Informants that Reappear

I have written about the MBI informants of past mysteriously reappearing in my life on this blog and I addressed the topic in Memoirs of an Accused Madam, but this one takes the cake so I'll tell you about her and her many appearances in my life. I named her Crystal in the book as that was an alias that she used for years. Crystal owned escort services in Orlando from the same point that I opened in late 1992, until ?. Hey, for all I know she still owns one, but supposedly she closed in 2001.

When I met Crystal, she contacted me through my first escort service ad in the 92-93 edition of the Orlando Bellsouth Yellow Pages. What she didn't mention at the time was that she had her own ad in the Sprint yellow pages that would be distributed a month later. So for all purposes here, she was in business as long as I was. The MBI used a list of escort service owners as state witnesses in my case. None were ever charged in relation to their own businesses. This in itself is laughable, but that's another story for a different day.

According to Crystal, she had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving dinner in 1992, so as gullible as I used to be, I invited her to my parent's for dinner. Kindness has smacked me in the face so many times that it's a wonder that I even speak to people – oh wait, I guess I don't really speak to people anymore. I suppose we all reach our breaking point, and mine was the case and trial. If you read the book you do not wonder why. Back to dear Crystal the informant and what she's up to today:

My mother received a letter in the mail from Crystal. It addressed my mother by her first and last name. No attempt to reach me, only to have my mother, who is 80 years of age, open the letter. My mother last saw Crystal in 1992 as we all ate Thanksgiving dinner together. That is 17 years ago! Still, Crystal had my mom's full name and address, and actually used the correct nickname instead of her full first name on the envelope. Someone thinks that I fell off of the turnip truck, don't you think? You'd really think that they would know better by now. Anyway, this is what the letter states:

7 July 2009

Dear Ms. [last name],

I met you when I was with your daughter, Vicky, a few years ago.

I'm writing because I don't know how to get in touch with Vicky. I lost her number over a couple of years ago. I just wish to say hello to her and wish her well. Ask her to call me at 407-000-0000.

Sincerely,

Crystal [real name]

She states "a couple of years ago" as if this was recent (try 1992). After meeting Crystal back then, my mother later stated: "Vicky, don't ever bring that bitch over here again." My father stated: "Stay away from her Vicky. She is trouble." I always liked playing with fire though, so I have played with Crystal's mind ever since. What ever I was doing over the years I usually told Crystal the opposite. Sometimes I made it believable, and other times I didn't bother. It is interesting (gag) that she recalls my mom's nickname and address 17 years later, but claims to have lost my number. It's especially interesting if you know that she threw-out every piece of paper in her house years ago – she left a sack of papers at my door at a house I rented on Merritt Island back in 2006. I didn't answer the door because I never gave her the address and she was not invited there. Oh, and the sack of papers went directly to the outside trash can when she finally gave-up an hour later and drove away. She also lost everything in her house due to mold from a 2004 hurricane that came through Orlando – last I heard she was attempting to force the insurance company to pay full market value for the house and contents. But I guess she saved my mom's name and address out of it all anyway.

So let's call her and see what she has to say. I guess I still like that fire. Well, six rings and a generic-voice asking one to leave a message. I'll pass. I never leave messages. In her case it means that she needs to notify someone that I'm calling her. Does anyone actually wonder why I'm elusive these days? I'm not findable unless you catch me checking my mail once a week. I do apologize that I haven't posted to the blog in 2 weeks, but I cannot explain what I was up to other than to state that it's research for a third book, but I'm back now. The existence of people like Crystal, and those that put her up to this crap, forces me to be elusive.

Reform and Rehabilitation?

Has the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) been reformed or rehabilitated?

The MBI that I describe in Memoirs of an Accused Madam: The War on Adult Business in Orlando, and in these articles, is the MBI of past as far as I can tell. Last fall an announcement appeared on the MBI website stating that longtime director, William Lutz, would be retiring in December 2008. I did bid him a heave-ho in the Epilogue of my book. I'll be honest here – I was hoping that the agency would be dissolved. It doesn't look like I got my wish, but it is looking like the MBI is a reformed agency under its new director and the former Brevard County Sheriff, Phil Williams.

The strange part is that Lutz's retirement statement is still posted on the top of the main page on the MBI website, and the website is the same as Lutz left it, with no additional "My Word" editorials and no new press releases. Why wouldn't the agency brag about its new director? Lutz was not liked by many people, so I would think that there would be an announcement of the changes. Phil Williams deserves an announcement. Past strategies and agent misconduct went out the window when Williams took over – I know this because I have always been tied to Brevard County and I'm positive that the past behavior and selective targeting would not be acceptable to Phil Williams.

It also looks like the attack on adult businesses was tossed to the curb since Williams took over the agency. The new MBI has new agents and is all about drug trafficking and violent crime cases. Oh, I'm sure the agency would go after an adult business that clearly or obviously broke the law, but I don't think we will see any more of those lengthy pursuits, threatened witnesses, and criminal behavior. MBI Commander Zambouros is also gone – now this guy really enjoyed the sex cases. I hereby bid Zambouros a heave-ho.

Farewell to the old criminal MBI! Welcome to the new reformed and rehabilitated MBI!

So where's the announcement? Trust me; the great majority of central Florida residents will be ecstatic to hear that the old guard is now history. Now my book is about history: the history of the MBI war on adult business in Orlando. The MBI is an agency that will forever leave its mark on central Florida.

Skeletons in the Closet

If reading about MBI cases is not your thing, you probably are not reading this blog anyway, so I'll keep saying what I have to say. We have a real serious situation here and I will take this opportunity to bring it to your attention.

The serious situation concerns some 1996 cases – you're probably thinking that the cases are beyond concern because of time limitations, but think again. You also might wonder how many cases I'm referring to when I use the term some. I know of many cases that were merged with other cases, so I am positive that I'm talking about one case with 9 defendants, one case with 1 defendant, and one case with 5 defendants. I am sure/positive that there are more that I am unaware of, as I do know that some were moved to nearby Osceola County and some are single-defendant cases wherein I do not know the defendant's name to search for the case. So, to start with, we are talking about the lives of 15 people. The Orange County case numbers are:

96-CF-0003504-O
96-CF-0011913-O
96-CF-0011915-O


The first listed case involved five defendants charged as a part of Operation Plastic Empire. It's a case that I will examine closely in the coming week. The main defendant is Joseph Fabozzi. The other defendants are Carmine Fabozzi (now deceased), Mario Fabozzi (in a Florida prison), Andrew Luaces, and Luaces' wife.

The second listed case involved the nine defendants listed in Operation Plastic Empire.

The third noted case is the one defendant case – Victoria Igunbola was arrested on a misdemeanor account of prostitution six months earlier, signed up (she owned her own escort service) with Operation Plastic Empire to accept credit cards, was arrested for money laundering and credit card factoring, and then began her new career as an informant for MBI. She set-up lots of people (owners and workers) in the body-scrub parlor busts of 1997. Most of Victoria's victims never had a clue as none went to trial. I knew she was an informant when she started working at a Seminole County parlor and a friend working there described her to me.

So what is the problem here?


Well, the root of the problem is that Operation Plastic Empire – the big credit card sting case that began as IRS Operation Out Call, was not a legal set-up at all and the cases should be overturned. The many defendants should never have been charged to begin with. In federal law there is a remedy for this, regardless of guilty pleas and any attorneys that neglected to file appeals, and that remedy is not limited in time. This complex reverse sting operation criminalized and prosecuted commercial behavior, and not criminal behavior. The State of Florida had no justification to prosecute the defendants. The worst part, other than the ruined lives, is that this actually passed the smell test with Circuit Court judges and defense attorneys, but then that's how it often is with railroad jobs. This is just the beginning.

More on this mess as it develops.

A Voice from the Past

Today I received an email from one of the victims of the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation's (MBI) Operation Plastic Empire. It was one of the most successful law enforcement operations in escort service history. When I state most successful, I am referring to the number of escort service owners arrested and convicted, and the number of services closed as a result of the operation. This is the only aspect of this operation that could be considered successful. Trevor was searching online when he came across my name, remembered me, ordered Memoirs of an Accused Madam, found the email address at the conclusion, and emailed me.

We spent some time on the phone trading stories and memories of MBI misconduct. Trevor is living proof that a person can eventually overcome an attack and persecution by the MBI, but the case began in 1996, so obviously it has been a long road for him. Still, he doesn't forget a single detail, as I don't regarding my own persecution. He recalled every moment of his isolation in the criminal justice system at the hands of the MBI. His first attorney later became a judge (gee, I have a first attorney like that too), his next attorney was from the Office of the Public Defender's Office – nice guy, but all too clueless. I spoke to the public defender back in 1996 when Trevor called me from jail, but I'll be the first to admit that I was dumb and didn't know what to do anymore than the attorney did. Suddenly I feared anyone attempting to connect me to the case and I backed away. I was of no help whatsoever, and for that I apologize to Trevor.

Trevor managed to recall messy MBI cases that even I, the expert on the MBI, had long forgotten. One was the case of Thomas Capp (not sure the name is spelled correctly). Tom owned some place that served as a S&M house in central Florida. I do not believe that the services offered were in any way illegal, but I know little about the case and just remember the news and stories from escorts that I encountered around the time of the bust. Tom committed suicide before he ever pled to charges or made it to trial. He did so with a shotgun, if memory serves me, through his chest. It was a mess from what I heard, and Tom left behind many distraught friends.

I was unable to locate any information from Tom's case. Most likely this is because when a defendant dies before all appeals have been addressed the case is erased from records. In this case I do not believe that there was a conviction anyway. Rest in Peace Tom.

Tom is far from the only suicide on the hands of agents from the MBI and State of Florida prosecutors in central Florida. I personally know of several other suicides, and will venture a guess that there are more that I am not aware of. I recall there being an article in the Orlando Sentinel about Tom's suicide, but there is nothing to be found in the archives.

In the next week I'll be discussing suicide and the MBI. I sometimes wonder how some of the agents involved in the serious misconduct manage to live with the blood on their hands, and with the knowledge of the created cases that imprisoned victims for years and/or ruined lives. How does anyone live with such a sordid past?