Cops find $600K stashed in teddy bear during massage parlor raid in N.J. town - NJ.com

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Authorities in Edison say they executed the township’s largest asset seizure to date during a raid Thursday at a massage parlor suspected of prostitution and money laundering, recovering more than $750,000 — including $600,000 in cash sewn inside a giant teddy bear.

The yearlong undercover investigation led by the Edison Police Department’s Vice Unit targeted Bliss Spa on Woodbridge Avenue and the Edison home of its manager, 47-year-old Daniela Diienno.

Police said they recovered $650,000 in cash — most of it concealed inside the stuffed animal — as well as a 2025 Tesla Model Y, a Rolex and a Cartier watch.

Additional funds were seized from Diienno’s bank accounts, bringing the total haul to $754,373, according to Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan.

Diienno was charged with first-degree money laundering, second-degree promoting organized street crime, third-degree promoting prostitution and fourth-degree maintaining a house of prostitution.

She was held at the Middlesex County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Attorney information for Diienno was not listed in court records.

Four other women — ages 26 to 45 from New Jersey and New York — were each charged with engaging in or soliciting prostitution and released on summonses.

Bliss Spa was hit with multiple health code violations and had its business license suspended, officials said.

“This operation is a direct result of the commitment and coordination between departments and agencies that have worked tirelessly to dismantle organized criminal enterprises operating under the guise of legitimate business,” Bryan said in a statement.

“The amount of cash seized and the elaborate concealment methods used show just how sophisticated and profitable these illegal operations can be.”

The investigation was supported by the Edison Police SWAT Team, Criminal Investigations Bureau, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the township health department, and the state Division of Consumer Affairs.

Mayor Samip Joshi, who in 2022 launched an initiative to shut down illicit massage parlors, said Edison’s approach has become a statewide model.

New Jersey officials have recognized Edison “as the standard for how to confront this pervasive issue,” Joshi said, referring to an October 2024 state report that praised the township for closing 19 spas and enacting strict licensing rules.

“When government works together — police, health, zoning, prosecutors — we protect our residents and build a safer community.”

The investigation is ongoing. Police ask anyone with information to call the vice unit at 732-248-7529 or email [email protected].

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino.