After five women were arrested for an alleged prostitution operation at 148 Princeton-Hightstown Road on February 15, Mayor Hsueh and the West Windsor Police Department have become adamant about stopping a disturbing trend in the area.
The February arrests came less than 18 months after three other raids on massage parlors in the vicinity: Bodyworks Massage at 83 Princeton-Hightstown Road, Oriental Moon Massage at 702 Alexander Road, and Min’s Health Center on 222 Washington Road, in October, 2010. In October, 2009, two women were arrested for suspected prostitution at the Asran House massage therapy in Suite 208 of the office building at 55 Princeton-Hightstown Road. The houses in which these operations took place were all rented and zoned as commercial properties.
West Windsor Police Lieutenant Brian Melnick says locations along Princeton-Hightstown Road have been attractive to criminals wanting to set up such operations, because it is close to Routes 1 and 130, I-95 and the Princeton Junction train station. The location had been advertised in newspaper and online ads for the massage businesses.
“With large homes in a commercial area, access to it is easy and it’s convenient to find. They’re advertised as such in newspapers and adult personals,” he said.
Neighbors were alert to the presence of these operations, and with resident concerns sparking the latest investigation, Mayor Hsueh has decided to put forth a decree. “It is unacceptable to have this in this community, and my direction to the police department is that we have to do whatever it takes to prevent this from happening again in West Windsor,” Hsueh said.
A long-term solution will soon come before council as Lt. Melnick proposed an idea for winning West Windsor’s war on prostitution: a new official township ordinance.
“We could regulate the massage therapy locations based upon an ordinance that would require different certifications and regulations. That’s something that we are working on now and it would be the main method of control in the future. We think it would not only impact where they set up, but how they do business and who the employees are — whether or not they are certified would matter,” Melnick said.
Township Attorney Michael W. Herbert is currently working on drafting the ordinance, and Herbert says it will include a requirement for masseuses to have certification or licensure.
Council President Kamal Khanna said council would move quickly to adopt such legislation once it came before them, but he and Mayor Hsueh insist a crackdown on all massage businesses will not be the fix.
Although the West Windsor Police do take special notice of massage parlors that open, Mayor Hsueh says it is unfair to legitimate massage businesses in the township who have worried about presenting a negative connotation because of the prostitution incidents. Khanna said Council will remember that effect when it reviews the ordinance.
“The question is are there some bad elements, such as hurting the chances of the legitimate establishments? I think we need to separate those two. If there’s an ordinance that can be passed that will protect those that are going to set up massage businesses legally, we will do that,” Khanna said.
Lt. Melnick agreed with that assessment and said the police do not harbor any unjustified suspicion. “We don’t just assume, because of the recent trend, that when a massage or therapy business opens up that there will be illegal activity going on there. You can’t just make that assumption because there are legitimate ones and there are customers who use them to treat injuries and such,” Melnick says.
Hours of operation may also be addressed with an ordinance. In the most recent case, Melnick said the “massage business” was observed to be running (very busily) until 10 p.m. on a nightly basis but no after-hours activity was recorded in the police investigation. While Melnick could not provide details of operations that the police went through as the investigation is continuing, he affirmed that neighbors’ complaints about constant activity in and out of the house led police to investigate.
“Some of the residents who live in the area were not happy about the constant traffic coming in and out,” Melnick said.
Charges filed against the suspected leader of the recent operation, 46-year-old Jie Mao, were for maintaining a nuisance and prostitution. Melnick says both charges are based on illegal activity, documented through police searches of computer files and a ledger with customers’ names, telephone numbers, what each person paid, as well as their appointment times.
The criminal charges are now under the review of the Mercer County prosecutor’s office. Mayor Hsueh says that because of the agencies that the township had to work with, including the FBI, West Windsor must be cautious in presenting the case. Everything must be handled with attention to the legal details, the mayor says.
Khanna said he was glad that the police, administration and FBI got to the bottom of the latest case, but what the outcome in court will be is still unclear. “Hopefully they’ve done a good job to nail it,” Khanna said.
Mayor Hsueh has advised Chief Pica to consult with Herbert if need be, and Herbert says Lt. Melnick is working with his office to draft the ordinance appropriately.
Although other towns publicize the names of all participants in prostitution cases, for West Windsor that may not be a crime fighting method. Mayor Hsueh says that regardless of anyone’s opinion on it, the matter becomes a legal consideration for the township first and foremost.
“It is our understanding that some of the judicial branches are not ready to accept the charges, and with the high-level involvement we need to make sure to bring a strong case before them,” Mayor Hsueh said.
Melnick said the evidence recovered from the house provided enough for the police to do so.
“We will use the information we obtained within the house to prove our charge. We already had probable cause to believe there was prostitution going on there but we can fortify that with the data we have,” Melnick said.
#b#More Details on the February 15 bust:#/b# According to Melnick the investigation at 148 Princeton-Hightstown Road started over four months ago when calls from neighbors kept coming to the department. Detective Mark Lee responded to the community’s concerns by stopping in one day last fall to speak with the occupants about the complaints. An investigation Khanna described as “a sting operation” then commenced with police surveillance of the activities going on.
West Windsor Police do not believe that the five women arrested were living at the house full-time. There were no personal items and not many necessities found inside.
“It’s a four bedroom colonial but the bedrooms were just set up with massage tables, which is common for a massage therapy business. The house was set up so the women could stay there on occasion, although there is a possibility that Jie Mao was staying there over a prolonged period of time,” Melnick said.
Melnick says the two cars that were seized by police — a 2012 Honda CRV and a 2011 Toyota Avalon — may have been used to transport the accused prostitutes to and from the location. “They didn’t own the home, so the transportation that was used to get the accused women to the location was used in the crime,” Melnick said.
