Buffalo Grove shuts down spa after third prostitution bust

The GQ Spa in Buffalo Grove is out of business after Village President Jeffrey Braiman revoked the massage parlor’s license to operate in the wake of its third prostitution bust in five years.

Braiman announced his decision, which effectively shuts down the business at 1105 Weiland Road. on Monday. His ruling comes after the village held hearings in recent weeks examining the business’ record and giving its representatives a chance to defend it.

Ultimately, however, spa operator Christine Lee failed to persuade Braiman that GQ Spa deserved another chance.

“The reason we looked at GQ is because this was the third time in about five years,” he said.

Braiman called for the hearings after an undercover police investigation resulted in the July 20 arrest of a 42-year-old Park Ridge woman on a charge of prostitution. Another GQ Spa employee was arrested on the same charge in 2010 and a third prostitution bust took place in 2006.

Village code allows for a license to be revoked when the conduct of the business is a nuisance or a clear and present danger to the public health, safety or general welfare, officials said.

In its decision, the village found that the history of arrests, as well as the questionable status of the business license itself, warranted the revocation.

“There was a question of whether they had a valid license to begin with,” Braiman said Monday.

Braiman also voiced doubts about Lee’s claims that spa employees were “independent contractors” who had signed agreements to abide by the law. Lee’s representative previously told officials she fired the employees who were arrested.

“We found her testimony not to be credible, based on the testimony of the police officers,” he said. “(The defense) could offer nothing really in opposition to that.”