Rubbing Cops The Wrong Way

Q: How do you know when it's election time in Cambridge?

A: When the City Council finally passes the massage parlor ordinance it has been sitting on for more than a year.

Q: How do you really know it's election time in Cambridge?

A: When the police raid a newly-opened massage parlor and arrest ten women on prostitution charges.

On Monday, the Cambridge City Council passed an ordinance restricting the operations and licensing procedures for the city's five or so massage parlors.

Then on Tuesday, two policemen dressed up as construction workers and walked into Le Club, an East Cambridge massage parlor which opened up about two weeks ago.

When the two policemen and their colleagues emerged from the building at 497 Cambridge St., they had 11 unhappy people in tow--ten women and one man. And outside among the crowd of 200 was City Councilor Lawrence E. Frisoli, with his own personal "Ban Massage Parlors" sign.