Honolulu Massage Parlor Prostitution Case: Woman Who Tried To Bribe Feds Gets Prison

HONOLULU, HI — A woman convicted of trying to bribe federal agents earlier this year in exchange for protecting her Honolulu massage parlor from prostitution raids was sentenced Tuesday to nearly two years in prison and three years of supervised release .

Jurors found Biyu Situ guilty in April. She offered money for raid protection, assistance with the U.S. citizenship test and recruiting prostitutes, Homeland Security investigators said.

The jury listened to recordings of Situ saying she wanted the same arrangement her friend had with police. Defense attorney Thomas Otaketried to argue she was a victim of entrapment. Her arrest stemmed from human trafficking allegations, but investigators couldn't build that case because the women working at the massage parlor said they were treated well, Otake said. (For more information on Situ's case and other Honolulu stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Situ's U.S. Navy son, college student daughter and ex-husband attended the sentencing. "She must have done something right along the way," in raising her children, Otake said.

Through a Mandarin interpreter, Situ declined to speak at her sentencing.

The sentence is at the low end of a sentencing guideline range in part because Situ likely faces deportation, which in some ways can be a tougher sentence than imprisonment because it would be a forced separation from her family, U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway said.

But on the other hand, Situ spent several years running a massage parlor offering prostitution, Mollway said. "Offering a bribe is a serious crime," she said, adding that Situ also wanted the return of two prostitutes' seized passports.

Situ has stayed out of trouble while released on bail, Mollway said. She now works at a restaurant, Otake said.

Mollway is recommending that Situ serve her sentence at a federal detention camp near the San Francisco area, where her children live.

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, Associated Press

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