Tucson businessman John LaVoie described his Angel's Heaven Relaxation Spa as the outreach arm of his church, soothing the souls of the afflicted.
But a judge ordered LaVoie to divest himself of Angel's Heaven and two other businesses, saying all were part of a prostitution enterprise controlled by LaVoie.
A jury that heard the civil case in July found LaVoie should forfeit $850,000 in estimated profits from running a criminal enterprise at the Angel's Heaven property, as well as forfeit the office building.
The forfeited property is at 1740 and 1738 E. Lester Street on the edge of a residential area that backs up to University Medical Center.
In a final judgment and order of forfeiture issued last week, Judge Jeanne Garcia of Maricopa County Superior Court rejected the Arizona attorney general's proposal that LaVoie be barred from involvement in any future massage businesses.
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LaVoie's attorney, Brad Roach, argued that would be unfair and a violation of due process under the 14th Amendment.
Roach also persuaded the judge to reduce the $850,000 liability by $81,966, the amount of cash seized when police searched the business in 2004.
That leaves LaVoie to pay $768,034, plus the cost of the investigation and civil prosecution in an amount to be determined later. Roach, who did not return calls Monday and Tuesday, has said his client would consider an appeal.
LaVoie testified in the civil forfeiture case that the spa was the outreach arm of his Church of Liberty.
He told the court his policy was to tell the women who worked for him as independent contractors that they would be fired if they offered sex for money.
Tucson police officers who went undercover and received massages at the spa testified LaVoie took 60 percent of the earnings of women who discreetly offered to perform sex acts with their hands.
But in court papers opposing the proposed final judgment, LaVoie's attorney said the women merely practiced the biblical "laying on of hands."
Authorities did not press criminal charges against LaVoie after an off-duty police officer compromised the investigation by having sex with an "angel" at her home and in his car, police records show. Criminal charges require the state to meet a higher burden of proof than a civil forfeiture.
Assistant Attorney General Alex Mahon said the state would like to move quickly to evict LaVoie, but acknowledged it could take a year or more for any appeal to be heard.
The forfeited assets are to be divided between the state's Anti-Racketeering Revolving Fund and the Tucson Police Department to cover the department's investigation costs.
