For years, city officials had a strong suspicion that Empire Spa was more than a massage parlor.
So, in February, the Public Health Department sent an undercover operative inside the O’Farrell Street spa in the Tenderloin. The inspector witnessed seven female employees wearing lingerie and see-through clothing and asked for a massage.
“You can massage me,” one replied, motioning the act of sexual intercourse with her hands.
The inspector left, having spent one minute inside the massage parlor. It was one of several operations officials have conducted at Empire Spa since 2019, which are detailed in a civil lawsuit filed Friday by City Attorney David Chiu. The suit alleges the business is a brothel under the guise of a “relaxation spa.”
“Empire Relaxation Spa is blatantly operating as a brothel and is an ongoing nuisance for the surrounding community,” a spokesperson for the city attorney’s office said in a statement. “The owners have been warned multiple times to cease the illegal activity at the property, but they continue to break the law.”
The complaint names as defendants Ricky A. Lee, the spa’s operator, along with property owners Richard Bocci, Deborah Bocci, and the Bocci family trust. They are accused of running the business “as a public nuisance that substantially endangers the health, welfare, and safety of the citizens.”
None of the defendants responded to requests for comment, but I visited the spa unannounced Monday evening to speak with employees. As I walked in, I was ushered toward a booking log by a woman wearing a flowing, cream-colored dress. Identifying myself as a reporter, I asked about the city’s lawsuit, and she said she had no knowledge of it. Seemingly nervous, she offered to give me a tour. I asked if I could photograph the massage rooms, and she consented.
Each of the 10 massage rooms across two floors contains little more than a massage bed, a generic painting — usually a landscape or a geisha — and a “spa essential oil energy stone” inside a labeled suitcase.
When I again brought up the allegations, other workers, sitting within earshot in the neon-lit waiting room, left in a hurry; some headed toward a kitchen at the rear of the first floor and others disappeared upstairs.
Typically, when I’m reporting a story, this is the point where I get kicked out of the business. I’ve been thrown out of at least one Target and two Apple stores. I’ve even been ejected from a San Francisco supportive housing site. One time, the head of security called my boss as I was wandering around a mall asking about rampant shoplifting.
But I’ve never been told that I can’t leave.
As I was making my way toward the exit, another worker clad in a tight red dress confronted me. At the same time, another threatened to call 911.
“You can’t leave unless you delete the photos,” she said, blocking the exit.
I assured her that no workers could be seen in the photos. She repeatedly demanded that I delete them and said workers thought I was a city inspector, despite the fact that I had identified myself as a reporter. During the roughly 10-minute exchange, she stood by the door as two other women stood to either side of me. At one point, one tried to take my notebook. After I agreed to delete the images (she demanded that I also delete them from my trash folder), she said “someone from the business” was en route to meet me and invited me to sit and wait near the entrance. She did not identify the person who was coming.
Feeling unsafe, I gave them my card and left.
An hour later, around 7 p.m., an unknown number rang my phone. A man who identified himself as a San Francisco Police Department officer said he had been called to Empire Spa in response to a report that someone had taken photos inside without permission. He asked me to confirm whether I had deleted the photos, which I did. He thanked me and ended the call. I emailed the SFPD to confirm that it was an officer who had called but received no response.
Previous undercover investigations and inspections of Empire Spa by the SFPD and public health officials documented women in lingerie offering sex acts for cash, sightings of used condoms and expired professional licenses, and evidence that the premises were being used for housing in violation of planning and health codes, according to the city’s lawsuit.
Police suspect the business is involved with human trafficking and are seeking public assistance in their investigation, according to a Thursday email.
“If you have information regarding this case, please contact the SFPD Special Victims Unit at 415-553-9225 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD,” police said.
The city is seeking a court order to shutter the spa for one year, impose civil penalties of up to $25,000 per defendant, and require the removal of all signage and advertising. It also seeks a permanent injunction barring the property from being used as a massage business.
One alleged incident in June involved an undercover police officer being groped by a woman before she offered him “suckee-suckee and everything” for $120 while motioning to her groin, the lawsuit states. When the officer tried to leave, the worker physically blocked him from exiting until he paid her $20, according to the filing.
In April 2024, a patron filed a police report accusing a spa worker of sexual battery, alleging his would-be masseuse “touched his genitals without his permission,” the complaint states.
The complaint also cites more than a dozen online reviews posted after official inspections describing explicit sexual services in exchange for cash. The business has never held a massage permit, despite repeated warnings and violation notices issued to both Lee and the property owners since 2019, according to the filing.
A Yelp page for Empire Spa shows the business has an average of 3.2 stars based on 22 reviews. Two of the reviews mention sex work.
“Terrible service. Shortchanged. Didn’t receive massage, paid for 45 minutes, got 6 minutes. Lady was late and rude and only wanted sex,” says a one-star review from 2016.