishment. Monday's criminal complaint was filed three days before a seven-year statute of limitations was to expire.
Charles Prindiville's attorney, Charles Giesen, said he'll ask that the charges be dismissed due to prosecutorial delay, noting the earliest crime alleged in the complaint occurred in 2003. Charging a crime that old is "unconscionable," he told the State Journal.
"I am extremely surprised that they've brought these charges at this late date," Giesen said. "They did a search warrant in 2010, and if they had evidence then I assume they would have charged a crime."
Giesen said he doesn't believe Charles Prindiville has been involved in the Rising Sun since 2010.
Goodweiler told the State Journal he wasn't' aware of the charges. No contact information could be found for Catherine Prindiville but she told investigators that she wasn't directly involved in the business but believed prostitution was occurring at the Rising Sun.
According to the complaint, Rising Sun workers told police that refusing to have sex with clients would get them fired. They said when they began working at the massage parlor they were sent to Madison lawyer Daniel Stein's office, where they watched a video about what was allowed at work. Some said they were also videotaped stating they wouldn't perform sex for money or do drugs at work.
Stein didn't immediately return a voicemail The Associated Press left at his office Wednesday.
But one former worker told investigators that she was hired because management knew she had experience as a prostitute. Another former worker told police she was told to go home one day after she refused to do "full service." Another said she was fired because she wasn't "doing the programs" properly by having clients shower followed by back rubs and by whatever else happened, including sex. She said she had sex with clients at least 60 times.
One former employee told police she was assigned to Goodweiler as a client whenever he visited the business. She said they had sex and talked about their personal lives, referring to her time with Goodweiler as "the boyfriend experience."
