Apr. 4--The newest member of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Kansas City is X-rated, and bureau executives aren't happy about it. 

An escort service that operates under several names, including Convention Mates, Plaza Escorts and ZZEscorts, recently paid the bureau's $350 midlevel membership fee and will be listed in its promotions and brochures as a bona fide member. 

"We talked about what we could do to keep that sort of thing out of our membership," said bureau president Wayne Chappell. "We had no choice. 

"Because we get tax money, we cannot bar anyone who is legally doing business in the city." 

Juan Perez Banda Jr., who operates Convention Mates, makes no apologies for his line of work. 

"I'm like any other businessman," he said. "I don't want to be harassed because of somebody's perception of morality." 

He said a handful of "narrow-minded" bureau members who opposed his membership wanted to keep Kansas City a "small time" destination. 

"To be a big-time convention city, you have to have legal, adult entertainment, whether it be gambling, escort services or gentleman's clubs," Banda said. 

Banda blames "streetwalkers with cell phones" for giving legitimate escort services a bad name. 

Convention Mates' Web site, which the bureau must now promote, says the company has been "serving the metro area since 1971." 

"Our attractive ladies are 15 to 45 minutes from your location," it says. 

Rates average $175 for daytime escorts to $250 for evenings. The company notes that its escorts engage in "nothing illegal." 

A Kansas City police spokesman said the department had no comment. 

Banda was arrested in Kansas City in 1999 on prostitution and money laundering charges. Banda's attorney, Kurt Marquart, said Wednesday that those charges later were dropped. 

Marcellus Hughes, bureau membership director, said the city-financed agency periodically attracts adult entertainment establishments to its membership, including Banda in the past. Another bureau member is Temptations, a downtown strip joint. 

Hughes said Banda's previous membership lapsed three or four years ago. 

Chappell wishes it would have stayed lapsed. 

"We consider ourselves a family tourism generator," he said. 

"If they get into any trouble or do anything that brings discredit to the city or tourism, we can revoke their membership," Chappell said. 

Banda said he let his membership lapse to cut expenses. Business is good again, so he rejoined. 

"I support the bureau," he said. 

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(c) 2002, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.