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

Third Culture Adults

I admit that I have never adjusted to life in the US, and if I had a choice I wouldn't live here. Many people consider me to be un-American, to say the least, and I have been attacked on the topic more times than I care to remember. There is nothing like being told to leave the country when you disagree with poster statements on a forum – as if I could, right? Of course it is always stated obnoxiously, but the translation in my mind has always been, "You do not think like I do and therefore you are un-American. Get out and don't let the door hit you in the arse." I actually had one poster offer to pay for my one-way flight, but of course the person didn't come through with real information. (yes, I asked).

Incidentally, those statements that I disagree with usually involve the US invasion of the Middle East and the "support our soldiers" assertion parroted by so many Americans. Their favorite take on it is always, "Even if you do not support the war, you must support our military." The hell I must. Supporting volunteer soldiers is no different than supporting the illegal occupation of the Middle East, and sorry, but I'm not going to pretend to consider this acceptable; not to sell books on Amazon and not to make anyone feel warm and fuzzy about me. Really I do not give a flying crap what anyone thinks of me – that is a fact that you could take to your fact bank.

One early morning this past week an Amazon forum poster took the time to tell me about "Third Culture" kids and adults, and this was the most helpful information that anyone has ever given me since I have been in the US. Wow! There is a coined term for what I feel, what I am, why I disagree with Americans all the time, and why I have never adjusted to life in the United States! It was a shocker for me as all along I considered that it must be me, and what a depressing thought. My contradictory thoughts of being a foreigner in a foreign land are now reconciled.

The Amazon forum poster was so kind as to furnish a link to a website on the topic and offered a book recommendation. I think the poster is female and figure that she must be another one of us third culture kids to be as knowledgeable as she is on the topic. The Third Culture Kid (TCK) website has lists with 500+ answers to:

You know you're a TCK when…

- “Where are you from?” has more than one reasonable answer.
- You go into culture shock upon returning to your “home” country.
- Your life story uses the phrase “Then we moved to…” three (or four, or five…) times.
- You know how to pack.
- You have the urge to move to a new country every couple of years.
- You wince when people mispronounce foreign words.
- You don’t know whether to write the date as day/month/year, month/day/year, or some variation thereof.
- Your minor is a foreign language you already speak.
- When asked a question in a certain language, you’ve absentmindedly respond in a different one.
- You think that high school reunions are all but impossible.
- You realize what a small world it is, after all.

I am sure that you have the idea anyway.

On that note, I am seriously sick and tired of Americans calling me un-American just because I disagree with their own indoctrinates in American society. It is an indoctrination in which I did not participate.

Image © 2007 S. Greg Panosian / © 2010 iStockphoto.com 

The Morals Agenda

It was in the news in Central Florida today that the Altamonte Springs P.D. set-up a sting operation using Craigslist. They posted an ad in the "erotic services" category – most likely an explicit ad – to lure men seeking a cheap thrill to an Altamonte Springs hotel. Upon arrival the men with questionable moral values were arrested on the charge of "assignation to commit prostitution".

I am not sure at what specific point this became newsworthy, but it made the local news on tv and a brief article in the Orlando Sentinel; at least the online issue. One thing that needs to be clear here is that the "erotic services" category of Craigslist is the online version of the streets and the posters are not much different than street hookers – they bargain their sexual services for dollars almost blatantly at times. Anyone responding to the ads posted in this category is more similar than not to the john driving down Orange Blossom Trail in search of a hooker at a bargain price. Really. All you must do is look at the ads to realize this.

Of course Craigslist is far from alone in this respect. There are many online forums where the street hooker meets the john and they haggle over prices and services. All that has happened is they're all off the street. This is, of course, the lowest level of the prostitution business and law enforcement busting four or six men interested in prostitutes has rarely been in the news, at least not in the Orlando metropolitan area.

I am disgusted at the Altamonte Springs' P.D. for the choice of agendas as it would lead me to believe that they have too much time on their hands and no crime in the city to contend with or investigate. On the other hand, I applaud the fact that they pursued the male consumer that enables such transactions to begin with. Too often law enforcement goes after the party on the other side of that transaction.

I find the practice of these sting operations to be questionable from a moral and legal standpoint. The cops post the explicit ad – and it had to be to compete with other ads in the "erotic services" category – and become the new enabler of the transaction involving sex and money. Would these johns have located anyone if not for the ad? The answer is that they probably would have, but it is the equivalent of law enforcement talking a person into a drug transaction and it doesn't pass the smell test. Would that person have participated in any drug transaction had the opportunity not been thrown in their face?

The Florida Today newspaper in Brevard County arrived today with the headline, "Deputy Jobs Hanging in Budget Balance." In reading the article I discovered that they are considering firing 31 deputies if more funds do not come through. Though I do feel for those particular 31 deputies, I considered this good news as I fear cops far more than I fear any criminal element, and in some cases the cops are the criminals. I admit that cops scare me, but not because I do anything wrong – because the police officer is the most powerful person around. It's the power trippers that scare me, and there are plenty of them.

Does anyone see the irony in this? They all cry crocodile tears for more funds and then use those funds to support a morals and religious agenda. Sure it is two different police departments that are an hour drive from one another, but I have heard those crocodile tears from prosecutors and law enforcement from one end of Florida to the other. They run through unknown sums of money pursuing ridiculous agendas and then wonder why it has finally run out and there is no more.

TEENS AND POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the primary causes of self-medicating substance abuse behaviors that can lead to teen alcohol abuse and addiction and/or teen drug abuse and teen drug addiction. Recognizing and seeking treatment for PTSD and addiction, allows an individual to focus on the process of changing behaviors, improving coping skills, finding solutions to problems, and working through the process of addiction recovery.

The DSM-IV-TR, defines traumatic events as: “Traumatic events that are experienced directly include, but are not limited to, violent personal assault (sexual assault, physical attack, robbery, mugging), being kidnapped, terrorist attack, incarceration, natural or man made disasters, automobile accidents, military combat, or being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.” P.463. Perception of a traumatic event not mentioned above is also relevant, as we all perceive events in our lives differently. Witnessed events are considered traumatic. Divorce, either as the child of divorce or the marital partner of a divorce, can elicit PTSD, as well as contribute to abandonment issues. The DSM-IV-TR, aka Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is the manual by which mental health professionals diagnose and review criteria for treatment.

Inspirations Teen Rehab’s teen residential addiction treatment center, provides treatment for teenage PTSD through individual, group, and family therapy, as well as other therapeutic modalities and programs. Trauma therapy helps teens improve coping skills, decision making skills, communication skills, and develop positive self-esteem. Solution Focused Therapy assists teens in finding solutions and opportunities for change regarding traumatic events and perceptions of events. Teens and families struggling with Teenage PTSD, are encouraged to contact Inspirations Teen Addiction Treatment Program at inspirationsteenrehab.com or call 888-757-6237, and begin the healing process for teen PTSD, and teen substance abuse, as part of their journey in recovery.

Source: Diagnostic And Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR; 2000
Written by: K. Corcoran

TEEN COURT ORDERED REHAB /JUVENILE DIVERSION PROGRAM

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The mission of Inspirations Teen Rehab Juvenile Services Program, is to assist in the prevention of juvenile delinquent conduct, prevention of continued disruptive behavior, and the prevention of adolescent drug abuse, and to provide for the care and rehabilitation of teens.

Most teenagers on probation, holding court orders, or involved in the juvenile justice program are permitted to enter Inspirations Teen Rehab due to our commitment and ability to provide the level of supervision required by the juvenile courts.

Most teens are charged with misdemeanors. Misdemeanors transferred from a justice or municipal court typically include public intoxication, truancy, running away, inhalant abuse, and violation of school disciplinary codes that result in expulsion.

Inspirations Teen Rehab’s services for juvenile offenders includes screening of cases, presenting objective reports to probation or in a diversion program to the court, and executing court-ordered treatment and supervision.

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The State of Florida Drugs Its Witnesses

This is for anyone that has read Memoirs of an Accused Madam and noted the part wherein I state that my co-defendant Rocky was drugged in jail when he made the wild and lengthy deposition and entered his guilty plea to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering (RICO). Actors of the State of Florida made sure that he was on so many prescription drugs that he likely didn't know his own name. They had the help of my other co-defendant, Beth Sams/Mihalek, who also married Rocky in the middle of the case and long before my trial.

Rocky didn't even know which particular drugs he was put on for sure. How could he? From what I was told by a pharmacist the doses are enough to knock out a horse. You decide, and ask your pharmacist if you so desire.

This is an excerpt of a letter from Beth Mihalek to Rocky (Robert Mihalek) shortly after he was sentenced to 36 months in prison for not testifying in my trial, although he was there to testify and simply stated to the prosecutor, John Craft, that he wouldn't lie on the stand. He was subsequently told to leave the courthouse.

Once Rocky arrived at the Florida prison following sentencing he wanted to expose the prosecutor and the agents of the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation and all that they did to him. He was stopped dead in his tracks by threats of never being released from prison. He did copy many of Beth's letters and mail them to me though, and I have copies of documents from the original and long since disappeared file that prove it is her handwriting.

The exact excerpt:

"Please take your medicine. Ok, first you need to tell your "psychologist" or the "medicine doctor" you are on:

Lithium Carb 300 mg cap 2 p.o. am. 2 p.o. h.s. (1200mg for manic bipolar)
Atenolol (for tremors from Lithium)
Paxil 40 mg tab 1/1 tab @ h.s.
Clonazepam 1mg t.i.d.
Trazadone 100 mg 1/1 p.o. @ h. s.
Manic Depression – Trazadone – makes agitated depressed patients sleepy.
Manic Bipolar – Start Lithium + Atenolol for tremors.
Paxil for depression for a week or 2 until manic symptoms are cleared. If anxiety is high – continue.
Panic Disorder – Klonopin

I am only telling you this because your gonna need them to get you through each day. I have some bad news and I'm not going to lie to you. I called Judge Johnson's secretary today about that motion. She couldn't find it where it should have been. She was supposed to send for your file. I'll call her tomorrow. But I called Kenny he says he can't do anymore. So I called 5 different hot shot lawyers. I'm going to the newspaper tomorrow and the library to write gov. Jeb Bush. I won't quit but you need your meds to chill out…"

Is there any person reading this that isn't appalled at what was obviously done to my co-defendant in this case? He finished his 36 months in prison, but will be on the 10 years of felony probation until 2014.

What kind of justice is this?