Owner of Rockland Asian Massage Parlor Tied to NY Organized Crime Arrested for Sex Trafficking - The Maine Wire

[Edward Tomic]

The owner of a Rockland massage parlor police believe to be tied to organized crime in New York was arrested this week for sex trafficking.

Tian “Adam” Tao, 54, of Gardiner, was arrested on Thursday by Rockland Police, with assistance from the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, Gardiner Police and U.S. Homeland Security — the primary law enforcement agency responsible for investigating interstate sex trafficking.

[RELATED: Investigation into Rockland Asian Massage Parlor Tied to NY-based ‘organized crime’ Leads to Prostitution Charges for 11 Men…]

Rockland Police previously coordinated with federal law enforcement for a December 2024 raid on the “Asian Massage” property owned by Tao in Rockland, during which Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicles could be observed parked in front of the building.

The Maine Wire identified Tao in December through state records that showed that the Rockland “Asian Massage” parlor was registered under his name as an LLC. Tao also appears to have been the registered agent for other massage locations around the state, including “Nirvana Spa Inc.” at 10 Foch St. in Lewiston.

During the search, multiple individuals were interviewed, and authorities seized physical and electronic evidence, some of which is still being processed by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), police said at the time.

On his Facebook profile, Tao frequently posted images of his travels, fine dining, and the progress of his construction work on a massage parlor.

[RELATED: Police, Border Patrol Raid Asian Massage Parlor in Rockland…]

In January, Rockland Police announced that they had arrested 11 men on charges of engaging a person for prostitution in connection to their investigation of the massage parlor:

• Richard Generazio, 64, of Owls Head;
• Christopher Mitchell, 41, of Lincolnville;
• Christopher Felicetti, 62, of Washington;
• Bruce Liljegren, 78, of Thomaston;
• Randy Bouchard, 62, of South Thomaston;
• Michael Graves, 65, of Rockport;
• William Heiden, 39, of Rockland;
• Joseph Cady, 50, of Palermo;
• Mark Strong, 69, of Thomaston;
• Neal Shepard, 71, of Cushing;
• Stanley Carlton, 65, of Owls Head.

The raid on Rockland’s “Asian Massage” was the latest in a series of massage parlors in Maine being raided by law enforcement over the past year due to suspected sex trafficking and forced labor.

In September, 58-year-old Richard Qiu of Brooklyn, N.Y., owner of multiple massage parlors throughout Maine, was arrested by Lewiston Police and charged with two counts of sex trafficking (Class D and Class E), forced labor and criminal forfeiture

[RELATED: Owner of Several Maine Massage Parlors Charged with Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor…]

Police said they found video recording equipment, condoms and over $12,000 cash in suspected sex trafficking proceeds at a parlor in Lewiston owned by Qiu.

In May of last year, 45-year-old Changsheng Xiao, also of N.Y., was arrested in Portland at his massage parlor location on Forest Avenue and was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and aggravated sex trafficking.