Huntington Town Councilwoman Theresa Mari expresses her gratitude to the Suffolk County Police Department, and particularly the Second Precinct Investigative Unit, for their heroic efforts in shutting down a human trafficking operation at the Rodeway Inn on West Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station. Councilwoman Mari has dedicated her professional career and her two years in elective office championing the cause of defending and saving women and children who are the victims of abuse. This raid is another small step in the effort to rid our Town of the scourge of sex trafficking.
Local media has been reporting with increasing frequency on raids by the Suffolk County PD on “foot spas” and other fronts for brothels where women who have been trafficked are being victimized. When a location is raided for permitting prostitution, the Suffolk County PD arrests the perpetrators, and then immediately thereafter, the Town of Huntington Public Safety Department enters the premises and issues violations for public nuisance and other lesser transgressions. These violations are then heard by the Town of Huntington’s Bureau of Administrative Adjudication (“BAA”) where fines are either negotiated or imposed. Councilwoman Mari’s first sponsored resolution as a member of the Huntington Town Council was to substantially increase the fines for those who committed a public nuisance by permitting prostitution. This resolution was passed by a vote of 5-0. Councilwoman Mari’s reasoning was that if the fines were increased, it might be a deterrent to those engaging in the illegal activity.
Unfortunately, even with the increased fines, the illegal activities by a few bad actors continued. In response, Councilwoman Mari drafted and offered a second resolution that dramatically increased the fines even more. This resolution also passed 5-0. Just last week, two different cases appeared before the BAA, one from a location in Huntington Station and one from a location in East Northport, and each business was assessed a fine of $8,000. The $16,000 in fines were paid at the court date.
She has also made it a priority to stay informed and engaged with law enforcement and community stakeholders on this issue. On October 14th, she attended the Second Precinct Police Legislative Advisory Board (PLAB) meeting at the South Huntington Public Library, which focused specifically on human trafficking. The discussion highlighted the alarming ways this epidemic continues to harm communities across Suffolk County, including here in Huntington, and reinforced the urgent need for coordinated enforcement, prevention, and legislative action.
While the Town of Huntington does not have a police force, we are lucky to have the brave and able officers of the Second Precinct to make arrests after investigating the abhorrent and illegal conduct. Councilwoman Mari issued the following statement in light of the raid and arrests at the Rodeway Inn:
“I will continue to use every tool afforded by my elective office and the Huntington Town Code to rid our Town of these houses of prostitution. Women should never be working in the sex trade against their will, and I will continue to be vigilant in creating deterrents to the illegal activity. I am grateful to the Suffolk County Police Department for its great work and I will be crafting another resolution designed to rid Huntington of these illegal brothels once and for all”.
Councilwoman Mari also applauded Suffolk County’s recent passage of a new local law aimed at strengthening oversight of hotels and motels as part of the County’s broader effort to combat human
trafficking. The law increases mandatory recordkeeping requirements for hotel and motel operators, strengthens penalties for violations, and restricts hourly room rates—practices often linked to trafficking and other criminal conduct. Councilwoman Mari said she is encouraged by the County’s proactive stance and believes the new law will have a meaningful impact on disrupting trafficking networks.
For more information, please contact Michelle - 631-351-3173.