TAMPA - Somewhere between the naked maid blamed in the theft of $40,000 in jewelry and Alice from "The Brady Bunch" fall the Dust Bunnies of Tampa Bay.

Matt Johnson started the business two weeks ago, signing up a few maids and clients, so he's trying to distance himself from anyone who would clean up in the nude, let alone victimize the customers.

A Lutz man reported that a nude maid he hired, while his wife was away, made off with the family jewelry. Investigators on the case are looking to speak with a woman who has worked as a model, but no arrests have been made.

Johnson offers a more modest service: "hot girls who come into your home and clean," according to his Web site.

"They show a little midriff and a little leg," he said. "It's nothing you wouldn't see in a Hooters or a WingHouse."

Stephen Fisher, who owns the Merry Maids franchise in Hillsborough County, said he doesn't expect sexy maid services to cut into his business.

People who want their houses really cleaned probably wouldn't hire a naked woman to do it, he said. They are after something else, Fisher said.

He was surprised by the nude maid theft.

"It was a chuckle at first. But it's stories like this that help our business, the reason being people will see this and say, 'I don't need to hire a fly-by-night cleaning service. Instead I need to hire a legitimate business.' "

Johnson said he's legitimate — and confident he'll be successful, based on what he portrayed as an informal marketing survey. He's opened and closed a few other kinds of businesses before.

"You'd think, and I thought, that the only people who would hire us would be rich, young bachelors or dirty, old men," Johnson said.

Not so, he said. Wives and girlfriends have hired his sexy maids to clean homes for the enjoyment of their significant others.

He has three maids working for him and interviewed four more today, he said.

One was Brandi Froebel, a 19-year-old University of South Florida student who is tired of being unemployed. She sat with Johnson at a Carrollwood coffeehouse and sipped an iced coffee while interviewing for the job.

"I just think this will be fun," Froebel said.

Johnson asked if she minded cleaning other people's tubs and toilets.

"Do we have gloves?"

"I will give you gloves."

Then, OK, she said. No problem.

Flirtatious comments?

"I'm not offended by it," she said. "I would just kind of go with it."

People watching her?

"If I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, I wouldn't worry about it.

Froebel had all the right answers on coming across something expensive, or a gun, on reacting if someone propositioned her, and on using pepper spray.

"I'm a friendly person," she said. "I have high self-esteem. I'm not shy."

Johnson offered the job on the spot and provided some marching orders: "Your job is to clean. You can take the time to talk with the customers and be cute, but your job is to clean."

Dust Bunnies of Tampa Bay charges $75 an hour with a two-hour minimum.

Job applicants, the company Web site says, must be "beautiful and in great shape with fun personalities," preferably with an "All-American cheerleader, surfer, girl-next-door" look.

Among the rules: "No escorting or physical contact with the clients with will be tolerated at any time."

There are rules for the customers, too, and like the maids, all undergo criminal background checks, he said.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.