PHOENIX AZFamily β A small motel off a heavily traveled Phoenix freeway is set to close its doors for good after federal investigators found evidence that the owners allegedly helped sex workers, pimps and drug dealers operate on the property.
The Royal Inn was operated by cousins Varsha Patel and Nilam Patel under a company registered as Sarang Hospitality, which federal prosecutors say primarily rented rooms to people involved in prostitution and drug dealing. The feds say that the pair would use the hotel earnings to pay the monthly mortgage payment and utilities for the motel and the mortgage for a home in Chino Hills, California, a suburb about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
In early , Varsha and an unnamed family member reportedly met with Phoenix police officers who noted high crime rates at the motel. Recommendations from the meeting included reducing the number of cash-paying customers, immediate evictions for rule-breaking and better parking lot monitoring. Then, in May , a Phoenix Police investigator contacted the hotel over a prostitution investigation involving a sex worker and her boyfriend staying at the Royal Inn. During that investigation, Nilam allegedly said she was familiar with the sex worker and said that the boyfriend paid for the room.
The officer told Nilam that many prostitutes and men stayed at the hotel, to which she responded that all people deserved a place to live and that she was providing a service. Almost two years to the day later, in May , a Phoenix police official spoke with Nilam, noting that there had been nearly calls for service since January and that the motel was a nuisance for prostitution and drug dealing. In that call, the police suggested the operators be proactive and call the police for any suspicious criminal activity.
In , things quickly escalated with law enforcement. Phoenix police served Nilam with an abatement letter regarding the reported criminal activity, suggesting that the operators ask for a credit card with a matching ID and that the hotel enact stricter guidelines like having only two adults in a room and having visitors check in with management.
