Martin County sheriff cracks down on 'illicit spas'

The Martin County sheriff announced Wednesday that he believes he has identified all of the county's illegal massage parlors and is more than halfway to closing them. Sheriff William Snyder said he identified seven massage parlors in total: Oriental Spa, Green Massage, Water Cube. Massage, Palm Spa, Asian Sports Massage, Massage Orchid and Le Mandarin Massage and Spa. Snyder said Oriental Spa, Green Massage, Water Cube Massage and Palm Spa have all been closed. He thinks the other three will close soon. Snyder said they had been working on these investigations for five years, when neighbors began filing complaints with the sheriff's office. “The surrounding businesses were just fed up with this activity,” Snyder said. “Men come and go all day, take up parking spaces, enter their businesses to take advantage of the air conditioning and wait their turn.” Snyder said that's when his office began sending undercover agents into spas to collect evidence. It took years. to assemble the files and start closing the spas. “Sometimes justice has to be served coldly,” Snyder said. “And it's taken me and my good detectives this long to work on these cases and finally get rid of what I think is a real blight in this county.” Snyder said it's not just about prostitution. “These massage parlors, the ones that are illicit, invariably end up in human trafficking activities, are invariably criminal racketeering and money laundering enterprises,” he said. Snyder said that his office had also targeted spa owners, telling them they must either evict them or be arrested themselves for allowing illegal activities to continue. He said the owners have so far chosen. to cooperate with law enforcement.