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Police and Town crack down on illegal massage parlors; prostitution arrests up
Schmitt in turn called police, who after conducting an investigation, determined that it was not the lure of drugs that had so many going in and out of the establishment- it was prostitution. Arrested April 21, and charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice, a crime, in this case massage, were Shuoyo Fu, 42 of Fresh Meadows and Yan Ping Deng, 47, of Flushing. According to county records, the building was leased to the Therapy Center by Alexa Ray Corporation. A check of state records did not turn up a corporation in that name, nor a property owner's name. Nassau County Police report that since May of 2004, 12 similar arrests were made in the 8th Precinct and 21 in the 7th Precinct. And while, police were unable to break down the figures by year, they acknowledge that the arrests have increased in the past year. That could be because there are more of these facilities opening up in the Massapequa community, or because there is more public awareness, such as took place at 4211 Merrick Road, and police enforcement.
During the second week of April, two women were arrested again at 5650A Merrick Road, although police noted that the name of the business had changed to Acupuncture & Massage. Charged were Mei San Li, 43 and Mai Hua Yin, 42 both of Flushing. The owner of that building is listed as Peter Nguyen of Farmingdale. Efforts to reach him were unsuccessful and he did not return several phone calls for comment. In Wantagh, more arrests were made on April 24, two at 1890 Wantagh Avenue another at an accupuncture center at 2992 Merrick Road. Charged with prostitution and unauthorized practice of a crime at those locations were Xin Wang, 51, Beech Ace., Flushing and Ling Lee, 36, Corona Ave., Elmhurst. As a result of these arrests, these activities have come to the attention of not only Schmitt but other officials as well. "This isn't just happening in Massapequa but all over Long Island," said James O'Leary Commanding Officer of the Seventh Police Precinct who added that the increase in the number of arrests could be from more rigorous enforcement or citizen complaints, and that the police are investigating all leads. Whichever is the case, Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto said it's not the first time this kind of activity has raised concerns within the Town. During the mid 1990s, following a cleanup of the Times Square area in New York City, the industry looked for other venues. Many set their sights on Oyster Bay, said Venditto. "We told them they weren't welcome in the Town of Oyster Bay then, and we're telling them that they aren't welcome now," he said. At that time, the Town attacked the problem by vigorously enforcing its building codes, shutting down more than 25 similar businesses, said Town officials. "While prostitution is a police problem, we continue to assist the police in any way we can," said Venditto. "And our approach of inspecting and shutting down these places through our building code has been very effective." Venditto surmised that although the number of arrests may be up, it may be a case of repeat offenses. "(I think) these are the same individuals, over and over again," he said. "It's just a cat and mouse game." Town officials said that many of these locations open up under the darkness of night, and that the Town walks a fine line between protecting people's rights to own and operate a business, and uncovering and closing down illegal operations when and where they occur. "Many of these businesses (massage parlors) are legitimate and we don't want a few bad apples to give them all a bad name," said Venditto. "We need to be mindful of people's rights while maintaining our quality of life." Both Venditto and O'Leary agreed that watchful community members are their most helpful tool in stopping this crime. "Residents need to complain if they see anything so we can remove this cancer from our neighborhoods," said O'Leary. "This crime attracts other bad elements such as organized crime to the area, and if we don't know about it we can't stop it."
"Our number one weapon is vigilance," said Venditto. "If someone sees something, they should call either the authorities or the Town. Even anonymous tips are appreciated."
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