The woman arrested in Georgia on charges of promoting prostitution and bribery has be extradited to Warsaw.
Myong Suk Demorales, 52, of Lawrenceville, Ga., was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail around 10:08 p.m. Tuesday on one count of promoting prostitution. Her bond is $200,000.Demorales was taken into custody in Georgia Feb. 26 after officers from the Warsaw Police Department and the Kosciusko County Drug Task Force served warrants at her Lawrenceville residence.
The warrants for her arrest came after a two-year investigation into local massage parlors. Demorales managed and then purchased VIP-The Office Spa in Warsaw and had ties to VIP Tanning in Fort Wayne. She also had connections to similar businesses in other states, including Georgia.
Demorales faces one count of corrupt business influence, one count of promoting prostitution and three counts of bribery, all Class C felonies.
Although Demorales lists her actual residence as Lawrenceville, she also has an apartment in Warsaw.
During the police investigation into improper practices and ordinance violations, Demorales reportedly offered bribes to Warsaw Police Detective Tony Faucett, who was assigned to monitor the licensing and ordinance compliance of massage establishments in Warsaw. Demorales allegedly attempted to bribe Faucett to overlook ordinance violations by Demorales and her employees.
As part of the undercover investigation, Faucett took the bribes and collected them as evidence in the case.
Equipment in VIP-The Office Spa and the contents of Demorales' Warsaw apartment were seized Feb. 26 and forfeiture proceedings have started in Kosciusko Circuit Court.
More charges related to money laundering and tax evasion at VIP-The Office Spa and other businesses as well as their employees continue to be investigated because of information uncovered by both local and federal officials.
The U.S. Attorney's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigations both also were involved in the investigation.
