Omaha Indictments

Four people were indicted this past week by a federal grand jury for operating a two-state prostitution ring that has been in business for 12 years. Dream Girls Inc. is a Nebraska corporation that operated in Iowa and Nebraska – Omaha sits across a bridge from Iowa. Forfeiture papers were filed also to forfeit a home, seven vehicles, and a small amount of cash.


On April 23, 2010, Richard Costanzo, Theresa Costanzo, Janna Wasko, and Michael Wasko were charged with: Conspiracy; Using a Facility of Interstate Commerce to Promote Prostitution; Transportation with intent to Promote Prostitution; and Enticing a Minor to Travel with Intent to Engage in Prostitution. Richard Costanzo was also charged with money laundering. These defendants face life in prison.

From all that I have read it doesn't look like working with minors is the usual method of operation here, and I can imagine that Richard Costanzo was somehow baited by the feds. I won't guess – it could be anything from a fake ID to anything else, including a completely false allegation. It's simply too hard to believe that this guy lasted 12 solid years in business if this was the norm for him. I don't buy it. There is not much information on the case as it is too new.

Odd fact alert: Richard Costanzo is being held without bail, but the other three defendants were released on their own recognizance. This is highly unusual when all are facing life in prison. Something smells in Omaha.

Adult Business Across State Lines

I have always stated that there's never a reason to operate in more than one state when in the escort business, whether you are doing anything illegal or not. The point is that you never want the feds to have any interest in your business. If any were interested in my businesses of past it was only because the MBI offered false information to elicit federal help, and there was nothing to charge me with anyway.


To shed some light on the topic of operating across state lines I will be posting information on little known cases. The first discussion concerns federal indictments in the Middle District of Pennsylvania:

According to indictments, Roger Sedlak, Marianna Sedlak, and Kelli Kaylor each were charged with three crimes in March of 2009: transporting and causing the transportation in interstate commerce of an individual with the intent that the individual engage in prostitution, persuading and enticing an individual to engage in interstate travel for the purpose of prostitution, and conspiracy to commit those offenses. In simple terms, they are accused of operating a multi-state internet-based prostitution ring and each has a total of 18 counts.

I checked in the file on PACER and must conclude that there is at least one informant involved. After looking through so many files over a lengthy period of time it is a trend that is easily recognizable to me. Poor Roger Sedlak is stuck representing himself (pro se) at this point. By the looks of it he went through a couple of attorneys before making this move, and has actually been refused by the judge – they don't seem to appreciate his pro se filing frenzy so he was appointed an attorney. Most entries in this file are restricted at this point and cannot be viewed by the public, though it looks like Roger has been denied a speedy trial under the Speedy Trial Act - a potential reason for appeal if he is convicted.

The Case No. is: 1:09-cr-00079-WWC-1. I don't want to say much more about this case as it looks like Roger Sedlak is fighting for his life. Each defendant in this case faces up to 35 years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I intend to keep an eye on this case, but it doesn't look like a trial is scheduled anytime soon. Clearly they expected Roger to make a plea deal and aren't reacting well to his obvious intention to fight.

Unraveling the Yarn

More often than not these organized crime indictments must be unraveled to understand what really transpired and what didn't. Prosecutors weave a web of deceit, especially when seeking the proverbial pat on the back from colleagues, superiors, and the general population in newsworthy cases. They must validate the entire investigation and prosecution from a time and money perspective. What better way to do so then to play on public hatred for pimps and sympathy for children?

Usually the real story has serious differences, and it looks like this is one of those situations. The big headlines stole the limelight in the latest: "Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges 14 Gambino Crime Family Associates with Racketeering, Murder, Sex Trafficking, and Other Crimes." Of course the New York Daily News jumped on the bandwagon and switched it around a bit with the headlines: "Mafia Hits New Low: Reputed Gambino Mobsters charged with running Craigslist Prostitution Ring" and "Gambino Mobsters Charged with Running teen prostitution ring." Really?

So let's dissect this for a moment, okay?

As stated in my last post, I seriously doubted the story the way that it was presented. Sure enough we have had many with a reason to hate join-in on the allegations. The big attention grabber was Henry Hill on CNN with his accusation of the mob being involved in anything that makes a fast buck, and he included child pornography and pimping minors, but he backs this accusation with nothing whatsoever; just his own hatred.

And then there's Curtis Sliwa, a longtime Gotti hater that didn't get his way and see John Gotti Jr. convicted of charges in a case that he was the victim/witness. Sliwa revealed his anger after watching CBS 60 Minutes on April 11th. He blames the interviewer, Steve Kroft, claiming that he was "in awe of Gotti" and stating that Gotti "beat the rap on technicalities," which anyone that has observed the last three or four Gotti Jr. indictments and trials knows is false. Sliwa simply wasn't a believable victim/witness, probably because he has an obvious ax to grind. Jurors tend to disregard witnesses with vendettas.

The reality of the situation is that there are a total of 14 defendants indicted in the case and 7 out of the 14 are charged in relation to the Craigslist prostitution case, with feds admitting that the remaining 7 had nothing whatsoever to do with it. The evidence involves an informant that's been wired for six months, according to prosecutors. See Informants and Snakes if you need to develop a deeper understanding of what informants are capable of, but the title explains it well.

It sounds like the wired informant came through with evidence against 2 or 3 of the 7 indicted in the alleged prostitution ring. I say 2 or 3 as there isn't much talk about Suzanne Porcelli – she may not have known that the 15 year-old was going to her calls, or she may be playing let's make a deal; it is hard to tell at this point.

From my viewpoint it looks like the only ones involved in any way in the prostituting of a minor are two defendants: Steven Maiurro and Thomas Orefice. Not the big headline story that was originally presented, now is it? It sounds like Henry Hill's renegade drug dealing from Goodfellas.

If you've ever watched Goodfellas, you know that the Lucchese Family didn't appreciate Hill's drug endeavors to the extent that Hill believed they were going to whack him for it.

So much for big headlines and proverbial pats on the back.

Jury Still Out in NY Organized Crime Indictments

Even Henry Hill of Goodfellas fame has come out of the woodwork to add his two cents and trash the fourteen alleged Gambino crime family associates indicted in the Southern District of New York this week. The feds and Hill used the allegation of sex trafficking of a minor to discredit those indicted in popular opinion. I mean really – who doesn't hate the person that pimps a minor on Craigslist?


Somehow I seriously doubt that those indicted had much of a clue who Suzanne Porcelli sent to her Craigslist escort calls, yet seven of the fourteen people were indicted on the sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and sex trafficking of a minor counts in the indictment. The news release and public statements of the federal agents lead one to believe that all fourteen defendants were involved in this alleged prostitution ring. It's likely that at least seven defendants had no clue who Porcelli is, and even more likely that an additional five were clueless.

Why would Gambino family associates play any part in a low-level Craigslist prostitution ring? I, for one, am not so ignorant as to believe that the Gambino family uses Craigslist to send out prostitutes. Get real, right? I'm pretty sure that these guys could come-up with something better than that.

It is a sure-fire method of turning public opinion in so far as organized crime or mafia members go. The feds had such a rough time with John Gotti Jr. – was it four trials that ended with deadlocked jurors? They decided that this time they're not messing around and went ahead and convicted the defendants in the court of public opinion. There's nothing like being accused of pimping a 15 year-old.

Someone in the crowd should have read Blueprint for an Escort Service; if they had they wouldn't have been on Craigslist and they wouldn't have worked with anyone under the age of twenty-four. Still, I don't buy it all hook, line, and sinker as most seem to from the comments on the forums. Henry Hill's statements to CNN were even more unbelievable – and Henry, I am sorry that I gave your book five stars. I felt bad for you because it was clear that you believed they intended to whack you, whether it was correct or not, but this recent crap is too much.

It is an unusual indictment in that all fourteen are supposed to be connected in this organized crime group, but only seven had the aforementioned charges. As indictments go it doesn't make much sense. I was tried on a conspiracy charge so I'd say that I'm familiar with the concept of a conspiracy. In a conspiracy it doesn't matter that you do not know some of the other parties charged, or that you didn't have specific involvement in a co-conspirator's alleged conduct.

Also at issue is the sex trafficking charge. I'd really like to read the complaint in its entirety and find out what specifically each defendant did that brought-on such an outrageous allegation. I must defer to the Lev Trakhtenberg case in NY and NJ to explain my very real doubt in federal prosecutors. Read The US System of Injustice to get my point.

Yes, I'd say that the jury is still out on this mess.

Florida Sux as Usual

While other states are legalizing marijuana, at least for medical use, Florida is outlawing pipes, bongs, water pipes, ice pipes and most other pipes. Next they'll have rolling papers removed from shelves in store. What a crock! What do we have voting on this issue in Florida? Leftovers from the Reefer Madness scare era.


There are now fourteen states that have legalized marijuana for medical use and thirteen states that have decriminalized for personal use and treat it like a traffic infraction. Why is Florida moving in the opposite direction? I will tell you: Here in Florida the great majority of politicians are stuffed-shirt secret drunks that have zero comprehension of anything outside of their own screwed-up world. My God I wish I could move!

The Florida Senate already voted to ban sales of these pipes in SB 366 and now the House will vote on HB 187 and cement the ignorance. Hope they all croak from liver damage.

Support NORML!

Come Back With a Warrant

It seems that the Department of Justice (DOJ) [sic] decided a while back that there shouldn't be a Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and its prosecutors opt to pretend it didn't exist, except they've backed off for the moment. I have been following a little-known fight in federal court in Colorado. It is all about Yahoo! refusing to turn over access to email accounts when there isn't a search warrant based on probable cause (what the Fourth Amendment is all about). In other words, come back with a warrant!

Yahoo! has been around for a long time, and I'm not clear on why the DOJ prosecutors thought they could run roughshod over the US Constitution. Trust me on this – Yahoo! is not AT&T and wasn't going down without a fight. Briefs were filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Google, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Progress and Freedom Foundation. There is a new group in which the aforementioned are members: The Digital Due Process Coalition. Because AT&T is a member, I'm not so sure about it though.

Read the full story on CNET.

The important part here is that the DOJ backed away, but this can't be interpreted as an overall win; only a win for the moment. It would serve you well to keep an eye on this situation. It is something that I never expected from the Obama administration, though that is not saying that the McCain/Palin team wouldn't have done worse, if they'd won.

I can say that as a supporter, voter, and campaign worker for the Barack Obama campaign I am seriously disappointed that he allowed the DOJ dogs to get as far as they did. It seems that it was only adverse publicity in the situation that has held them in check for now.

Strange Search Phrases

Most blog and website publishers utilize the features of Google's Webmaster Tools to see what search phrases people use when they click-through to the specific blog or website. There have always been some odd phrases and terms that land a person at this blog, but one recently searched phrase is worth discussing here: "getting someone arrested then changing my mind" – Now that is different, right?


Webmaster tools show that an article from this blog – Changing My Mind – shows in the #2 position under that phrase, though the article is no longer listed in Google as of this moment. Anyway, ranking is immaterial as I have no interest in the phrase. Most people come across my blog by searching for my name or the names of other defendants that I have written about.

I'm curious as to what type of person in what situation searches for such a key phrase. Sounds to me as if someone made a false statement to have a person arrested and is now having second thoughts, but of course it could be a true statement and the party is simply unwilling to follow through with testimony in a courtroom.

I have an idea – never call the cops to have someone arrested and you won't be in a position of changing your mind. I tolerated all the false statements that I ever will in this lifetime in my criminal case. If it ever happens again you need not wonder what it's about when you're served a civil subpoena in the suit that I file naming you as a defendant. In other words – if you make a statement that causes arrest, you'd better be able to prove it. It don't matter one bit to me that the state doesn't follow through on perjury charges, so think twice before causing irreparable harm to another. Theresa Isaacs/Raines/whatever got off easy, along with a list of other state tools.

Blocking Adult Businesses

Make no mistake – telephone line blocks, IP address blocks, and network blocks are still in full force in Orlando and Las Vegas during large conventions when hotels are booked solid with conventioneers. Of course I have little doubt that this is transpiring in other U.S. cities as well, but can't prove it as I'm not there checking it.


If there are 140,000 attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January in Las Vegas and you own escort services, but the phones aren't ringing except for a random call here and there – mainly residences – you know there's a problem.

If all the better hotels and resorts in Lake Buena Vista/Disney are booked solid with convention attendees and you own escort services, but the phones aren't ringing except for a random call here and there – residences and off the beaten path calls – you've got to know that there's a problem.

When the phones ring, but the callers are all in Oviedo, out by UCF, in downtown hotels, in apartments in Kissimmee, or in Lake and Polk counties – and your service is called Orlando Escorts – you know you've got a problem.

Denial doesn't help solve the problem or make it go away. When the convention is over and you start receiving calls from all the great resorts out in family land or the convention resorts on International Drive (like the beautiful brand new Hilton) again, it serves as a vehicle to make you happy when there are no large conventions booked.

Although I still have not chosen a title, my soon to be released book is all about the blocks. They block in the PBX systems, they block IP addresses, and they block via the free WiFi at your hotel and the convention center. My new name for them is the network blockers. You can call me have laptop, will travel if your business is losing money and you just want to know. If you really do not care about the who, what, when, and where, but seek a solution to your problem, the story concludes with a workable one. I'm not quite finished yet – still have some research to do – and the book won't be published until June or July at this point.

If you're interested in censorship of business here in the good ole U.S. of A. and tire of hearing it all attributed to China, when you know it's lies, I think you will appreciate the research that I have conducted in the process of exposing an abhorrent practice in a so-called free country.

Really I'm only posting this to let you know that I'm still alive and on the case. In the next month or so I will title the book and announce it, but for the moment this is my explanation for my disappearance. Back to work I go…