A high-end prostitution ring is in pieces after nearly a year-long investigation spearheaded by Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office. Last night the NYPD swooped in and arrested 18 suspects accused of running the hooker-and-drug trafficking ring. Prosecutors say the operation was known for selling "party packs," combinations of prostitutes and drugs billed by the hour. And once the client was sufficiently drugged up, even more partying was packed in. According to the Attorney General:
The ring charged customers for sex and drugs as a package deal, sometimes billing for cocaine in an equivalent number of “hours” of prostitution. In some cases, the ring accepted credit cards in payment for sex and drugs.
It was common practice for this ring to supply the johns with large quantities of drugs brought by one prostitute, and then once the john was impaired by the drugs, the ring would flood the room with additional prostitutes and repeatedly charge the john’s credit card, at times charging upward of $10,000 for one night.
The operation, which was based in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and several other states, is accused of "laundering the illegal proceeds through front businesses that included a clothing wholesaler, a wig wholesaler, a limousine service and a beauty supply wholesaler. The ring is estimated to have generated millions of dollars in illegal proceeds and was working to market its services to a high-end clientele coming to the New York metropolitan area for the Super Bowl."
Investigators dubbed the sting "Operation Shade of Beige" after the nickname of Hyun Ok “Beige” Yoon, one of the alleged ringleaders. Several of the defendants were arrested last night at a residential building blocks from Super Bowl Boulevard in Manhattan. The building also houses dorm rooms for a Christian Bible college. "I'm telling all the girls in my house and throughout the school just to be aware of that and to be protected and travel in groups," one resident told ABC 7 after cops burst into the building with battering rams and riot shields.
At today's press conference, Schneiderman made a point to stress that "none of the people who you see here were street level prostitutes. We’re going after the management of this criminal enterprise. What we’re doing now is interviewing the prostitutes themselves. We’re trying to identify any victim of human trafficking, first and foremost, and gain intelligence about their business transactions.”
Schneiderman also had this to say: "We also want to send a message to anyone who might be considering patronizing such illegal services before the Super Bowl. Better to get yourself in front of the TV, watch the game, have a couple of beers, stay out of trouble." Or as Jermaine Stewart famously sang, we don't need a Party Pack to have a good time.
