Nassau officers arrest 8 women for allegedly selling sex at massage, foot spas, police say
The massage parlor at 195 S. Broadway in Hicksville has been the site of at least four arrests since last year, database shows Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
Nassau County police have arrested eight women for allegedly engaging in prostitution or other illegal activity at massage parlors and foot spas following a Newsday investigation showing that the illicit trade has increased markedly in recent years.
Nassau's Narcotics Vice Squad arrested the women on Tuesday at spas in Hicksville, Plainview and Jericho, police said in a news release Wednesday.
The arrests in Nassau follow similar law enforcement raids in Suffolk, where 10 people were recently arrested on charges including promoting prostitution and enterprise corruption for allegedly running a large-scale prostitution and money laundering operation out of four foot spas in Huntington and Flushing, Queens. Suffolk authorities, working with the federal Homeland Security Investigations, seized $300,000 in bank accounts, two houses and seven cars from the defendants, all of whom are Chinese nationals.
A Newsday investigation found that Long Island is one of the most active regions for the illicit spa business in New York State. Police raided at least 240 illegal foot spas and massage parlors in Nassau and Suffolk counties in the last five years, the investigation revealed. Of the 240 raids, 85 of the businesses have been raided more than once.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Eight women were arrested in spas in Hicksville, Plainview and Jericho on Tuesday for allegedly engaging in prostitution, a misdemeanor, and unauthorized practice of a profession, an E felony.
- The arrests follow a Newsday investigation showing that the illicit activity at spas and massage parlors has increased significantly in recent years. Arrests for prostitution and unlicensed massage have increased over 1,200% in the last five years.
- Newsday also found Long Island is a hot spot for illegal foot spas and massage parlors. At least 240 of those businesses have been raided in the past five years in Nassau and Suffolk counties — 85 of them more than once.
During that same period, Long Island law enforcement arrested more than 400 people for unauthorized practice of a profession, Newsday has reported. Arrests for prostitution, a misdemeanor crime, and unlicensed massage at spas across Long Island have increased more than 1,200% in the last five years.
Last month, Suffolk County Clerk Vincent Puleo terminated the lease of a St. James foot spa operating in a strip mall he owns after Newsday questioned whether illicit activity may have been occurring there. Newsday found online customer reviews of the spa that alleged sexual contact. While staking out the location for 10 hours over three days, Newsday reporters saw only men entering and exiting the K&T Foot Spa.
The recent Nassau arrests included those at a spa that Newsday has included in its online database of spas and massage parlors where authorities have made arrests.
The Sophia Spa, at 195 S. Broadway in Hicksville, which has alternately been spelled “Sofia,” has been the site of at least four arrests since last year, the database shows.
A 42-year-old Flushing woman was arrested and charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession, an E felony, at that spa, Nassau police said.
A 50-year-old Elmhurst, Queens, woman was arrested at Wing Spa, at 70 Washington Pkwy. in Hicksville, on charges of prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession.
A 50-year-old Flushing woman was arrested at K & R Spa at 107 Newbridge Rd. in Hicksville and was charged with prostitution.
A 57-year-old Plainview woman was arrested at a spa at 87 Broadway in Hicksville and charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession.
A 47-year-old Jericho woman was arrested at a spa at 811 Old Country Rd. in Plainview and charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession.
A 51-year-old Oakland Gardens, Queens, woman and two women from Flushing, ages 52 and 53, were arrested at Serenity Foot Spa at 70 Broadway in Hicksville. They were each charged with unauthorized practice of a profession.
All the defendants were released on appearance tickets. Lawyers for the women could not immediately be reached for comment.
Police did not report the arrests of any of the almost exclusively male clientele who seek out sexual gratification at the illegal massage parlors and spas.
"The County Executive and the Police Commissioner place a strong emphasis on the quality of life in Nassau County,” said Nassau police spokesman Det. Joseph Oginski in an email response to Newsday’s questions. “We routinely conduct investigations based on factors including complaints from our communities.”
Oginski declined to provide details of the police operation, including whether vice detectives went undercover into the spas, other than confirming that one of the women who was arrested was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Asked whether Nassau police are working with Suffolk police in a concerted way to root out illegal spas, Oginski said the two agencies “work together on an ongoing basis for the common goal of achieving our law enforcement functions.”
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
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