NORTHAMPTON — The alleged ringleader stood, not saying a word, as the prosecutor walked a judge through details of the multi-state sex trafficking operation authorities say was run by 52-year-old Shuzi Li.
The West Springfield woman remained expressionless as a Mandarin translator recited back the accusations read by Assistant Massachusetts Attorney General Elizabeth Vasiliades — that Li transported young Asian women from New York to her western Massachusetts massage businesses, that the women provided sexual favors to male clients for cash tips, that Li advertised the services online and often pocketed the bulk of their earnings.
One day, Vasiliades told the judge, a $29,000 Tiffany & Company ring was delivered to Li at the shop.
Websites like rubmaps.com featured Li’s Northampton massage parlor, Pine Spa, and promised 60-minute sessions for $60 — cash only. Those sessions were rated by users using screen names such as “lustful69.” Investigators also determined that accounts associated with Li paid to advertise Pine Spa and the related Agawam Massage Therapy on Craigslist.
Pine Spa is housed in a collection of small businesses at a plaza at 176 Pine St. in Florence that is often frequented by families eating a meal out or picking up an item at the convenience store. A Northampton Health Department condemnation order could be seen posted on the spa’s front door Wednesday morning.
Li pleaded not guilty in Northampton District Court Wednesday to charges of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution, and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that Li housed the 10 or so victims in apartments in Amherst and West Springfield, as well as at inside the massage shops themselves.
Arguing that Li was a potential flight risk, Vasiliades requested a half-million-dollar bail. She said: “I would ask your honor to consider the gravity of what has occurred here to the victims as well.”
Li’s defense counsel, Rachel Weber, countered that her client denies knowledge of any of the alleged illegal activities. “There’s nothing to suggest she was directly involved.”
Judge W. Michael Goggins set Li’s bail at $100,000 cash.
The joint investigation led by the state Attorney General’s Office and Northampton police into the alleged trafficking of women between New York and Massachusetts also led to the arrests of Feng Ling Liu, 50, her husband Jian Song, 48, both of Sunderland, and Liu’s daughter, Ting Ting Yin, 26, of New Hyde Park, New York.
Authorities say that Liu and Song operate Hadley Massage Therapy on Route 9 in that town, Feng Health Center in East Longmeadow and Massage Body Work in Framingham, all of which were allegedly fronts for “extensive human trafficking operations,” according to the attorney general’s office.
Feng Ling Liu and Jian Song were scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown on charges of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution, money laundering and conspiracy. The arraignment was postponed until Thursday because an interpreter was not available to translate for the couple, according to court officials. Hadley Massage Therapy was also the target of a multi-agency raid in the fall of 2009 in which two women were arrested on charges of offering sexual conduct for a fee.
While the two operations are similar in nature, they are not related, authorities said.
Pine Spa, in addition to three other area massage establishments — Revival Body Work & Massage, Relax and Wellness Asian Massage and Therapeutic Body Works, all located in Northampton — were investigated by Northampton police and health officials beginning in April 2014, after allegations of offering sexual contact for money came to light, according to Northampton police.
The investigation did not result in any arrests, but the businesses were cited for various civil violations and all but Pine Spa eventually shut down.
Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper said in an email that the previous investigation into Pine Spa NoHo was a separate investigation and was not connected to this new complaint. This investigation was launched in spring 2016, according to the attorney general’s office.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.