03-01-2007“It started to be a problem and we took care of it. That’s what we do,” said Warsaw Police Department Detective Tony Faucett when asked about prostitution in Warsaw.
During a press conference at the Warsaw Police Department Wednesday, Faucett answered media questions about the arrest of Myong Suk Demorales Monday afternoon. Faucett traveled to Georgia and was present when Demorales was arrested in Gwinnett County.
Faucett was the detective in charge of the two-year investigation that uncovered illegal activity in at least two establishments in Indiana and other states as well.
The investigation started two years ago when Faucett started enforcing an ordinance created to regulate massage parlors in Warsaw.
Through the course of the investigation, Demorales and another woman, Song McCray, allegedly offered bribes to Faucett as he was conducting inspections of VIP-The Office Spa. The women reportedly offered Faucett money to overlook violations of the ordinance.
Warrants have been issued for McCray’s arrest, but she has not yet been taken into custody.
“Song McCray is not in custody. We are not sure where she’s at,” said Faucett.
During the investigation, police discovered that VIP-The Office Spa in Warsaw and VIP Tanning in Fort Wayne had ties to each other. At one time McCray owned both businesses, but she reportedly sold VIP-The Office Spa to Demorales within the past month or two. When McCray owned VIP-The Office Spa, Demorales managed the business.
Demorales previously ran at least two massage parlors at different times in Gwinnett County; however, no charges currently are pending against her in Georgia.
“I’ve been here 17 years, and (prostitution) has been going on ever since I have been here,” Faucett said. “But it was not on this scale.”
Faucett said that at any given time, three or four women worked at each of the businesses in Warsaw and Fort Wayne. The women would stay in the town for three to four weeks and earn $8,000 to $10,000, then move on to another location.
Women working in the establishments came from all over the United States. Faucett said most of the men who visited the business were from other counties and states.
Faucett said that the more he looked into the business, the bigger the case grew.
“The more we learned about the business and its ties in other states,” said Faucett, “it kept developing from there. Every time we were about to shut (VIP-The Office Spa) down, another door opened and we found more information.”
The two-year investigation also put a strain on the Warsaw Police Detective Division.
“When the investigation started, we were already down one detective,” Faucett said. “It took a lot of time for me to do this investigation, so I was not assigned as many cases as usual. And our secretary has spent a lot of time transcribing and typing hours and hours of audio tape. ... Every conversation (I had with them) was audiotaped. I was wearing a recording device.”
The investigation, however, is not over, and more arrests are possible.
“We have a lot of paperwork to go through,” Faucett said, adding that more charges are possible depending on what is discovered in the evidence. “There are documents and bank accounts. We still have surveillance video to go through.”
Demorales currently is in custody in Gwinnett County (Ga.) Jail where she will remain until the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department makes arrangements to bring her back to Warsaw. She faces charges for promoting prostitution, corrupt business influence and three counts of bribery, all Class C felonies.