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The Usual Suspects : Awash in the Neon Glow of the Sleaze Capital of the West, Two Vice Cops Comb the Soiled Streets for Pimps, Prostitutes and Porno Hounds

November 14, 1995|John M. Glionna | Times Staff Writer

Bennyworth, though, comes close. On the night she arrested Buttafuoco, the detective played a red-lipsticked temptress in a tight dress and leather jacket. For his part, Caldera has impersonated a baseball-capped, long-haired low-rider cruising for sex. Together, they've portrayed the happily married couple in search of illegally scalped tickets on the lawn outside the Hollywood Bowl.

Caldera says the most challenging part of the job is playing a john who cruises for men.

"You know that the person standing there is nothing close to a woman in a dress--it's a man in a muscle shirt and bike shorts," he says. "But you have to look at him with that look that says in one second, 'I'm not a cop and you're the best-looking thing I've ever seen.' It ain't easy."

For Bennyworth, the most difficult thing is believing she can make a difference in the prostitution cat-and-mouse game. "But every once in awhile," she says, "you make one big bust--like arresting some pimp--and that carries you. It's satisfying. It makes you want to come back to work the next day."

In a few short months, Caldera's 18-month tour will end. But not before Bennyworth, following Hollywood vice tradition, gives him a coffee cup embossed with a saying capturing his time on the squad.

"Dino's cup is going to say 'YMCA,' you know, that song by the Village People," she says with a laugh, referring to the outlandish male singing group. "I'll never be able to hear it again without thinking of him."

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