Steve Lieberman

slieberm@lohud.com

Seven women face charges of prostitution and giving unlicensed massages after sting operations at five Clarkstown spas over a six-month period.

The undercover operation ran from November to May, marking the latest crack-down on front companies offering massages paired with offers of illicit activities for an extra fee.

Based upon complaints from residents and police surveillance, undercover officers made several visits each to Z Green Spa, 159 Route 304, Nanuet; Keum Tree Spa, 255 South Little Tor Road, New City; Nanuet Spa, 344 W. Route 59; New City Spa, 55-71 S. Main St.; and Nyack Health Spa, 9 Ingalls St., Nyack.

The stings were conducted by Clarkstown police detectives and District Attorney's Office investigators, along with prosecutors with the District Attorney's Office special victims and community prosecution bureaus.

Police departments across Rockland have cracked down on such businesses for years. Many times, the spas have a workforce from a particular ethnic background such as Asian, Russian or Hispanic women. Some of the cases have been linked to human sex trafficking.

The women working at these five spas were generally in their 40s – one was 53 – and Asian. Four live in Flushing Queens, two live on Palisades Park, N.J., and one is from Spring Valley.

All seven women were charged with a misdemeanor count of prostitution and a felony count of unauthorized practice for not having a state massage license. The felony carries a maximum prison term of four years.

The following people were charged:

■Gyelim Choi, 41, of 4265 Colton St., Flushing, Queens, was arrested at Keum Tree Spa.

■Yeongae Kim, 45, of 71 E. Palisades Blvd., Palisades Park, N.J., was arrested at Green Spa, 159 Route 304, Bardonia.

■Jishu Li, 48, of 137-02 Northern Blvd., Flushing, Queens, was arrested at New City Spa, 59 S. Main St.

• Chun Ji Tian, 44, of 40 Union Road, Spring Valley, was arrested at Keum Tree Spa, 6 New Valley Road, New City.

• Hwa Kim, 38, of 143-51 Roosevely Ave., Flushing, was arrested at New City Spa, 59 S.Main Street, New City.

• Pan Zi Sherry, 53, of 139-19 34th Street, Flushing, Queens, was arrested at Nanuet Spa, 344 W Route 59, Nanuet.

• Mihwa Kim, 43, of 10 Henry St., Palisades Park, N.J, was arrested at the Nyack Health Spa, 9 Ingalls St., Nyack.

Along with the criminal charges, Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said the Rockland County Attorney's Office is taking civil action to seek fines against the spa operators and employers and landlords who leased out their property to the businesses.

"This joint operation clearly demonstrates our emphasis on 'quality of life' crimes, including prostitution," Zugibe said Monday. "While some may call prostitution a victimless crime, it often leads to other illegal activity, including human trafficking, drug sales and violence."