Buffalo Grove could revoke license for spa after prostitution arrests

Buffalo Grove officials could strip a village massage parlor of its operating license next week in response to the July arrest of one of its employees on a prostitution charge.

Village President Jeffrey Braiman, who will conduct the hearing, said Monday it is the third time since 2006 that a worker at GQ Spa, 1105 Weiland Road, has been charged with prostitution.

Braiman held a four-hour hearing on the matter two weeks ago, but agreed to postpone a decision on the business' license until at least next week to give the spa's owner time to present additional testimony on her behalf.

“I'm giving them every opportunity to present their case,” Braiman said.

Police on July 20 arrested Solongomaa Tserendori, 42, of the 1400 block of Carol Street in Park Ridge, on a charge of prostitution following an investigation of the spa.

Buffalo Grove police Deputy Chief Steve Husak said an officer entered the business after police had conducted several days of surveillance. According to a police report, an offer of inappropriate services in exchange for money was made, leading to the arrest.

Although the case is still pending in Lake County criminal court, Braiman said “that does not mean we (village officials) have to sit still.”

Any action the village takes against the business' license would be administrative, based on the preponderance of the evidence. If the village revokes the license, the business could appeal the decision to the village board and, ultimately, to the circuit court.

Robert Aronson, the attorney for spa operator Christine Lee, said his client fired the woman arrested earlier this year, as well as another GQ Spa masseuse charged with prostitution in 2010. Both had signed a pledge not to violate any laws when Lee hired them, he added.

“The village has not investigated or found anything to be wrong since my client took over in 2007, with these two exceptions,” Aronson said.

In the 2010 case, he said, a woman who was licensed by the state as a masseuse was accused of prostitution, but the charge later was reduced to battery, for which she received supervision and a $100 fine.

Also in July, Buffalo Grove police arrested Myeong Hi Lim, 64, of the 2600 block of South Cedar Glen Drive in Arlington Heights, on a prostitution charge at Sun Spa, 1359 W. Dundee Road.