High Wind Warning for Rochester and points west. Wind Advisory for areas east. Gusts from mph possible. Just after 11 a. Investigator Jon Anthony Gallo said that their work began with community tips to law enforcement and local news agencies like CNY Central starting in early June. Shoppers using the neighboring Tops Friendly Market and other stores in the strip mall began noticing suspicious activity when the "wellness spa" opened its doors, which led to Gallo's team beginning to surveil the property.
Gallo said the women they arrested were put in a difficult situation, acknowledging they are victims in a much broader scheme. Investigators said there are likely around 20 similar locations offering illegal sex acts just in Onondaga County alone, linked to organized crime in Flushing, New York.
That neighborhood is home to the largest "Chinatown" in New York City; Gallo explained that the human traffickers there offer women living in desperate situations in China a pathway to the United States, often promising a lucrative job in the New York City or Long Island area.
Instead, they are shipped up to a somewhat random location like the Town of Van Buren, faced with providing sex acts as the only way to pay off the "debt" they incurred through traveling to the U.
Now in handcuffs in the back of a New York State Trooper vehicle, Gallo said that the next step for law enforcement is to try to get them help, which in turn can help investigators climb further up the food chain of the trafficking ring. According to Gallo, the two women will not necessarily face jail time and will instead be brought to a trooper headquarters location for interviews. He said the primary concern is that they will likely just be issued appearance tickets, at which point handlers associated with the trafficking ring will likely be able to track them down.
