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Published: September 2, 2005

Local News: Rockford
Shut-down spa asks about reopening

By CORINA CURRY, Rockford Register Star
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ROCKFORD -- A massage parlor that was shut down after an FBI-led prostitution raid in February is inquiring with the city about how the business could reopen.


An attorney for Myung Ok Lee, who the city says owned and operated a health spa that was a front for prostitution and human trafficking, said he would not confirm whether his client or anyone else intends to reopen the Tokyo Oriental Spa on Broadway. But it should be allowed to reopen, he said.


"There is no reason there can't be spas in Rockford as long as they operate within the limits of the law," said Dan Cain, who is representing Lee. "It's no different than a bar reopening where a bar was closed or a supermarket. If it's run properly, a spa is as legitimate a business as any other."



"It really begs the question if they ever were legitimate spas in the first place," said Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Cacciapaglia, who has been working to keep the seven shuttered health spas permanently shut down. "The effect on the community is devastating and more so on the women used in this business. It's inhumane."


Cacciapaglia said a representative for Lee asked her in recent weeks what the zoning requirements would be to reopen the Tokyo. She said she directed him to the zoning department.


Nothing has been filed with the city to move forward with such a plan.


Authorities say 13 people ran seven underground sex businesses in Rockford from 1998 until this year, using Asian-themed massage parlors as fronts for prostitution. Officials believe female illegal immigrants were forced to live and work at the spas where men would come and go at all hours, paying $60 to $140 for various sex acts. The 13 owners and operators face federal racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy charges.