Whipping out a law that's been on the books since 1914, the City of Oakland is assessing penalties of up to $25,000 on the owners of three ghetto hotels -- the National Lodge at 17th and International Blvd., the Economy Inn at East 12th and 1st, and the Sage Motel at Macarthur and High Street -- for turning a blind eye to all the hookers traipsing in and out of their properties. City Attorney John Russo is clearly trying to make an example of these hotels in an effort to curb Oakland's longtime prostitution problem, where at least 10% of working girls/boys arrested each year are minors.
Hiral Patel, owner of the National Lodge, rejects the notion that he turns a blind eye, and says he often calls the cops to report prostitution across the street. “We do our best,” he says.
