Root of the Miami Companions Case

It is how I stated in Miami Companions Owners Indicted and in Unraveling the Miami Companions Indictment. Rafael Bernabe-Caballero (Marco) has a substantial assistance agreement. His plea agreement and sentence was recently unsealed. He agreed to not fight deportation when his sentence is completed – he is from Spain and will get a one-way ticket home. Lucky him.

The links are to the actual documents and are PDFs:

Bernabe-Caballero Plea Agreement

Bernabe-Caballero Sentencing

The Feds Won in Miami Companions Case

All parties indicted in the Miami Companions (MC) case have now made guilty pleas in federal court. Greg Carr was the last hold out and his plea was made today. According to Detroit Free Press writer Tresa Baldas, Carr now resides in Orlando. I must wonder why cause there sure ain't nothing here for him; trust me on that. Perhaps they are living in Fabiola's condo in Dr. Phillips area, the one Marco mentioned long ago. The articles:

Guilty plea for owner of Miami escort service

Miami companions co-owner pleads guilty, may get up to 27 months in prison

The article in Detroit Free Press also stated that Greg Carr's girlfriend, Fabiola Contreras also known as Antonella, kissed him on the cheek after he made his guilty plea. How fucking touching – we must wonder how Marco is doing. Gag – now they can all be informants together. I have little doubt that Fabiola Contreras played a significant part in getting Carr to plead in this case.

We all know what I think of informants and snakes: Informants and Snakes

As long as none of them dial me I don't give a rat's arse, and if they do I'll be blogging about it; you could bet your last $ on that - you would get the play by play of the conversation (I'm a great note-taker).

Another Guilty Plea in Miami Companions Case

Nayubet Swaso is the latest in the Miami Companions (MC) case to plead guilty and it looks like Greg Carr is in ongoing discussions regarding a plea as well, and who could blame him at this point. Swaso was the manager of the Costa Rica and Panama call centers for MC and reportedly a former porn star and escort herself. She's pleading to one count of “persuading or enticing someone to engage in prostitution,” according to Detroit Free Press staff writer Tresa Baldas.

Read the entire article:

Former porn star to plead today in prostitution case

Read the update on her plea hearing (she won't actually be sentenced until April 27, 2011):

Former porn star pleads guilty in prostitution case

Swaso's plea deal is sealed, so checking PACER won't reveal anything. I seriously doubt that she will spend any time in a prison or jail with a plea to one count and a sealed deal, whatever that may be.

What do I think?

Someone wasn't in their right mind when they gave this woman a job in an office. I have seen and read various things about Swaso online, including a booking photo on a DUI charge in South Florida after the arrest in the MC case. I wasn't aware that one could be arrested while out on bond without a return to custody and a bond revocation, but then some people are special, or make special deals at the expense of others. Most often they're referred to as informants.

Miami Companions Office Manager an Informant

If you have read the Michelle Matarazzo plea agreement linked in other Miami Companions posts on this blog, take special note of the very last sentence in the document, and actually in the Sentencing score sheet:

"The government will file a Rule 5K motion based on defendant Michelle Matarazzo's substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of others."

Directly above that statement it is noted that Matarazzo will not forfeit any property. So she may avoid all prison time by assisting in the prosecution of others. What a deal!

Note that Laurie Carr's plea agreement has no such statement concerning substantial assistance at the end of the document.

It seems the discrepancy involves Michelle Matarazzo working as an FBI informant long before the arrests in the Miami Companions case. According to an informed source, Matarazzo began working with the FBI as an insider informant back in July 2009, and her "deal" was set in stone long before the owners and others were arrested in the case. She knew of the arrests well in advance.

To conclude here, if you were a client of Miami Companions during their last year in business – when the office manager was working as an FBI informant – well, be concerned. That isn't saying that one calling prior to July 2009 shouldn't also be concerned as there is still the database kept under lock and key by federal prosecutors.

To generalize from an experience standpoint I will say that clients usually have nothing to worry about. In my own case prosecutors had no real interest in identifying clients, and agents broke into my Orlando home while I was not there searching for something – client lists in my opinion – though I do not believe they would have made the information public if it had been found. I feel the break-in was an order to find and dispose of it permanently. I could be incorrect, but then why not just get a court order? Why illegally break-in? There were people in high government positions that feared they were on a list. I did have the second escort service in the world on the internet. (the first was in Seattle).

One must also look at the DC Madam case: Jeane Palfrey attempted to turn 50 lbs. of telephone numbers into a list of names. She thought the government would have reason to back-off when confronted with so many names of people involved in Washington DC politics and the federal government. It was a hand that never paid off and instead they managed to control her agenda by attacking her attorney and getting her to accept government puppet Preston Burton. The client names and numbers were Jeane's exit strategy – she figured that there's no way prosecutors would let it get as far as trial.

Jeane Palfrey counted on a return of her forfeited property and something simple like probation and never really intended to go to trial, but instead the government let a few names come out and buried the rest. Jeane did commit suicide; there was no murder conspiracy. The bottom line is that she played her hand and lost. The government strategy of discrediting her real attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, worked like magic with the help of a few people Jeane perceived to be friends.

It is time to watch and see in the Miami Companions case.

Read Montgomery Blair Sibley's blog here: Amo Probos

Miami Companions Plea Agreements

Laurie Carr has recently made a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in the Miami Companions case. Apparently Michelle Matarazzo made a deal long before the Carrs were arrested – Matarazzo is the former office manager from Miami Companions. I still cannot get any information about Rafael Bernabe-Caballero's plea deal, but I'm including a sentencing memo here.

Here are the PDFs:

Laurie Carr Plea

Michelle Matarazzo Plea Agreement

Bernabe-Caballero Sentencing Memo

I think you will find it all to be interesting reading. It does look like Greg Carr is going to trial at this point. Any former independent contractors with Miami Companions that would like to offer your thoughts on the entire situation? Did you like Greg Carr? Laurie Carr? Was Miami Companions a good company to work with?

Feel free to contact me privately.

Bad News in Miami Companions Case

I had to interrupt my postings on the Wikileaks saga to return to the topic of the Miami Companions case. First I will state that the Miami Companions Indictment and the related Fabiola Contreras complaint can be read by clicking on the PDF links herein.

Laurie Carr and Michelle Matarazzo have made guilty pleas in federal court; however, Greg Carr has not. At this point he is still fighting the case. With Mr. Carr's former wife and the Miami Companions office manager pleading guilty and cooperating with Detroit federal prosecutors, well, it is unlikely that there will be a trial.

If Greg Carr opts to go to trial the client lists could become public record and some former clients could (and probably would) be called to testify by the feds. That's the thing about keeping client lists – yes, I know it helps in the operation of an escort business, but…

I really feel for Greg Carr and from all that I have heard from everyone involved in the case he was a great guy to work for and book calls with. He was how we would all like to be. I never had such a rapport with clients or really talked to the escorts because – well, you should understand why when you look at this entire case. I disconnected myself from everyone, and so I didn't have thousands of people that liked me and missed me when it was all over. I was also acquitted by a jury.

Now it has become a cat fight with these two women out for themselves. They'll say or do anything to avoid years in prison. That is a fact. I am sorry that you were so normal and nice to people in the course of business Greg. No doubt you took much of my business over the years – I was better known as the bitch to those that didn't really know me at all. There was reasoning behind that though. What can I say? There was no client list and no one that the MBI and the Statewide Prosecutor managed to locate knew me well enough to make a truthful statement in court. The cooperating witnesses just said what agents told them to say, and were of course caught in lies on the stand.

There was an article written by Robert Snell in The Detroit News today that explains the entire messy story: Miami prostitution ring busted open in metro Detroit hotels.


Image: Miami Brickell Nights 2009 © jfmdesign / 2010 © iStockphoto.com

Miami Companions Indictment PDF

Good news - I have managed to embed the Miami Companions Indictment and the Fabiola Contreras Complaint on the new website. I couldn't embed either on this blog or on my old website. To the few (6) people that purchased my book Memoirs in order to receive a free copy of these PDFs - THANK YOU. To the rest of you - now you may read it and print it for free. Just go to my website via the updates link and click on the document of your choice (or both): UPDATES

Or here are links to the PDFs:

Miami Companions Indictment

Fabiola Contreras Complaint


There is now a Miami Companions Label on this blog on the right sidebar. The latest post (dated December 12th) has additional PDFs.

Miami Companions Update

It seems that many viewers of my blog drop-in to read the Miami Companions posts. This is okay as it is a blog. I think that what is bugging me at the moment is that very few of the viewers have any interest in Memoirs and my story.

I'm the one that took 'em to trial on organized crime charges and won. I'm the one that was smart enough not to have a database of clients. I'm also the only one that really lost in my case – the clients never had a minute of trouble and the few escorts arrested in 10 years of business didn't lose their lives and their home and their belongings and their savings. I did on all counts.

Stopping in is always okay, but usually when you visit Starbucks you buy a cup of coffee. Not much different than visiting here for information and buying a copy of the one book that matters to me. What the hell is $5.99 these days? It won't even buy you coffee and a pastry at a Starbucks.

So here is the deal – buy a copy of Memoirs for the $5.99 or any book I sell for that matter, and receive a free copy of:

The Miami Companions Indictment (PDF)

The Fabiola Contreras Complaint (PDF)


All you need to do is enter "MC" in the instructions to seller box in the PayPal form. And anyone with a credit or debit card can buy with PayPal.

If you have already purchased any one of my books and want these copies, simply email me at the email address in any book. This offer is good no matter where you purchased the book, but if you didn't purchase a book from me then I may ask you a question so I know that you really did.

Consider it my tip cup.

Image: Miami Morning - 2004 © Floyd Anderson / 2010 © iStockphoto.com

Responses to Witnesses and Informants

The witnesses and informants in the Miami Companions (MC) case are beginning to climb out the ditch and initiate first contact in attempt to involve others in this mess of a case. If you signed-up for a PACER account and read the complaints and the main indictment, well, then you are aware of the number of potential witnesses and informants involved.

What are plausible responses when you suspect that a witness or informant in the case is emailing or calling you begging to meet with you?

A list of stories to use when you want to avoid further contact:

1. I'd love to meet with you, but my dog died today and he was sooo fond of the crystal blue water in Nassau that we are having him cremated so that we can scatter his ashes while hang gliding over the white sand beaches of Nassau. Ciao.

2. I think I was bitten by a brown recluse spider. My leg is swelling and I have this huge, hard red area right on my thigh, a fever that is worsening by the minute, and I've got to run throw-up before the ambulance gets here…click.

3. Oh my friggin God! All I did was flush the toilet – I swear – and the water won't stop. I'm standing in water up to my ankles and the plumber still isn't here! This is horrible and we'll be in a hotel for days. Can I call you back another time?

4. I think you've been screwing my boyfriend behind my back and now you both want to kill me. I will be talking it over with my psychiatrist this afternoon and he'll tell me if I should meet you or not, but don't hold your breath. Click.

5. Answer the phone and start one of these recordings at the same time (repeat as often as necessary):

Number was successfully traced

The call you have made requires a coin deposit

Your call cannot be completed, please check the instruction manual

The phone you are calling from is not in service

Your line has been temporarily disconnected

The number dialed cannot be reached from your area


Okay – here's a link to the Phone Recording Archive. Mix and match as you see fit, but most important - have fun with it! 


Image: Incredibly Busy Man 2005 © Victor Prikhodko / 2010 © iStockphoto.com

Client Lists and the Good Fight

Okay, so I admit that I posted the Patriot Act and sinus pills stuff early this morning just because I am tired of discussing the Miami Companions situation. People keep emailing me about it, asking my advice, and even requesting consultations.

Well, there's nothing to consult about in this situation, but if one pushes me enough then sure, I'll take $45 via PayPal to chat with you for an hour on the telephone. Would I accept payment for a couple of hours to meet you in person? Hell no; I'm not stupid, and as a matter of fact, I am as far from stupid as you will ever encounter when it comes to set-ups and word games. I survived a decade in the escort business in Orlando by dodging set-ups and playing word games.

Though I can never be sure of a person's goal when they offer money to meet me in person with their "friend" that is somehow involved in this mess, but decline to offer reasoning or even names, it smells to me and that's all that matters. Not all money is good money – a motto that I followed throughout my years in the business.

As I state in Memoirs of an Accused Madam, in the chapter about the bizarre trial, I decided way back in 1996 to barbecue the client books that I had from four years of business. From that point forward I kept only accounting records – that's right – never accepted credit cards for the entire duration of the business and never recorded client information beyond mid-1996 when I had the barbecue. I did explain this to the jury when I testified in my defense and the prosecutor screamed his demand to know where my records were. When I chose to toss it all in a fire I did so as I realized that such records could never benefit anyone – not me, not the escort, and not the client – so why keep any?

So really, I am sorry for you if you chose to book with Miami Companions so that you could use your credit card, but now you want my advice? Hell, you haven't even read my book. It will be a cold day in hell when I fall into any set-up so that any person with any part in the Miami Companions mess might save themselves. I'm the one that passed on credit cards and fried the client lists long ago. I'm the one that skipped all that money because I knew better than to cross a state line, and certainly better than to conduct such business in other countries.

I am also the one that won and was acquitted by a jury of my peers. So exactly how stupid do you think that I am?


Image: Justitia 2010 © Aleksandr Pakhay / 2010 © iStockphoto.com 

Miami Companions Indictment Excerpts

Because it has been a popular request I am posting the parts of the Miami Companions complaint that pertain to the client database. To read the complaint and any other documents that are public records in the case you must only open an account with PACER. If you have a debit or credit card you will usually have account access on the same day.

The excerpts that pertain to the client database kept by Miami Companions:

#13 - "... On behalf of Miami Companions, defendants NAYUBET LOANI SWASO, MICHELLE MATARAZZO, and/or other Miami Companions employees answering the telephones would "verify" the john by requesting employment information in order that Miami Companions could confirm that the john was not law enforcement and that he was employed. Once the john was "verified," an appointment with one of the prostitutes could be scheduled."

#16 - "Each of the johns paid the women in cash at the beginning of the appointment in exchange for sexual acts. On occasion, the johns would pay by credit card. The credit card statement for the transaction would read "MC Consulting Associates.""

#27 - "The Miami Companions database was administered by ITI Technical Solutions Inc. and its employees in exchange for payment for services by GREG CARR, LAURIE CARR, or MICHELLE MATARAZZO, on behalf of Miami Companions. Payments to ITI Technical Solutions Inc. and its employees typically were made with funds from the Bank of America MC Consulting Associates bank account."

#28 - The Miami Companions database, which was password protected, contained information about the johns, including their place of employment, contact information, and sexual preferences, as well as calendar information regarding which women were traveling to which cities to perform sexual acts in exchange for money with the johns."

#29 - "Miami Companions employees could access the database in order to "verify" the johns when the johns called to schedule an appointment with one of the women. Miami Companions employees could enter information regarding appointments and new clients to the database. The database was password-protected, and security features were used to prohibit employees from being able to copy or delete the database. Some of the employees of ITI Technical Solutions Inc. knew that Miami Companions was a prostitution business, and these employees assisted defendants GREG CARR, and LAURIE CARR and Miami Companions in the operation of the prostitution business by, among other things, assisting in adding security features in order to hide the database from law enforcement, designing the calendar to accommodate designations of appointments with various women working as prostitutes with johns in the South Florida area and in cities to which the women were traveling, and including a client database of tens of thousands of client names that included information about the clients' employment, contact information, and sexual likes and dislikes. In order to avoid detection by law enforcement, the database was hosted on a server in Panama, but was accessible from the United States through password-protected Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)."

It appears that the Miami Companions website has now been taken down.

Edit - 10/13/2010 - Follow short instructions on this later blog post for free download of PDF of indictment: Miami Companions Indictment PDF 

Edit - 10 December 2010 - See latest post on this blog for links to the indictment and a related complaint.

Unraveling the Miami Companions Indictment

How the people operating Miami Companions were indicted now when they've been in business for 10+ years is no longer a mystery to me. I stated in my early morning post – Miami Companions Owners Indicted - that there was much more to the story, and indeed there is. I have encountered enough prosecutions that began as an informant statement to recognize the situation quickly. I must read through a rather large pile of documents to get the full picture so this will be somewhat brief.

I am surprised that no news investigators have bothered to gut this story though. The Orlando Sentinel buried it entirely – I had to search for any article. Instead the Sentinel opted to report on the johns arrested in the Craigslist sting by the Altamonte P.D. on that date, and ran it as a main article online. Puzzling, except that I know Orlando and prostitution are never discussed in the same sentence by the powers that be around here. We do not have prostitution in Orlando – we have Disney.

Okay, back to the situation at hand here:

There was a story in the news back in early 2009 – January/February – about an alleged violent Miami pimp named Rafael Bernabe-Caballero (AKA Marco) and his partner in crime from Maryland, Michael Porru. These defendants were indicted on a lengthy list of felony counts back in December 2008. The Miami indictment was removed and the Michigan indicted prevailed. Are you beginning to see where I'm going here?

The indictment of Bernabe-Caballero and Porru involved this list of charges:

Sex Trafficking of Children or by Force, Fraud or Coercion (1-2)
Sex Trafficking of Children or by Force, Fraud or Coercion (1s-4s)
Coercion or Enticement of Female (3-4)
Importation of Alien for Immoral Purpose (5)
Coercion or Enticement of Female (5s-11s)
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States (6)
Forfeiture (7)
Civil Forfeiture (8)
Importation of Alien for Immoral Purpose (12s)
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States (13s)
Forfeiture (14s)
Civil Forfeiture (15s)

The Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit) on the Rafael Bernabe-Caballero (AKA Marco) and Michael Porru case was AUSA Jennifer Blackwell. I say was as Blackwell filed a Motion to Dismiss the counts on July 14, 2010 and District Judge Denise Page Hood granted that motion on July 16, 2010. Porru's indictment, and Porru, disappeared entirely, though Marco's was only dismissed, with the exception of Count 13, this month. He still has that lone "Conspiracy to Defraud the United States" count and sits in Milan Federal Corrections Institution (FCI) in Michigan. He should be released soon if all goes through with this plea deal as time served would apply.

Bernabe-Caballero (AKA Marco) and Porru were described by various news sources as violent pimps. Google the names and read for yourself.

The Miami Companions indictment was removed from the Southern District of Florida and is active in the Eastern District of Michigan by Order of US Magistrate Judge William C. Turnoff on July 22, 2010.

So, guess which specific AUSA in the Eastern District of Michigan is handling the Miami Companions prosecution? If you chose AUSA Jennifer Blackwell, then you've got a BINGO!!!

The counts that the Miami Companions defendants are charged with are nothing in comparison to the counts that were involved in the Bernabe-Caballero and Porru indictments. The Miami Companions people obviously made a lot of money during the time spent in the escort business. It is clear that prosecuting defendants for financial gain is more important to the DOJ than prosecuting alleged violent pimps that entice minors and illegal aliens.

I never posted anything about the previous Bernabe-Caballero indictment because I know who he is and how he operated. "Marco" is not personally known to me; however, we have spoken in past, though it is highly unlikely that he has a clue that it was me he had a conversation with.

The undeserving recipients of an informant plea deal in this situation are the Miami Companions defendants: Gregory Carr; Laurie Carr; Nayubet Loani Swaso; and Michelle Matarazzo.

I have the entire indictment to read through and will post late tonight or tomorrow on my findings. I still must research the other defendant indicted - Fabiola Contreras - and figure out her part in the mess.  

Image: Miami Brickell Nights  2009 © javier fontanella / 2010 © iStockphoto.com

Miami Companions Owners Indicted

On July 21, 2010, five defendants were indicted in the Eastern District of Michigan. The defendants included in the indictment are GREGORY CARR (a.k.a. Paul Cutlass), 43, LAURIE CARR, 39, NAYUBET LOANI SWASO, 24, and MICHELLE MATARAZZO, 36. A fifth defendant, FABIOLA CONTRERAS, 33, was arrested on a related federal complaint. It is a six-count indictment charging conspiracy to coerce and entice acts of prostitution, coercion and enticement of prostitution in the Eastern District of Michigan, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Read the DOJ press release here.

Miami Companions is an escort service based in South Florida, but they have been sending escorts all over the place for many years. They were in business when I was still in business, and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) in Orlando arrested at least one escort from the company in a bust at the downtown Orlando Marriott back in 1999.

When I met Michelle in 1999, she had recently been arrested for "failure to obtain an occupational license" in Orlando. Though the agent actually fondled her breasts while pulling her sweater over her head to remove it, she was not arrested on any other charge. This was the situation that offered a clue that I was a special target. Hell, the MBI arrested any escort that showed-up at a call if that escort was from my agency – didn't even matter if she did nothing illegal whatsoever and refused the money; that is a fact.

When Michelle first called me she asked where to get an occupational license and I directed her to the appropriate county office. I later met with Michelle and her husband John at a Barnes and Noble café in Orlando and both related the story of the MBI encounter and minor arrest over her lack of a license. The breast-fondling thing didn't seem to faze her – they were from Los Angeles, used to bad cops, and they were swingers in their private life. They were indeed puzzled by the license charge though.

I had a laugh when the prosecutor in my criminal case threatened to locate and subpoena John and Michelle and fly them both in from Los Angeles to play the part of additional state witnesses. He never did locate them and poor John Craft was lost in the dark when he posed a question concerning John and Michelle as I testified in my defense. I told the jury the story, including the name of the fondling agent: Ray Peters. Michelle had shown me all of her arrest paperwork the day that we met in the café.

I have seen the Miami Companions ads on various online forums ever since. According to prosecutors they moved millions of $s into overseas accounts – aha! So the feds decided to indict them only now and no doubt over the money. All that work for so many years only to have the money forfeited by the feds. In a way I'm happy the MBI took me out when they did….

There is much more to this story – there's an informant involved that was actually arrested quite some time ago. I'll need to do a bit of research and post tomorrow on it.

Edit 10 December 2010 @7pm EST - See current latest post (10 December post) on this blog for links to the Miami Companions indictment and the related Fabiola Contreras complaint.

Image: Downtown Miami at Dusk 2010 © Philip Lange / 2010 © iStockphoto.com