Monroeville man linked to massage parlors asks for bond reduction - Tarentum Valley News...

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A Monroeville man accused a week ago with helping run a human trafficking and prostitution ring out of five massage parlors in Monroeville and Murrysville returned to court Friday asking a judge to lower his $100,000 bond.

Chang Yu Chen, 51, of Monroeville, who was described by the state attorney general’s office and state police as a handyman and manager at the massage parlors, appeared before Norvelt District Judge Roger Eckels with his attorney, Duke George, asking to have his bond lowered.

After listening to arguments, Eckels did reduce Chen’s bail to $75,000, but he was remanded to the county prison after failing to post it. George said Chen’s family will continue trying to raise the amount through a bail bondsman.

George argued to Eckels that Chen has lived in the country for more than 26 years having been granted permanent alien resident status in 2002 after arriving here as an illegal alien in 1992.

George added Chen has no prior arrests and has a family here.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Katherine A. Wymard had told Eckels at Chen’s March 22 arraignment there were questions from Homeland Security about the origin of Chen’s original passport, and investigators had seized more than $170,000 out of his home when they executed a search warrant in October as part of the year-long investigation.

Wymard and George told Eckels Friday that since his arraignment a week ago, Homeland Security has verified the legality of Chen’s current passport. His family surrendered the passport documents to Eckels Friday.

George also argued that another man arrested in the probe, Robert Delano Yerick, 84, of Delmont, who is accused of a similar role as an administrator at the parlors and a handyman, had his bond set at $30,000.

Yerick is free after posting bail.

“It’s unfair your honor. These two are generally charged with the same thing,” George said.

Wymard countered that Yerick “was not found with $170,000 inside his home.” She also noted that Chen reports an annual earned income of about $20,000, “but had $170,000 in his house.” Yerick has cooperated with investigators.

Chen, Yerick and two others arrested — Hui Xu, 44, of Mt. Pleasant, and Huicun Wei, 47, of Flushing, N.Y., whom state police identified as the owner and manager at Judy’s Oriental Massage Parlor in Murrysville — have preliminary hearings scheduled April 12. Xu, who police say owned four of the massage parlors, is in the Washington County Jail after failing to post $100,000 bail, while Wei remains in the Westmoreland County Prison on $75,000 bond.

The four were charged with various counts including conspiracy, corrupt organizations, trafficking in individuals, prostitution and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities after a statewide grand jury found that young women working at the parlors were part ofa human trafficking ring forced to perform sex acts. Investigators said the probe began after neighbor complaints regarding clotheslines and cookouts at the massage parlors.

State police alleged Xu owned and operated four Tokyo Massage Parlors where prostitution was occurring. She is the widow of Henry “Sonny” Caruso, 49, a veteran guard at the Westmoreland County Prison who committed suicide in November after being suspended from his job as a result of the ongoing investigation.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter .


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