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Palm Springs- from www.mydesert.com - A man accused of being one of the operators of a Palm Springs escort service that dispatched call girls throughout California and neighboring states was a known investor in the business, a former employee testified Monday.
Melanie Smith, who began working for Elite when she was 18 years old, after leaving her home state of Oregon in early 2001, said she knew that Ofer Moses Lupovitz [pictured] owned the Palm Springs condominium out of which the escort service was run.
The witness said she worked for the service as an exotic “dancer” until marrying Lupovitz's alleged partner — and Elite founder — Boaz Benmoshe.
Lupovitz, 48, is being tried on charges of conspiracy, pimping and pandering in connection with the prostitution ring, which at one time employed as many as 200 women in California, Arizona and Oregon, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
The criminal enterprise was busted up in 2006.
Under questioning from Deputy District Attorney Kelly Sedonchenkoff, Smith recalled how she got involved in the business, not knowing exactly what to expect.
“Did they describe to you what to do for a show?” Sedochenkoff asked.
“They never described what we were supposed to do; they just told us what they advertised and offered to clients and told us what not to do,” Smith replied, without elaborating.
She said she was told that Elite, which used photos of her in advertisements, offered striptease and body rubs.
She said a dancer would collect a “show fee” upon arrival and, if clients tipped her, they could use a credit card or pay cash. Dancers could keep their cash tips and were paid in checks from credit card tips the company authorized, the woman testified.
She said about 90 percent of her client visits ended up being “therapy sessions.”
“The guys would just talk,” she said. “A lot of guys were just lonely.”
She said she stopped working as a dancer when she moved in with Benmoshe, no longer associating with dancers working for him and Lupovitz.
“I was not fond of my husband being in a business where he was around pretty girls,” Smith said.
She said the men employed her as a secretary until the reputed ring was shut down.
Benmoshe and Lupovitz, both Israeli nationals, were indicted with four other people, three of whom have been convicted. Smith; Lupovitz's wife, Gabrel Lukow; and Stephanie Michelle Vintrov pleaded guilty to various charges.
Lupovitz faces a total 180 felony counts, ranging from money laundering to tax evasion, in connection with the alleged call-girl operation. All but the pimping, pandering and conspiracy charges are on hold pending the outcome of the current trial.
Elite was billed as an on-call escort service and operated from a dispatch center in Palm Springs and later Palm Desert, according to prosecutors.
The whereabouts of the defendant's alleged associates — Benmoshe, Moti Vintrov and Eliran Vintrov — are unknown.
