Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter takes little action on spas after allegations of illicit sex

Days after a Newsday investigation exposed alleged illegal activity at a dozen foot spas in Islip Town, Supervisor Angie Carpenter and the Town Board have taken no action on the spas and continued to decline interviews.

But the attorney for at least one landlord, Kareem Jawdat, said Jawdat warned his tenant, Zhen Zhen Spa of Central Islip, about illegal activity after the Newsday investigation. As a result, the spa "is voluntarily vacating the premises," said attorney Frank Scagluso.

"He’s got a good reputation," Scagluso said of the landlord. "He was very upset when it was brought to our attention that this might be going on at one of his properties."

While authorities across Long Island have cracked down on the booming illegal sex trade at foot spas, one community has had far less enforcement: Islip Town, the state’s third-largest town. In the last five years, authorities have raided only three foot spas in Islip Town — two of them shortly after reporters began asking questions about them.

Newsday identified a dozen spas advertising sex for sale online on sites such as Bedpage and AdultSearch, which are monitored by authorities. Reporters then spent more than 85 hours surveilling the spas and observed only male customers.

Landlords of two of the spas evicted the spa tenants before Newsday published the investigation. Of the remaining eight spas, at least six were open for business Monday. Callers were able to leave voicemails at two more, but both spas appeared to be closed.

Islip Town spokeswoman Caroline Smith has said the town does not investigate sex crimes. That is the responsibility of police, she said.

"Are you kidding me? Then what are you there for?" said Suffolk Legis. Sam Gonzalez (D-Brentwood). "You’re there to protect the community. You are there to protect the residents."

Carpenter, 83, has been Islip supervisor since March 2015. Last year, she earned a salary of $129,147, plus a pension of $82,608, according to payroll and pension records. Under the town code, the supervisor is the town’s chief executive officer and is empowered to direct division heads, including Public Safety Commissioner Anthony Prudenti, to enforce town codes such as fire safety, illegal interior alterations and lack of a certificate of occupancy.

"That’s a really powerful tool because 75% of what towns do is enforcing their codes," said municipal attorney Paul Sabatino, former counsel to the Suffolk Legislature. "Unlike police, they have the ability to shut down the buildings, the land, and the facilities that allow the sex traffickers to generate the revenue."

Other town code enforcement units — which regularly enforce quality-of-life issues like prostitution — work closely with Suffolk police in an effort to prevent the spas from reopening.

Asked in an earlier interview about Islip Town's authority to take action against the spa owners, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the town's code enforcement powers are sufficient.

"It sounds like if Angie Carpenter had such a big problem with this, she probably could have had her fire marshal shut it down a while ago," Catalina said. "I think there are plenty of town codes that can be utilized to, to help out."

Prudenti, who made $163,116 last year, did not respond to several requests for comment on Monday and last week.

Carpenter did not respond to several attempts to reach her.

Town Board members John Lorenzo, Michael McElwee, DawnMarie Kuhn and Jorge Guadrón did not respond to calls or emails for comment.

Smith, the town spokeswoman, said the town had not received any complaints about illegal foot spas and later revised that to say there were "no open complaints," Newsday has reported.

But emails obtained by Newsday show residents complained more than a year ago about illicit activity at a spa on Islip Avenue in Islip known as Athena Spa. The first email was sent Oct. 23, 2025, to Carpenter, all four Town Board members, three Suffolk County legislators and Prudenti. The resident included the spa’s address and a link to a sex advertisement. Carpenter sent an email response that evening saying she had forwarded the complaint to her public safety team and the Third Precinct.

Nothing happened, said the resident, who asked not to be identified because of fear of retaliation. The resident sent three more emails through June, but did not receive a response.

"We do not investigate anonymous complaints," Smith told Newsday.

The emails included an email address and a phone number.

In an interview last week, Catalina said both police and town authorities have a role to play in enforcement.

"I say it’s all of our jobs," he said.

"Rest assured," he said, "in Suffolk County, we are taking the issue seriously."