Richmond police say a man who engaged the services of a prostitute resorted to force to get his money back because he was dissatisfied. Harold B. Mason Jr., 31, of the 6900 block of Marlowe Road was charged yesterday with grand larceny. Officers were called to the 1300 block of McDonough Street in South Richmond shortly before 2 a.m. to investigate what was originally reported as a robbery.

A Chesterfield judge this morning ruled that a jury must find Albert L. Perry Jr. either innocent or guilty of first-degree murder in the death of an escort service prostitute almost two years ago.

An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for her role in a prostitution ring in Hampton Roads.

As its reputation suggests, the world’s oldest profession figures to be with us for a while. Reports that arrests for prostitution in Central Virginia have not wiped out the practice do not surprise. The relatively steady incidence of arrests does not argue for relaxation of the law or its enforcement, either. Activity along certain notorious corridors would be far greater if police did not routinely patrol the areas and launch undercover operations. Enforcement makes a difference. Prostitution belongs to the category of vice that moves around. Some years ago, blocks on West Grace resembled New York’s infamous Minnesota Strip. They are quieter now. That the trade has moved elsewhere does not mean the sweeps should not have occurred. Residents and businesses are happy they did. (The Minnesota Strip has been cleaned up, too.)

Policing the world’s oldest profession seems a never-ending battle in the Richmond area. The hookers and the men who seek their services often change, but Richmond-area police say the supply and demand never abates, leaving police departments to constantly grapple with how to curb prostitution. Chesterfield County police recently announced the arrest of more than a dozen men during a two-day undercover prostitution operation along Jefferson Davis Highway.

Nationally, more than 59,000 people were arrested for prostitution, solicitation and other forms of commercial vice in 2007, according to the most recent statistics reported by the FBI in its annual Crime in the United States report. More than two-thirds of those arrested, or more than 40,000, were women. But the main target of vice operations varies widely among jurisdictions in Virginia, according to Atchuthan “Sris” Sriskandarajah, a Northern Virginia attorney who operates law offices in Richmond and other parts of the state. The firm, Sris P.C., has offices in four states and offers defense of people accused of prostitution and solicitation.

Chesterfield County police say this morning they arrested 14 men in a two-day undercover operation in which officers posed as prostitutes along the Jefferson Davis Highway corridor.

Police targeting Craigslist hookers Police say 15 to 20 women a day tout their services in the area via the online site On any given day, 15 to 20 or more women can be found on Craigslist.com advertising their sexual services to any takers in the Richmond area. With just a few clicks of the mouse, local residents looking for female companionship last Friday could find a “Sexy Busty” girl who promised to “make your dreams come true” if you’d call to meet her somewhere on West Broad Street.

The other day Henrico police nabbed eight people in a prostitution sting out near the airport. The undercover officer posing as a customer contacted escort services listed in the phone book and on Craigslist. Craigslist, an Internet company offering free online classified advertising, maintains an Erotic Services section. According to Cook County, Ill., Sheriff Thomas Dart, who has filed a federal lawsuit against Craigslist’s owners, “Craigslist is the single largest source of prostitution in the nation.“ News reports have cited ads offering “erotic wrestling,“ “sensual massage,“ and other services—with photos not suitable for printing in what are commonly referred to as family newspapers.

Henrico County police have arrested eight people in an undercover sting operation targeting escort-service operators who provide women for prostitution. Police said they conducted the operation Wednesday from a room at an undisclosed hotel near Richmond International Airport. “They were not involved, and had no knowledge that this was taking place,“ Henrico police spokesman Doug Perry said of the hotel operators. “We chose that [location] because it was convenient for us.“

Henrico County police have arrested eight people in an undercover sting operation that targeted escort services involved in prostitution and other illegal activites.

A Montgomery County, Md., man and a Miami man are charged in a federal indictment with running a nationwide prostitution ring that hired immigrant women. The indictment filed in federal court in Michigan alleges that Michael Porru of Boyds, Md., and Rafael Bernabe-Caballero of Miami set up trysts through the Web site MiamiUltimate.com, and that they initially told the women they would work as escorts. The story was first reported in The Washington Examiner.

Timothy L. Cole didn’t work for chump change. He told one associate he wouldn’t be in the escort business if it didn’t generate a six-figure income for him. For most of its existence—from 2004 until Cole’s arrest last year—Rose’s Bad Girls lived up to Cole’s expectations. A front for a prostitution business that used up to 25 women housed in western Henrico County hotels along West Broad Street, Rose’s easily generated more than $200,000 a year—more than half of which went into Cole’s pocket, Henrico prosecutors said yesterday.

A Chesterfield County man who said he started an Internet prostitution service because he was depressed, lonely and desired female companionship was sentenced yesterday to six months in jail. William H. Snyder, 51, of the 7300 block of Newbys Crossing Drive pleaded guilty in September to money laundering and receiving funds from the earnings of a prostitute in connection with his escort-service business, called Dream Dates for You.