Johns on Parade

Hypocrisy in Minneapolis

Johns, as customers of prostitutes are known, are finding the times a bit tough these days. Last week in New York City, a burg known for its peccadilloes, the municipally owned radio station, under orders from Mayor Edward Koch, started broadcasting the names of men convicted of patronizing prostitutes. In Minneapolis, a city noted for its civic probity, some leading citizens were unmasked as sometime Johns. The Minneapolis Star published an expose identifying 13 men who have frequented certain sauna baths and other places of prostitution. Six of them are key public figures who have played a role in shaping or enforcing antiprostitution laws. Others are policemen, including three former members of the vice squad, and their visits were not in the line of duty.

The names were gathered during a six-month Star investigation that included interviews with some 100 madams, prostitutes and witnesses. In assembling its list, the paper accumulated canceled checks, hotel records and sworn statements verified by polygraph tests. The purpose, Star Editor Stephen Isaacs wrote in a front-page apologia, was "to expose the hypocrisy of public persons performing illegal acts that they themselves have made illegal or have jurisdiction over."

All 13 Johns were confronted with the findings before they were published. Some confessed, some denied. John Markert, 51, executive secretary of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, had testified four years ago against decriminalizing prostitution; Markert denied the Star's allegations. So did Minneapolis Assistant City Attorney Allen Hyatt, who has prosecuted prostitutes.

Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Thorwald Anderson Jr., 42, at first denied the charges, then backtracked. "I certainly made an error for which there is no excuse," said Anderson. "I further erred because I denied it to Star reporters. We will now test the ancient adage that bad publicity is better than no publicity at all." Walter H. Mann, 63, chief judge of the state's Fifth District, admitted his guilt and advocated decriminalization, calling prostitutes "compassionate human beings." State Senator Jack Kleinbaum, 62, also owned up to visiting certain saunas, but added, "It isn't something I did all the time."

According to Isaacs, State Senator William Kirchner, 63, told him that he would kill himself if his name were printed. "He said that he's bought a hose and that he planned to attach it to his car in his garage, but that his garage was being rebuilt," said Isaacs. "He then asked if he could use my garage." Kirchner later admitted that the revelations about him were true, though "negative and vicious."

While some citizens may have felt that the Star was gratuitously ruining the careers of otherwise blameless public servants, County Commissioner Nancy Olkon called the series ''a public service.'' Said she: ''The injustice of who is arrested and who is thrown into jail is well documented.'' Indeed, the state's antiprostitution and anti-John laws are at best unevenly applied. In 1978 police arrested 518 prostitutes, but only 141 Johns. During the first half of this year, 298 women were arrested, but only 81 men. Rebecca Rand, 32, one of the city's best-known madams, complains: ''Men can have whatever kind of sex they want, any time they want, any place they want, on any terms they want, and they're still considered good, decent, upstanding citizens.'' Maybe not any more.

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