GREENWOOD, Ind – Greenwood city officials hope to see something other than Golden Spa at the busy corner of Main Street and U.S. 31 following a second prostitution arrest in a little over a year.
Greenwood police arrested 54-year-old Changli Su on a preliminary charge of prostitution Monday. Assistant Chief Matt Fillenwarth said the arrest was made after an undercover detective scheduled a one-hour massage as part of a regular check-up on the business’ operation.
“About halfway through the massage, the female that was doing the massage basically propositioned the detective,” Fillenwarth said.
Fillenwarth said Su is a Chinese immigrant who came to Indiana from New York, and she identified herself as a partial owner of Golden Spa.
The circumstances of Su’s arrest were very similar to the arrest of Zhi Huang at Golden Spa last August. Huang was arrested after allegedly touching a Greenwood police officer inappropriately during a scheduled massage. She also told police she had come from New York after immigrating from China.
Fillenwarth said Su and Huang both told police they were working at Golden Spa of their own free will, so human trafficking was not suspected. But police do see indications that the two cases are related to a larger prostitution operation spanning beyond Indiana.
“Establishments like this deal a lot in cash, so following that money isn’t necessarily that easy,” Fillenwarth said. “In one of the past ones, the girls came from San Francisco. The last two came from New York. That’s were your immigrants are coming in, on your coasts.”
After Huang’s arrest last year, Golden Spa closed down. But Su was able to obtain a massage parlor permit from Greenwood police in January of this year. Although the Golden Spa name was the same, the business was under different ownership, Fillenwarth said. Greenwood police had no reason to deny the permit because it is very common for Asian women to apply for permits in order to open Asian massage businesses, Fillenwarth said.
Greenwood police intend to revoke the permits for Golden Spa after a hearing set for October 20, which leads to the question of what will happen next for the business.
Located at the busy corner of Main Street and U.S. 31, the property would seem to have a prime location for success. Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers wants to see something new, rather than a different business owner opening another massage parlor with the Golden Spa name.
“It is a prime piece of property, it’s right in the heart of Greenwood,” Myers said. “So we want this property to turn around and to be a strong economic impact for the community.”
Myers wants any new business opening at the location to fit into the ongoing efforts to revitalize Greenwood’s downtown and main corridors.
“We want something that’s going to be a legitimate economically fundamental business for the community,” Myers said.
The property is owned by Collins Property, LLC, based in downtown Indianapolis. Collins Property did not return a request for information about who is leasing the space for Golden Spa.
While it is up to Collins Property to decide who to lease to, Myers hopes to share his concerns with them.
“We hope that we will find a new tenant for that facility, or that the owner will find a new tenant for that facility and something that’s really going to enhance our downtown,” Myers said. “The location is a good location. Sometimes you don’t get the best tenants. Hopefully the owner will see that and make a change.”
