Massage parlor prostitution bust spans from Naples to Tallahassee

Melissa Montoya | The News-Press

Show Caption Hide Caption FDLE: Asian massage parlors were brothels Thirteen massage parlors were shut down across Florida because authorities say they were being used as brothels.

Authorities arrested six people and are searching for a seventh in connection to a prostitution ring operating out of Asian massage parlors across Florida.

The parlors span from as south as Naples and as north as Tallahassee.

The leaders of the operation include:

Robert Neil Jones, 67, of Naples

Xuan Lang, 47, of Naples

Jun Lang, 40, of Naples

Jing Zhang, 32,

Ziyi Lang, 44, of Naples

Lian Ming Ma, 61, of Tallahassee

Jing Zhong, 50, of Tallahassee, is still at large

They will be charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, money laundering and deriving proceeds from the support of prostitution, according to Shane Pollard, a special agent in charge of the Fort Myers division of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The investigation originated in Sarasota County where three of the massage parlors are located.

In total, 13 were shut down — seven in Naples, three in Sarasota and on each in Cape Coral, Bradenton and Tallahassee.

Capt. Tom Storrar, who supervises the Homeland Security Division of the Collier County Sheriff's Office, said the Sarasota Police Department approached them in 2014 to let them know about the prostitution.

Storrar said the agencies have been working the case for about three years now. He called it a "long-term, complex, conspiratorial type case."

"This is a type of result we would expect out of a cooperative effort," Storrar said.

The women offered sex acts in exchange for extra money after completing the massage, Pollard said.

Ten women were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit RICO violations, a first-degree felony.

"There was a coordinated effort to transport Asian females to all the different locations and it was also a coordinated strategy to advertise the business and solicit customers," Pollard said. "At this point what we are doing is we are interviewing all females we’ve identified during this investigation to determine if there are any elements of human trafficking."

When asked if the women were U.S. citizens, Pollard said: "All I can say is they entered the country legally."

Pollard said authorities are working with organizations that focus on human trafficking to determine if the women are victims.

But, he said, it's a difficult process.

"If someone is a victim of human trafficking, psychologically they may not believe they can get help," Pollard said. "Sometimes it takes multiple contacts with someone for them to disclose that."

Pollard said it's too soon to tell what will happen to the women involved.

Jones was taken into custody by FDLE agents in Hawaii, where he has a second home, Pollard said. He is married to Xuan Lang, who is related to the rest of the main players, Pollard said.

"These people will not be operating another prostitution business for a long time," Pollard said.

Pollard said it was important to dismantle this organization to determine whether human trafficking was a part of it, he said.

"Where there is smoke, there is fire," he said.

Brothels in Plain Sight

Naples

Asian Massage of Naples, 5007 Tamiami Trail E.

Asian Massage, 5019 Tamiami Trail E.

Asian Massage of Naples, 2800 Davis Blvd.

Asian Massage of Naples, 2033 Pine Ridge Rd.

Asian Massage, 5600 Trail Blvd.

Asian Massage, 10565 Trail Blvd.

Asian Massage, 5644 Tavilla Circle

Cape Coral

Jade Spa, 428 Del Prado Boulevard N.

Sarasota

Asian Massage, 2130 Bispham Rd.

Asian Spa 1974, Adams Ln.

Asian Massage, 4502 N. Tamiami Trail

Bradenton

Asian Massage, 1503 57th Ave. West

Tallahassee

Jade Spa, 326 Williams St.