Stoughton Woman Indicted on Prostitution Charges in Connection with Canton Spa …

The following is a press release from the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:

A Stoughton woman was indicted on Friday in connection with prostitution charges at three spas she owned and operated in Brockton, Norwood and Canton, according to Attorney General Martha Coakley. 

Terry Mussari, age 45, was indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury on charges of Deriving Support from Prostitution (3 counts); Owner of a Place of Prostitution (3 counts); Keeping a House of Ill Fame (3 counts); Minimum Wage Violation (3 counts); and Failure to Provide Suitable Paystub (3 counts). 

“We allege that this defendant regularly arranged for sexual services to be given at the three spas she owned,” said AG Coakley.  “Our office will continue to prosecute cases in which legitimate businesses serve as fronts for illegal activities.”

In spring 2011, State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office, in conjunction with the Boston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, began an investigation into allegations of prostitution at three spas owned and operated by Mussari. 

The three spas were Aria Day Spa in Brockton (on the Brockton/Easton town line), Sparkle Day Spa in Canton (in Cobbs Corner), and Spa Bellissimo in Norwood.

During the course of the investigation, authorities developed evidence indicating that all three spas were allegedly offering sexual activity between masseuses employed by Mussari and their clients in exchange for cash that was characterized as “tips.” 

In October 2011, State Police officers assigned to the AG’s Office, along with local and federal authorities, executed search warrants at all three spa locations. 

Authorities subsequently arrested Mussari at the Aria Day Spa in Brockton and she was arraigned in Brockton District Court on October 24, 2011. 

A Statewide Grand Jury returned indictments against Mussari on March 30, 2012.  She is scheduled to be arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court at a later date.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Anne Kaczmarek of AG Coakley’s Enterprise and Major Crimes Division, with assistance from State Police assigned to the AG’s Office.  The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office, the State Police CAT team, the State Police Division of Field Services, the Boston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Canton Police and the Norwood Police also assisted in this case.

Canton spa owner indicted on prostitution charges

A woman who owned spas in Canton, Brockton and Norwood was indicted March 30 in connection with prostitution charges at the spas, Attorney General Coakley announced.

Terry Mussari, 45, of Stoughton, was indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury on charges of deriving support from prostitution (3 counts), owner of a place of prostitution (3 counts), keeping a house of ill fame (3 counts), minimum wage violation (3 counts), and failure to provide suitable paystub (3 counts). 

“We allege that this defendant regularly arranged for sexual services to be given at the three spas she owned,” Coakley.  “Our office will continue to prosecute cases in which legitimate businesses serve as fronts for illegal activities.”

In spring 2011, State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office, in conjunction with the Boston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, began an investigation into allegations of prostitution at three spas owned and operated by Mussari.  The three spas were Aria Day Spa in Brockton, Sparkle Day Spa in Canton, and Spa Bellissimo in Norwood.  During the course of the investigation, authorities said they developed evidence indicating that all three spas were allegedly offering sexual activity between masseuses employed by Mussari and their clients in exchange for cash that was characterized as “tips.”

In October 2011, State Police officers assigned to the Attorney General’s Office, along with local and federal authorities, executed search warrants at all three spa locations.  Authorities subsequently arrested Mussari at the Aria Day Spa in Brockton and she was arraigned in Brockton District Court Oct. 24. 

She is scheduled to be arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court at a later date.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Anne Kaczmarek of AG Coakley’s Enterprise and Major Crimes Division, with assistance from State Police assigned to the AG’s Office.  The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office, the State Police CAT team, the State Police Division of Field Services, the Boston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Canton Police and the Norwood Police also assisted in this case.

Stoughton woman at the center of Brockton sex spa controversy continues to be …

Three months after being charged with deriving support from prostitution at her city spa, Terry Mussari is still behind the desk at a spa in the same location.

The spa has changed names – from Aria Day Spa to Spa One – and changed owners. But Mussari has been seen in the store repeatedly since her initial arrest, often behind the front desk.

On Tuesday, she gave a female reporter who inquired at the spa a business card and pointed out “our” prices for spa services.

Mussari, her husband and an unidentified woman later asked a male reporter to leave when he attempted to ask questions at the spa. The woman, who would not give her name, repeatedly denied that Mussari was an employee, calling her a “friend.”

“There’s no reason she can’t be here … Why don’t you leave her alone?” the woman said.

The owner of Spa One, Christina Bocchino, told the Enterprise earlier this month that Mussari was not connected with the business, that she was just “moving things out.”

Authorities said at the time that there was no legal reason preventing Mussari from being in the building. On Tuesday, the attorney general’s office said they are looking into the matter.

“We are aware that the defendant has been seen on the property of her former spa location,” said Emalie Gainey, spokesperson for Attorney General Martha Coakley. “We are currently reviewing the matter to determine if any further action may be appropriate.”

The spa is located in Michael’s Plaza on Belmont Street, near the Easton line.

State police and FBI on Oct. 22 raided the spa and two others in Canton and Norwood where authorities allege employees exchanged sex for cash “tips” and sold drugs to clients and one another.

A prosecutor said Mussari, the spas’ owner and a Stoughton resident, offered an undercover state trooper 12 women who would perform sex services during a “private party” at the Brockton spa in exchange for $1,720.

Mussari, 45, pleaded not guilty to a charge of deriving support from prostitution. Her lawyer has called the accusations embellished and devoid of important information.

She is due back in Brockton District Court on Feb. 28.

Mussari ran a spa in Easton also investigated for prostitution in 2003. Months later, she faced a charge of operating a massage parlor with unlicensed personnel, but it was dismissed in Taunton District Court.

Mussari’s attorney, Kevin Reddington of Brockton, who is representing Mussari on the criminal matter, did not return a call seeking comment on his client’s relationship with Spa One. William Sims of Brockton, who represents Mussari on licensing and business matters, also did not return a call seeking comment.

Justin Graeber may be reached at jgraeber@enterprisenews.com or follow him on Twitter @justingraeber.

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Brockton businesswoman hopes for clean break from spa’s past

The new owner of a spa opening at the site of the former Aria Day Spa says she wants a clean break with that location’s troubled past.

The owner of the now-closed Aria Day Spa, Terry Mussari, is facing charges in Brockton District Court of receiving support from prostitution. She was scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Monday, but it was rescheduled to Feb. 28.

Christina Bocchino is the owner of Spa One, which recently opened in the former location of Aria in Michael’s Plaza on Belmont Street in Brockton.

Bocchino said Tuesday she doesn’t want any of the “drama” of the location’s previous owner to affect her business. She is offering to honor gift certificates from Aria in an attempt to make the transition positive.

Mussari is free after posting $2,000 bail and was seen behind the desk at Spa One by a reporter on Tuesday. Bocchino said Mussari is merely continuing to move her equipment out of the site and has no affiliation with the new business. Authorities said there is no legal order keeping Mussari away from the premises.

In October, Mussari was charged after state police and the FBI raided three spas she owned, including the Aria Day Spa in Brockton, Sparkle Day Spa in Canton and Spa Bellissimo in Norwood.

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Alleged Brockton ‘spa madam’ seen at former storefront; new owner has troubled …

The new owner of a spa that was accused of prostitution has a criminal record that includes stealing an elderly man’s wallet while attempting to give him a back massage, and she was described as a habitual drug offender in court records.

Christina Bocchino, 35, of 821 West St., Stoughton, is the new owner of Spa One, which is located in the same space that previously housed the Aria Day Spa on Belmont Street, Route 123, Brockton.

Aria was one of three area businesses at the center of an alleged prostitution ring led by Terri Mussari, also of Stoughton, who is facing charges of deriving support from prostitution.

City records show that Bocchino registered the business on Dec. 6, 2011, a certificate good for four years.

Brockton City Solicitor Phil Nessralla is a part-owner of Michael’s Plaza, the strip mall that houses the spa. He said last month that Mussari was no longer a tenant, although she has been seen inside the new spa multiple times by a reporter – once even taking a message for the new owner.

Nessralla did not return phone calls this week. Authorities have said there is no legal reason Mussari has to stay away from the building.

Bocchino said on Tuesday that Mussari is not associated with her business and was merely moving out her things when she was seen there. Mussari’s attorney, Kevin Reddington of Brockton, did not return phone calls seeking clarification of Mussari’s role in the business.

Bocchino has a criminal past as she was convicted of larceny of under $250 from a person over 60 or disabled, charges stemming from a 2009 incident in Whitman. In that case, Bocchino approached the victim in the parking lot of a pizza store and offered him a back massage, according to the police report filed in court. When the man tried to get away, she stole his wallet, the papers state.

Bocchino was sentenced to jail time in that case, but received a suspended sentence, court records show. However, after missing numerous drug tests and getting caught trying to tamper with a urine specimen by a probation officer, she was sentenced to 153 days in jail on July 11, 2011, the records show.

Bocchino was described as having a “long history of opiate and cocaine addiction and noncompliance with probation,” in a notice of probation detention hearing form from June 2011 filed in court.

It is unclear if she served any of the jail time.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Correction said she could only confirm if someone is an active inmate, which Bocchino is not.

Her record also includes convictions on charges of resisting arrest, assault with a dangerous weapon, shoplifting and larceny, court records dating back to 1999 show.

Bocchino did not respond to messages left in person and by phone at Spa One on Wednesday. A reporter visiting the storefront to get her comment left a message with Mussari.

An attorney who represented Bocchino in her most recent court case also did not return calls seeking comment.

Bocchino has a cosmetology license, issued in 2007, according to the state licensing board website, and has no record of discipline from that agency.

In October, Mussari was charged after state police and the FBI raided three spas she owned, including the Aria Day Spa in Brockton, Sparkle Day Spa in Canton and Spa Bellissimo in Norwood.

Justin Graeber may be reached at jgraeber@enterprisenews.com or follow him on Twitter @justingraeber.

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Reputed Brockton sex spa for sale

The Stoughton woman accused of running a prostitution ring out of day spas she owns in Brockton, Canton and Norwood  is fielding offers to sell all three businesses after voluntarily surrendering her state licenses, her lawyer said Friday.
   The state’s licensing agency said Friday Terry Mussari  had surrendered all her state licenses for the spas, including three cosmetology facility licenses and one individual license for massage therapy, following cease-and-desist orders.
   In the surrender agreements, the state Division of Professional Licensure said she admitted  she did not have licenses for massage therapy facilities and her conduct violated applicable statutes and regulations.
        Mussari is the owner of Aria Day Spa in Brockton, Spa Bellissimo in Norwood and Sparkle Day Spa in Canton.
       “She has been approached to sell the business and the offers we have been negotiating are extremely attractive,” said  Williams Sims, her attorney. “The licenses, she does need to have. She wasn’t going to be maintaining her ownership interest.”r
    Mussari’s licenses had been temporarily suspended by the boards on Nov. 23, after cease-and-desist orders issued on Nov. 2 prohibited the facilities from offering and providing unlicensed massage therapy services.
    “By surrendering the licenses, Terry Mussari cannot practice in the fields of cosmetology and massage therapy, and she cannot reopen the cosmetology facilities,”  Mark Kmetz,  director of the Division of Professional Licensure, said in an agency statement.
    “Our investigators will continue to monitor the locations to ensure they are not operating without a license,” he said.
 Sims,  who with attorney Kevin Reddington is representing Mussari,  said the decision to give up her licenses was “strictly business” and does not indicate an admission of guilt in the criminal case against her.
   “There was no violation of any criminal statute,” Sims said, calling any admitted violations “very technical.”
The state agency determined she never had massage establishment licenses required to provide such services. She has had an individual massage therapist license since May 2008, which she has surrendered.
   Mussari was arrested on Oct. 22 following a raid by the state police and law enforcement agents. She has pleaded not guilty to a charge of deriving support from prostitution and is due back in court  Jan. 9.
   Kmetz, the state licensing official,  said by phone on Friday the criminal investigation is ongoing.
   “We certainly cooperate with law enforcement,” he said. “There are times we can’t act on all of the evidence that has been alleged. Some things have to be reserved for the criminal case.”
   Authorities allege Mussari’s employees exchanged sex for cash “tips” and sold drugs to clients and one another.
   A prosecutor said Mussari offered an undercover state trooper 12 women who would perform sex services during a “private party” at the Brockton spa in exchange for $1,720.

Brockton spa owner surrenders licenses in wake of arrest

The state’s licensing agency said Friday that Terry Mussari of Stoughton – accused of operating a prostitution ring out her day spas in Brockton, Canton and Norwood – has surrendered all her state licenses for the spas.

The Division of Professional Licensure said Mussari surrendered the licenses to the Boards of Cosmetology and Massage Therapy following cease-and-desist orders and suspension of the licenses.

Mussari surrendered three cosmetology facility licenses and one individual license for massage therapy.

In the surrender agreements, the agency said, she admitted she did not have licenses for massage therapy facilities, and her conduct violated applicable statutes and regulations.

The licenses had been temporarily suspended by the boards on Nov. 23, after cease- and-desist orders issued on Nov. 2 prohibited the facilities from offering and providing unlicensed massage therapy services.

“By surrendering the licenses, Terry Mussari cannot practice in the fields of cosmetology and massage therapy, and she cannot reopen the cosmetology facilities,” Mark Kmetz, director of the Division of Professional Licensure, said in an agency press release.

“Our investigators will continue to monitor the locations to ensure they are not operating without a license,” he said.

Mussari was the owner and operator of three day spas, Aria Day Spa in Brockton, Spa Bellissimo in Norwood, and Sparkle Day Spa in Canton. She has surrendered all three of those cosmetology facility licenses.

Mussari had an individual massage therapist license since May 2008. She also surrendered that license.

Mussari was arrested on Oct. 22 following a raid by the Massachusetts State Police and law enforcement agents. She has been criminally charged with deriving support from prostitution at the day spas.

Attorney William Sims of Brockton – who with Kevin Reddington is representing Mussari – was out of the office when a reporter called Friday afternoon and didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

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Woman says she hit bottom working at alleged sex spas in Brockton, Norwood

At first, she was scared about performing the sexual acts. But many of her male clients at Aria Day Spa in Brockton reassured her.

 “This is what goes on here,” they told her.

 Still, at 18 years old, she was reluctant about performing “happy endings” and other acts for money. The hesitancy eventually faded.

 “The first time I did it, I got $100 within five minutes,” she recalled. “I started getting addicted to the money. Paying for my apartment was easier, then I could buy more drugs. It was money I never had before.”

Over the course of several years, the woman – a former employee of two of the three day spas at the center of an investigation into prostitution and drugs – said she took part in all kinds of illegal activity, including taking cash tips for sex, using heroin at work and building a clientele of dozens of men who also paid her for sex outside of business hours.

The woman – one of three The Brockton Enterprise interviewed who used to work at the spas – described a world in which sex and money ruled her life. She asked that her name not be used for fear that she would lose her massage therapy license.

So far, the only person facing charges following an October raid of the spas by state police and FBI agents is Terry Mussari, 45, of Stoughton. The owner of Aria Day Spa in Brockton, Spa Bellissimo in Norwood and Sparkle Day Spa in Canton, Mussari has pleaded innocent to a charge of deriving support from prostitution.

A prosecutor said Mussari offered an undercover state trooper 12 women who would perform sex services during a “private party” at the Brockton spa in exchange for $1,720. Authorities allege employees, in addition to trading sex for cash, also exchanged drugs with clients, as well as one another, although no drug charges have been filed in the case.

The state has since ordered all three businesses to stop providing massage services after it was determined none of them are have the proper license.

 One of Mussari’s lawyers, William Sims, has called the allegations “embellished.” Sims, who along with attorney Kevin Reddington is representing Mussari, said if there were any sexual activity at her spas, it was isolated and that Mussari wasn’t aware of it.

He questioned the motivation of former employees who came forward to speak with a reporter. He also denied Mussari knew of any alleged drug use at her spas.

“Anybody that knows Terry Mussari knows that she is very much an opponent of drug use,” Sims said.

Reddington has called Mussari a “good businesswoman,” as well as a wife and mother.
“She’s worked hard over the years to build up her spa business,” he said.

The woman who said she performed sex acts for money began working at the Brockton spa as early as 2006, according to city records.

She said that at one point, she was making $500 a day, all payment for sexual services rendered.

“The first year, I was scared, and any new client I had, I wouldn’t even take a chance,” she said. “After about a year or two went by and there was no one getting caught, we basically knew. We were told if we never talked about money, we would never get caught.”

She said the money for sex fueled her drug habit. And the more drugs she took, the more work she had to do.

“I had to be completely obliterated to get through the day and the clients,” the woman said. She is currently in treatment for drug abuse, relatives of hers confirmed.

“We’d say, the higher you are, the more money you make,” she said. “Everybody pretty much got high all day. It was my bottom.”

There were rumblings about what was going on in the spas long before last month’s raid, according to records obtained by The Enterprise.

Undercover Brockton police twice visited the spa in March after receiving complaints, but said the investigations didn’t produce enough to pursue charges.

As recently as last March 2011, an unnamed employee of the Brockton spa filed a complaint with police that she heard a masseuse brag about a $300 tip, likely earned, she said, through sex.

Another former employee of the Brockton spa went to Brockton police in August 2009 to report an incident in which she said a client grabbed her hand and tried to place it on his groin.

She told police that she refused the client’s advance and told him it wasn’t in her “scope of practice.” The client responded: “All the girls massaged the groin area for extra tips,” according to the complaint. She then retreated to the bathroom, where she washed her hands multiple times and laid on the floor crying, she said.

Reached by telephone, the woman who filed the 2009 complaint asked that her name not be used because she wanted to distance herself from the spa and the allegations against it.

After the incident with the client, she told The Enterprise, “I burned my clothes.” She said she quit the spa weeks later, and has never performed massage therapy again, although she said she still has student loans to pay.

“Massage was supposed to be my career,” she said. “It flew down the drain.”

A third woman, who also asked that her name not be used for fear of being connected to the ongoing criminal case, said she was hired to work at the Norwood spa three years ago, and was instructed to massage clients while they were lying in a therapeutic mud bath. It’s a practice she called unprofessional.

“I felt that was a little fishy,” she said. She said she quit that same day.

The former employee now in treatment for drug abuse said she came forward because she doesn’t want others to be drawn into the world she was.

“It’s like a big evil pot that keeps stirring and stirring over the years,” she said of the spas. “The world would be better if these places weren’t open.”
 
 

State scolded over sex spa

A city legislator blasted state inspectors who failed to  monitor properly a Brockton spa raided last month as part of an investigation into prostitution and drug activity.

State Sen. Thomas Kennedy, D-Brockton, who chairs the Legislature’s Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee, said an inspector who visited Aria Day Spa in August didn’t “care to go the extra step” in examining possible violations.

He said  necessary checks at the business “fell through the cracks.”

“Shame on them,” Kennedy said. “The whole purpose of their existence is for protection of the consumer. If he went in and was only looking at A or B and the public was using it for A, B and C, then shame on him.”

The spa is one of three owned by  Terry Mussari of Stoughton, who is accused of operating a prostitution ring out of the businesses in Brockton, Canton and Norwood. The state has ordered all three spas  to stop offering massage services because they lack the proper licenses.

State inspection records released last week to The Enterprise show the spas were never inspected for potential massage therapy violations since the Division of Professional Licensure took over those responsibilities from local health boards in 2008.

A state licensure spokesman said the Brockton spa didn’t have an establishment license to provide such services, though it clearly advertises for them both on its website and a sign at the location.

Records show only officials from the board of cosmetology and barbers inspected the spas, and did so only once in nearly three years in Brockton.

The revelation has exposed a gap in the state’s regulation of a business where authorities allege employees exchanged sex for cash “tips” and sold drugs to employees and one another.

After repeated requests to speak with directors at the Division of Professional Licensure, spokesman  Jason Lefferts released a statement to The Enterprise saying cosmetology facility inspectors visit more than 700 businesses a month throughout the state and are “focusing on cosmetology rules and regulations.”
 
Cosmetology inspectors do not inspect massage therapy facilities or chiropractic facilities, which also are licensed and have different licensing requirements,” Lefferts said in the written statement.

But Kennedy condemned that “myopic point of view,” saying cosmetology inspectors may not have the authority to check for massage licenses but  they do have the ability to inform the board of massage therapy if something seems amiss at a business.

“Come on now, we’re all in the same game together and providing the same service and protection to the public,” Kennedy said. “If they don’t care to go the extra step, that’s not what it’s all about.”

Kennedy said he also would explore adding an amendment to state law requiring regular inspections into businesses that offer massage services. At the moment, the respective boards determine how often they inspect a business.

Since state officials revealed Tuesday they sent cease-and-desist orders to each of Mussari’s spas, an update was posted on the massage therapy board’s website, notifying businesses who offer such services that regulations “are now in effect.”

The paragraph – outlined by a red box and at the top of the page – was not visible there when an Enterprise reporter had visited the page Monday night.

First-time violators could be fined up to $1,000, according to the post.

Mussari, 45, pleaded not guilty to a charge of deriving support from prostitution, two days after state and federal authorities on Oct. 22 raided her spas. A prosecutor said she offered an undercover state trooper 12 women who would perform sex services during a “private party” at the Brockton spa in exchange for $1,720.

Mussari’s lawyer has called the allegations embellished, and said if there was any sexual activity at her spas, she was unaware of it.

Brockton’s top lawyer did legal work for spa

City solicitor Philip Nessralla Jr. is also the lawyer that incorporated a high-end city day spa where authorities allege a Stoughton woman ran a prostitution ring.

But Nessralla said Monday the legal work to incorporate Aria Day Spa in 2004 was a routine part of his private practice.

As a longtime Brockton lawyer, he said he has incorporated “hundreds” of area businesses with the state.

“It wasn’t unusual. One would say they would want to incorporate their business, or a partnership for tax purposes,” Nessralla said.

Nessralla, who leads the city in all its litigation, incorporated Aria Day Spa with Secretary of State William Francis Galvin’s office on Aug. 12, 2004, state records show.

He said the corporation filing that year was the only legal work he did for Aria Day Spa.

“There’s not a lot to this. (People) can make what they want out of it,” Nessralla said. “That’s the extent that I know.”

Nessralla is also a member of Rock Meadow LLC, the corporation which owns Michael’s Plaza, the Belmont Street shopping center housing Aria Day Spa.

State Police and FBI raided the spa and two others in Canton and Norwood on Oct. 22. Authorities allege employees exchanged sex for cash “tips” and sold drugs to clients and one another.

A prosecutor said Terry Mussari, the spas’ owner, offered an undercover state trooper 12 women who would perform sex services during a “private party” at the Brockton spa in exchange for $1,720.

Mussari, 45, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of deriving support from prostitution. Her lawyer has called the accusations embellished and devoid of important information.

Nessralla said he and other members of the corporation had no idea of the illegal activity investigators alleged occurred at that spa, which according to its website, has been at the Brockton location since 2004.

That year, Nessralla said Mussari asked for his legal assistance to incorporate her business with the state.

“She came to me in order to incorporate a business and I filled out the papers, and we filed the corporation,” Nessralla said.

Incorporating a business is not a lengthy process, he said.

“We file papers, a corporate booklet, all documents with the Secretary of State,” Nessralla said. “We get a tax identification number for the business.”

Nessralla said he worked with Mussari’s accountant to incorporate her business, a routine part of the legal process.

He said Mussari paid his law office for the legal services, which included a $275 state filing fee.

In her 2004 corporation paperwork filed with the state, Mussari listed “chiropractic care” as the type of business for the Belmont Street location.

Rock Meadow LLC has since 2000 held the deed to the 1280 Belmont St. plaza, which between the property and building, has a combined value of $3.6 million, according to the city assessor’s office.

Nessralla said if anything involving the spa reaches his desk, he would recuse himself, as with any matter in which he has a private interest.