The fast life and slow exit of Thai showman Chuwit

BANGKOK -- Where is Chuwit Kamolvisit? Until recently, Thailand's colorful "massage parlor king," politician and anti-corruption campaigner was one of the capital's most prominent public performers, wowing crowds in the lobby of an upmarket hotel with tales of illegal gambling, Chinese triads and corrupt politicians.

Since late last year, the lobby of The Davis, a 247-room hotel that Chuwit owned, has fallen silent, its smiling receptionists left to book tourists in respectful silence in the space where the flamboyant former parliamentarian -- once jailed on racketeering charges -- performed until just a few months ago, puffing defiantly on his favorite Japanese Mevius cigarettes.