The attorney for a Shelton woman charged with prostitution said his client maintains her innocence and they plan to fight the charges.
“She maintains her innocence with respect to these charges,” attorney Frank Riccio, Jr. told the Valley Indy Friday.
Riccio represents Susan Marie Cecere, 56, who faces a misdemeanor prostitution charge after an investigation into a Fairfield health salon where she worked.
She was charged with a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Bridgeport March 21.
A message was left at a phone number listed for Cecere Friday.
The charge against Cecere dates to April 16, 2011, according to court records.
She was arrested on a warrant. Her attorney has yet to review the document.
Also charged with prostitution were Kimberly Arciuolo, 36, of New Haven, and Sacha Burton, 32, of Bridgeport.
In a prepared statement announcing the arrests, Fairfield police said they began investigating Deidra’s Health Salon, at 699 Post Road, “which billed itself as a salon offering massage services.”
“Since it was not uncommon for such businesses to offer illegal sexual services as well, the investigation was initiated to ensure its compliance with the law,” the statement, written by Lt. Michael Gagner, said.
“The investigation revealed that Deidra’s Salon was an illegal enterprise that routinely offered illegal sexual services as part of its business operation,” the statement said.
During the investigation, the police department’s detective bureau also received numerous tips reporting prostitution at the salon.
Over the course of several months, Gagner said police performed surveillance and identified clients, employees, and the business’ owners.
“Undercover officers posing as customers seeking massages were sent into Deidra’s on numerous occasions,” Gagner’s statement said. “Each undercover visit confirmed that illegal sexual activity was taking place at the salon.”
Last month, detectives served search and seizure warrants at the salon and at the home of one of the co-owners on Jetland Place, Bridgeport.
Those raids netted “business records, $16,000 cash, and equipment used in connection with the business,” Gagner said.
Gagner said police have obtained warrants for the business’ owners but did not identify them in the statement.
Riccio noted his client, Cecere, is not an owner of the business and has not worked at the establishment for some time. She is married and has no prior arrests, Riccio said.
