Oakland sues to close three hotels, claiming prostitution occurs on their property

OAKLAND -- A significant problem with human trafficking has led the city to sue three hotels police say are hot spots for prostitution, City Attorney John Russo said Wednesday.

The public nuisance suits, filed Tuesday, will ask the court to close each hotel for a year and fine each one $25,000, though Russo said he'd prefer to have the hotel operators solve the problem by doing a better job keeping prostitution off the premises.
Of the three, according to the lawsuits, the human trafficking issue is worst at the Economy Inn at 122 E. 12th St., near the southern shore of Lake Merritt. The suit Russo filed cites numerous recent arrests there for rape and kidnapping, often with underage girls as the victims and often related to prostitution, according to police.
Several men working at the hotel Wednesday declined to give their names or comment. Refusing to give his name, one man said, "We have no knowledge of what's going on."

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