Why a Mass. police chief sent an officer to get a nude massage

Suspicions about a new spa in Maynard began to develop in early July when a paper sign was placed in the window of a vacant commercial space on the town’s main street.

In a small town like Maynard, a suburb nearly 30 miles northwest of Boston, any new business could draw attention. But there was something odd about the fact that a spa had cropped up in town seemingly without going through any official channels, the town’s police chief explained.

“When … people start going in and out and no one is really aware of what’s going on there, it raises a little bit more of a red flag,” Maynard Police Chief Christopher Troiano said in a Monday afternoon interview from the department’s headquarters.

As police continued to dig, tips from residents trickled in. Some linked the phone number of the business, Asian Spa, to multiple websites known for advertising commercial sex. Officers surveilled the business and spoke to several men who said they had been offered sexual favors during massages.

To actually get a search warrant for the spa or make any arrests, police needed to develop probable cause.

There came a point during the investigation when police essentially determined they had done all they could without going in themselves, Troiano explained. At that point, officers felt they did not yet have the evidence necessary to meet the probable cause standard.

Troiano likened the undercover operation set up at the spa to a drug investigation, where an officer might pose as someone looking to buy drugs to ensnare a dealer or supplier.

So on Aug. 1, an officer set up a massage appointment for 5 p.m. at the spa. Inside, he was met by a woman who identified herself as “ChiChi” who led him to a private room and instructed him to disrobe.

The woman pulled the officer’s underwear off, and massaged his entire body thoroughly. As the massage went on, she repeatedly offered him a sexual act for an additional payment. The officer declined.

“We’re very wary of the line that we can stay within,” Troiano said. “We have excellent officers. They do a really good job. They know the rules, they know what they can [and] they can’t do.”

The International Association of Chiefs of Police has determined that officers should never engage in sexual contact with civilians while on duty, including while undercover. Federal prosecutors recently went over that point in a scathing report documenting misdeeds in the Worcester Police Department.

“Sexual touching is not necessary to effect an arrest for buying or selling sex under Massachusetts law,” the report reads.

Regardless of the situation, any undercover operation is carefully planned and supervised, Troiano explained.

“Any type of operation like this is very closely managed, right? It’s not just kind of thrown together hastily,” he said, adding the department has specific policies in place to govern undercover operations.

Those policies are in place to ensure not just that officers don’t cross the line but also to ensure they stay safe in a situation they don’t have control over, Troiano said.

Ultimately, two people were arrested and charged after police obtained a warrant for the spa at 107 Main St. Jianping Wu, 68, of Malden, and Meiying Cheng, 57, of Flushing, New York, are both charged with maintaining a house of prostitution and deriving support from a house of prostitution. They also face the misdemeanor charge of keeping a house of prostitution.

Cheng, the woman who identified herself as “ChiChi,” is also charged with sexual conduct for a fee.

Officers found several utility bills in Wu’s name inside the spa, and during an interview, she “[contradicted] herself and was unable to provide explanations regarding the spa, how she got there, and who the owner was.”

Cheng told police she normally lives in Flushing, New York, but was introduced to the spa by a friend-of-a-friend, whose name she did not know. That person then drove her to Massachusetts, where she has been living since.

Cheng had been previously charged for prostitution in Houston, Texas, according to police.

An investigation into the spa is still ongoing, including whether human trafficking is taking place at the business, Troiano said.

While no one else has been charged, police found luggage in the spa that indicated other people had been living there, Troiano said.

A judge set $10,000 bail for Wu and $5,000 for Cheng, and both women were held in lieu of posting bail. Court records show Cheng is now in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.