Prostitution Arrest Result of Ongoing Police Surveillance

The arrest of a Concord lawyer on prostitution-related charges in Salem on Tuesday came as a result of ongoing police surveillance of areas where such activities have been suspected for months.

Richard Mooney, 51, of White Rock Road in Bow, turned himself in on a warrant Tuesday night on charges of prostitution and related offenses and hindering apprehension or prosecution.

An affidavit revealed that the activities that led to Mooney's arrest took place on June 13 and 14. According to the affidavit, police were investigating prostitution originating from the La Quinta Inn and the Red Roof Inn in Salem.

Police received a tip that a female named "Ashley" had placed an ad on backpage.com advertising herself as an escort. "Ashley" was "traveling back and forth between" the two hotels performing "escort services," the affidavit stated.

Police were able to confirm with the managers of both hotels on June 13 that a man identified as "Michael Powell" had rented multiple rooms at each hotel. The Red Roof Inn manager told police she suspected "some type of illegal activity" was going on in the rooms due to "heavy traffic" going in and out of the rooms.

Later that day police set up surveillance of the rooms rented to Powell at the Red Roof Inn. At around 2 p.m. a man arrived in a silver Toyota sedan and was observed going into one of the rooms. Police said he left the room about an hour later and was stopped by police.

The man identified himself as Mooney but did not tell police why he was at the Red Roof Inn. He did provide police with a phone number.

The next day police were investigating a different matter at the Red Roof Inn when a woman said she was using the same room observed the day before to "provide sexual services for a fee."

The woman told police she'd received "a phone call from a client on the previous day" because he'd "just been stopped by the police and that they (the police) knew what she was doing," the affidavit states.

The woman checked her appointment book and said the client's name was "Rich" and the phone number she had for him matched the one Mooney had provided to police.

She told police she performed sexual services on "Rich" for which he paid $200.

The phone number for Mooney provided in the affidavit matches one used in an online advertisement for Mooney's Concord law practice.

Salem Deputy Police Chief Shawn Patten said investigation and surveillance of the areas where prostitution and other illegal activities have been suspected have been ongoing for months and will continue.

"We're still going with it," Patten said. "The area hotels have been cooperating with us fully. They want to clean this up as well."

Mooney was released on $5,000 personal recognizance.