If you have ever read any of my blog articles or my book, then you are aware of my feelings towards the MBI, but I'm not so sure that anyone understands how I view the agency or the former agents. The feelings range from anger to disgust. The main reason that I feel this way is that I abhor injustice, and every single case investigated by the MBI that I have examined, including my own, involves some level of injustice. In most situations the agency also criminally harasses its targets.
The injustice could be something simple like the abuse of state funds for self-gratification as in the Rachel's Men's Club case – agents passed out thousands of dollars to watch sexual girl-on-girl shows on several occasions, as if dancers could not be arrested for anything less. The MBI spent close to $200,000.00 investigating the club. One agent was on tape as stating his intent to have sex with a dancer.
It could also be more complicated, like hounding an escort repeatedly at her workplace where she worked as a leasing agent for an apartment complex and threatening to make sure that her children were taken away if she didn't provide the statement that the agents demanded, as with "Maria" in my case. They never sought the facts or the truth, and that in itself is injustice permeated upon each and every defendant investigated by the agency and each and every coerced witness.
This still does not reveal how I really view the agency as feelings and viewpoint are two different topics. The first descriptive thought that comes to mind is con artists, and the second is bullies, but while the MBI is capable of shaking me up, they have never scared me. Many people in the adult business, from dancers to escorts to business owners, have told me stories of various acts of misconduct on the part of MBI agents, and each came across as petrified of the agency. For me the answer was simple: Clarify the threat at the time that it is stated.
If an agent repeatedly visited my workplace in attempt to embarrass me in front of fellow employees with the goal of coercing a false statement, I would not hide or be afraid as "Maria" was, and instead I'd make sure that I had witnesses to the agent's statements and actions. Write down contact information for each witness. "Maria" was fired by her employer and should have sued Agent Rose and his supervisors, not feared him. As she sat on the stand in my trial, she looked scared and frozen. You can never fear the bully; it's counterproductive.
To summarize my viewpoint of the MBI, I do not consider them scary at all. Any of these many petrified defendants and/or MBI victims could have simply invoked their right to counsel. There are many great defense attorneys out there, and not all charge exorbitant fees. In many of the situations described, simply invoking the right to counsel and the right to remain silent would have resulted in being tossed out the door. These are bullies, and what they do is bluff. Face it, if they already had a solid case, as they claim in most situations, they wouldn't need to talk to you. They would simply arrest you, because that is what they do. The threat game is precisely that – a game. They are not there to help you or to hear your version of the story – they could not care less on either point.
From my view, the agents involved in my own case, the (now former) director, Bill Lutz, and the members of the MBI Governing Board are not scary. Each is a con artist that sells the public their version, but only the weak or the ignorant would help them do so. In the United States we do have rights, but what no one mentions is that you must fight for those rights till your dying breath. No one informs you of your rights and it is your own responsibility to enlighten yourself. Finally, no one will ever hand you those rights on a silver platter – you must demand each right.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
After Arrest: A Story
Today when referring to an event in the past it is always categorized as before arrest or after arrest, as the day that I was arrested everything in my life changed, and it changed forever. This is an after arrest story. It transpired when I was awaiting trial, in November of 2002.
In June 2002, the sale of my house went through and I moved my son, Alex, to South Texas. His father flew in, rented a U-Haul, and Alex and Robert, his father, drove with all of our household belongings to Corpus Christi. I stayed in the house for the last couple of weeks with only the few things that I intended to move to my mother's. By early July I was living in Brevard County at mom's place and Alex had settled into life in South Texas. I had to have some income, so I tried one job and then another. The first was driving a taxi in Brevard County, and that lasted all of 2 weeks – it's another story for another day. By early November, due to lack of choices in Brevard County, I responded to a newspaper advertisement for "sandwich makers" at a Subway in Cocoa Beach. The owner, Caroline, scheduled me for an interview.
I'll be honest – I didn't even know that people applying for fast-food minimum wage jobs had interviews. I thought that a person would just walk-in and be hired if they looked decent, but Caroline ran a tight ship. The application that I filled out asked if I had ever been convicted of a felony, and of course I checked the no box. During the interview Caroline asked me if I had ever been arrested – now this is actually illegal; regardless, I needed the job, so I answered. She asked questions about the case and I told her about what the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) had done to me. Caroline was silent for a moment and then informed me that I must have a second interview with her manager, Rob. I was puzzled because I had never heard of two interviews for such a job, but I agreed and she told me to return at 4pm the following day.
I arrived at Subway a few minutes early and Rob directed me to wait at a table. About ten minutes later he joined me and asked a few questions that led to more questions in relation to my arrest. When I first stated "MBI" this guy looked as if his world fell apart. He immediately stood-up, began pulling me out the front door, and spoke like a man in a panic, "Let's talk outside."
Rob and I walked to his vehicle and he explained a bit of his own story. He looked as if he was flipping-out, with eyes wide and mouth open – as if I'd walked into the place and pointed a gun in his face or something similar. Rob informed me that his father had died in Cape Canaveral Hospital six months earlier, just after his release from prison. He also stated that he was still, more than a decade later, on probation from the case. It all happened in the late-1980s. The conversation turned to particular agents and then the director of the MBI, William Lutz. When I said Lutz, Rob looked totally and absolutely horrified. Rob was pacing and talking at the same time. I don't believe that I have ever seen anyone look that scared in the course of any conversation. Rob told me a story:
"I was working as a bank manager at a bank in Orlando back then. My father was involved in smuggling drugs out at the port [Port Canaveral] and they accused me of laundering money for him. Bill Lutz was an agent back then. They took me to their offices and started drilling me about my father, but I just kept repeating that I didn't know anything about his business, money laundering, or drugs. Then out of nowhere, Lutz pulls out his gun and points it at my forehead – the barrel was less than an inch away! He screams: "NOW TELL US ABOUT YOUR FATHER OR I'LL BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT HERE AND NOW!" I closed my eyes. I really believed that he would do it. I thought I was going to die. With my eyes closed I stated again that I didn't know anything about my father and drugs. I flinched and opened my eyes. The gun wasn't at my forehead anymore. He didn't shoot, but I thought I was as good as dead. I really thought he was going to do it. He's nuts."
I informed Rob that I was taking my case to trial, but I'm not sure that he believed me. He gave me the job, though I only worked there for a couple of weeks as my son called me wanting to come back, and days later got on a Greyhound bus with several extra large boxes filled with his personal stuff. The bus had mechanical trouble and Alex and his boxes were transferred to a different bus that terminated in Jacksonville. So here it was the day before Thanksgiving 2002, and my son was stranded in Jacksonville. I was at work when Alex called, and told Caroline the problem, but she didn't care and stated that I had to work as scheduled and could not leave. I quit the Subway job and drove to Jacksonville to pick-up Alex.
After my acquittal in the case I went back to Subway to see Rob. I tried to get a sworn (notarized) statement from him, but his fear took-over and I never did receive it. I wanted his help to finally do something about the MBI, but the fact that Lutz was now (at that point) director, petrified Rob beyond description. I have just never seen anyone that horrified. Months later Rob was back in jail in Brevard County for a Violation of Probation. I was told that he developed a serious drug problem after the MBI mess with his father and his encounter with Lutz. Apparently Caroline had been dragging him to Church with her several times a week, but as he recalled that horrifying day at the MBI offices, the gun at his head, and the real fear (at least to him) that it could happen again, he regressed. I am sorry that I reminded Rob of his nightmare experience. If I could locate him I would help him.
In June 2002, the sale of my house went through and I moved my son, Alex, to South Texas. His father flew in, rented a U-Haul, and Alex and Robert, his father, drove with all of our household belongings to Corpus Christi. I stayed in the house for the last couple of weeks with only the few things that I intended to move to my mother's. By early July I was living in Brevard County at mom's place and Alex had settled into life in South Texas. I had to have some income, so I tried one job and then another. The first was driving a taxi in Brevard County, and that lasted all of 2 weeks – it's another story for another day. By early November, due to lack of choices in Brevard County, I responded to a newspaper advertisement for "sandwich makers" at a Subway in Cocoa Beach. The owner, Caroline, scheduled me for an interview.
I'll be honest – I didn't even know that people applying for fast-food minimum wage jobs had interviews. I thought that a person would just walk-in and be hired if they looked decent, but Caroline ran a tight ship. The application that I filled out asked if I had ever been convicted of a felony, and of course I checked the no box. During the interview Caroline asked me if I had ever been arrested – now this is actually illegal; regardless, I needed the job, so I answered. She asked questions about the case and I told her about what the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) had done to me. Caroline was silent for a moment and then informed me that I must have a second interview with her manager, Rob. I was puzzled because I had never heard of two interviews for such a job, but I agreed and she told me to return at 4pm the following day.
I arrived at Subway a few minutes early and Rob directed me to wait at a table. About ten minutes later he joined me and asked a few questions that led to more questions in relation to my arrest. When I first stated "MBI" this guy looked as if his world fell apart. He immediately stood-up, began pulling me out the front door, and spoke like a man in a panic, "Let's talk outside."
Rob and I walked to his vehicle and he explained a bit of his own story. He looked as if he was flipping-out, with eyes wide and mouth open – as if I'd walked into the place and pointed a gun in his face or something similar. Rob informed me that his father had died in Cape Canaveral Hospital six months earlier, just after his release from prison. He also stated that he was still, more than a decade later, on probation from the case. It all happened in the late-1980s. The conversation turned to particular agents and then the director of the MBI, William Lutz. When I said Lutz, Rob looked totally and absolutely horrified. Rob was pacing and talking at the same time. I don't believe that I have ever seen anyone look that scared in the course of any conversation. Rob told me a story:
"I was working as a bank manager at a bank in Orlando back then. My father was involved in smuggling drugs out at the port [Port Canaveral] and they accused me of laundering money for him. Bill Lutz was an agent back then. They took me to their offices and started drilling me about my father, but I just kept repeating that I didn't know anything about his business, money laundering, or drugs. Then out of nowhere, Lutz pulls out his gun and points it at my forehead – the barrel was less than an inch away! He screams: "NOW TELL US ABOUT YOUR FATHER OR I'LL BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT HERE AND NOW!" I closed my eyes. I really believed that he would do it. I thought I was going to die. With my eyes closed I stated again that I didn't know anything about my father and drugs. I flinched and opened my eyes. The gun wasn't at my forehead anymore. He didn't shoot, but I thought I was as good as dead. I really thought he was going to do it. He's nuts."
I informed Rob that I was taking my case to trial, but I'm not sure that he believed me. He gave me the job, though I only worked there for a couple of weeks as my son called me wanting to come back, and days later got on a Greyhound bus with several extra large boxes filled with his personal stuff. The bus had mechanical trouble and Alex and his boxes were transferred to a different bus that terminated in Jacksonville. So here it was the day before Thanksgiving 2002, and my son was stranded in Jacksonville. I was at work when Alex called, and told Caroline the problem, but she didn't care and stated that I had to work as scheduled and could not leave. I quit the Subway job and drove to Jacksonville to pick-up Alex.
After my acquittal in the case I went back to Subway to see Rob. I tried to get a sworn (notarized) statement from him, but his fear took-over and I never did receive it. I wanted his help to finally do something about the MBI, but the fact that Lutz was now (at that point) director, petrified Rob beyond description. I have just never seen anyone that horrified. Months later Rob was back in jail in Brevard County for a Violation of Probation. I was told that he developed a serious drug problem after the MBI mess with his father and his encounter with Lutz. Apparently Caroline had been dragging him to Church with her several times a week, but as he recalled that horrifying day at the MBI offices, the gun at his head, and the real fear (at least to him) that it could happen again, he regressed. I am sorry that I reminded Rob of his nightmare experience. If I could locate him I would help him.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Defining Escort and Escort Service
What is an Escort Service?
In the course of my research for a second book that's in progress, a situation of great importance, at least in the adult business world, has come to my attention. I believe that what is transpiring can easily be attributed to law enforcement continuously labeling hookers as "escorts" and brothels and in-call operations as "escort services" – it is as I stated it in Memoirs of an Accused Madam – the general population listens to these police agencies and believes what they state, and after it is stated repeatedly on various forums over a length of time, it becomes factual, at least in the mind.
Definition of "escort" from two sources:
Oxford University Press Dictionary & Thesaurus (2002 version):
noun (1) – entourage, attendants, bodyguard, protector, convoy, defender, contingent.
(2) – partner, companion, gigolo, hostess, geisha; informal date; dated beau.
verb (1) – accompany, guide, conduct, lead, usher, guard, protect, safeguard, defend.
(2) – partner, accompany, take out, go out with, attend on.
Cambridge University Press (2009 online version)
noun (social companion) (1) – a person who goes with another person, usually someone of the opposite sex, to a social event. (2) – someone, often a young woman, who is paid to go out to social events with another person: He hired an escort girl to go to dinner with him.
verb (formal) – to go to a social event with someone, especially a person of the opposite sex: Who will be escorting her to the ball?
Nowhere in either definition does this describe "prostitute," as a geisha is not a prostitute. Only in the U.S., thanks to overzealous law enforcement agencies, is "escort" defined as "prostitute." It must be noted that both Oxford and Cambridge are universities in the UK, so one may find "escort" defined as "prostitute" in a recent US dictionary – this is the trend lately, and not the proper English definition.
Definition of "escort service" or "escort agency":
Cambridge states: a business which supplies people who work as escorts.
Oxford online nor my 2002 version list these terms. Merriam-Webster also does not list it, so I'll go with the above stated Cambridge definition.
Now that we've straightened that out I'll get back to the problem at hand. I met two ladies a couple of days ago and each told me they had worked as an "escort" recently; however, both described an incall/brothel situation, and not at all an escort service. According to their stories, the business operator set them up in an apartment, scheduled 15 minute appointments, and sent in men. This could never be described as an "escort service" – it's clearly an incall operation, and if sex was involved, a brothel situation. Neither stated whether sex was involved or not and I didn't ask, as it falls in the category of none of my business. It simply infuriates me that a business operator would present such an operation as an escort service and these ladies had the audacity to refer to themselves as escorts! But then, I'm sure they interpreted it to be exactly that from listening to local law enforcement rhetoric that is now embedded in the minds of the general population.
An escort service sends escort out, and the escort and client go out to dinner, to a club, or tour the area. They do meet in the client's hotel room, but only to take care of business matters as this is not done publicly. An escort service can also operate as an entertainment business. An entertainer can entertain a client in the privacy of his home or hotel, and by "entertain" I mean offer a non-therapeutic body rub, a private dance, or a lingerie show. Certainly there will always be greedy and/or in-need escorts that will accept additional money (in the form of tips) for illegal services, but escorts are paid for time and company, not prostitution services. I have not yet encountered a real escort agency that takes any part of these tips, and few promote this type of service – why would they? While any escort service operator would hope that the ladies are tipped, at the same time none would expect it to be at their expense or for prostitution services.
These days every prostitute in the country is referred to as an escort, from the street hookers to the online hookers found on BigDoggie.net, Backpage, Craigslist, in Village Voice ads, or on The Erotic Review. The ads clearly reflect prostitution services, not escort services. There is a difference in services just as there is a difference in ad content. Skip the inappropriate labels, please.
In the course of my research for a second book that's in progress, a situation of great importance, at least in the adult business world, has come to my attention. I believe that what is transpiring can easily be attributed to law enforcement continuously labeling hookers as "escorts" and brothels and in-call operations as "escort services" – it is as I stated it in Memoirs of an Accused Madam – the general population listens to these police agencies and believes what they state, and after it is stated repeatedly on various forums over a length of time, it becomes factual, at least in the mind.
Definition of "escort" from two sources:
Oxford University Press Dictionary & Thesaurus (2002 version):
noun (1) – entourage, attendants, bodyguard, protector, convoy, defender, contingent.
(2) – partner, companion, gigolo, hostess, geisha; informal date; dated beau.
verb (1) – accompany, guide, conduct, lead, usher, guard, protect, safeguard, defend.
(2) – partner, accompany, take out, go out with, attend on.
Cambridge University Press (2009 online version)
noun (social companion) (1) – a person who goes with another person, usually someone of the opposite sex, to a social event. (2) – someone, often a young woman, who is paid to go out to social events with another person: He hired an escort girl to go to dinner with him.
verb (formal) – to go to a social event with someone, especially a person of the opposite sex: Who will be escorting her to the ball?
Nowhere in either definition does this describe "prostitute," as a geisha is not a prostitute. Only in the U.S., thanks to overzealous law enforcement agencies, is "escort" defined as "prostitute." It must be noted that both Oxford and Cambridge are universities in the UK, so one may find "escort" defined as "prostitute" in a recent US dictionary – this is the trend lately, and not the proper English definition.
Definition of "escort service" or "escort agency":
Cambridge states: a business which supplies people who work as escorts.
Oxford online nor my 2002 version list these terms. Merriam-Webster also does not list it, so I'll go with the above stated Cambridge definition.
Now that we've straightened that out I'll get back to the problem at hand. I met two ladies a couple of days ago and each told me they had worked as an "escort" recently; however, both described an incall/brothel situation, and not at all an escort service. According to their stories, the business operator set them up in an apartment, scheduled 15 minute appointments, and sent in men. This could never be described as an "escort service" – it's clearly an incall operation, and if sex was involved, a brothel situation. Neither stated whether sex was involved or not and I didn't ask, as it falls in the category of none of my business. It simply infuriates me that a business operator would present such an operation as an escort service and these ladies had the audacity to refer to themselves as escorts! But then, I'm sure they interpreted it to be exactly that from listening to local law enforcement rhetoric that is now embedded in the minds of the general population.
An escort service sends escort out, and the escort and client go out to dinner, to a club, or tour the area. They do meet in the client's hotel room, but only to take care of business matters as this is not done publicly. An escort service can also operate as an entertainment business. An entertainer can entertain a client in the privacy of his home or hotel, and by "entertain" I mean offer a non-therapeutic body rub, a private dance, or a lingerie show. Certainly there will always be greedy and/or in-need escorts that will accept additional money (in the form of tips) for illegal services, but escorts are paid for time and company, not prostitution services. I have not yet encountered a real escort agency that takes any part of these tips, and few promote this type of service – why would they? While any escort service operator would hope that the ladies are tipped, at the same time none would expect it to be at their expense or for prostitution services.
These days every prostitute in the country is referred to as an escort, from the street hookers to the online hookers found on BigDoggie.net, Backpage, Craigslist, in Village Voice ads, or on The Erotic Review. The ads clearly reflect prostitution services, not escort services. There is a difference in services just as there is a difference in ad content. Skip the inappropriate labels, please.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Investigating Sex
I read an Associated Press article today that caught me by surprise, believe it or not. The article concerned the extensive investigation conducted by the FBI of the pornographic movie, Deep Throat. My surprise was not that there was such an investigation, but that two professors are quoted as stating that today this does not happen and investigations of this type are a reflection of times past. Ha! Neither of these professors has met the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI); that is for sure. Both are law professors, which contributed to my shock.
Mark Weiner, a constitutional law professor and legal historian at Rutgers-Newark School of Law is quoted as stating:
"Today we can't imagine authorities at any level of government — local, state or federal — being involved in obscenity prosecutions of this kind. The story of 'Deep Throat' is the story of the last gasp of the forces lined up against the cultural and sexual revolution and it is the advent of the entry of pornography into the mainstream."
Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA is quoted as stating:
"Certainly today, with our broadly socially less restrictive attitude to most pornography and to sex more broadly it may seem odd that the government was spending so much effort on something like this," he said. "But attitudes back then were much different."
I've always stated that living in Orlando is comparable to living on another planet, but I suppose that I also assumed people in other parts of the country were aware, at least on some level, of what goes on here. I wrote the book so that they could be enlightened as to investigative tactics and targets of the MBI. I was not the only target, by a long-shot, and the story is not about me. It is about the War on Adult Business in Orlando. Please – don't allow this agency to convince you that the thousands of targets over the years deserved the pursuit and prosecution. Investigate further, wake-up, and smell the coffee – this agency has ruined many lives.
In relation to porn movies, I bring to your attention the case of Jerry's General Store, but even in my own case an agent asked me, after I was acquitted by the jury, "How does it feel to be a purveyor of porn?" I had a perplexed look as I had no clue what he was talking about as I responded: "Every escort on my website was dressed in more than a bikini covers, and some had party dresses on. I don't know anything about purveying porn." As I walked away I thought what a weirdo. Yes, I'm surrounded by kooks.
The Jerry's case involves a mom-and-pop style store in East Orlando. Jerry Cooper died in 2000 and his daughter, Roxie Hanna, took over the store. Her mother, Diana Cooper, and grandmother, Eileen Hart, helped run the store. Jerry's sold XXX DVDs and videos as announced by the sign in front. In November of 2002, as I awaited trial, these three women were arrested on a variety of charges, including the first degree felony of "racketeering". In that this charge alone carries a potential prison sentence of up to 30 years in Florida, each of the women had high bonds. If the topic is of interest, it's better to read the Orlando Weekly stories as these reporters (several) have in-depth knowledge of the case. The newspaper refers to the MBI as the "Nazi morality police" a term that I used during my own case before the articles on the agency were published. It was also a term that Jerry Cooper used when he was alive, and it's likely that many of the agency's targets have used the same or a similar term to describe these whacks, because that is what they portray. I will state that each of the ladies ended-up pleading to charges, so there never was a trial.
Former Orlando Weekly reporter William Dean Hinton wrote an investigative piece that was so lengthy it covered most of the newspaper on 08/07/2003. It is appropriately titled: The Morality Police. If you scroll down a couple of pages you'll find two photos, with one depicting then-MBI Director, Joe Cocchiarella (he's the agency's attorney now via the State Attorney's office), posing with confiscated erotica in 1989. The other photo was taken in 1933, and is of Hitler's SA posing with confiscated erotica. Scary stuff, but even scarier if you have ever been one of the MBI targets.
It has been 77 months since the day the jury acquitted me on organized crime charges, and still to this day some form of horrified anger takes over when I think about some of the many things the MBI did. I can't even read my own book.
Mark Weiner, a constitutional law professor and legal historian at Rutgers-Newark School of Law is quoted as stating:
"Today we can't imagine authorities at any level of government — local, state or federal — being involved in obscenity prosecutions of this kind. The story of 'Deep Throat' is the story of the last gasp of the forces lined up against the cultural and sexual revolution and it is the advent of the entry of pornography into the mainstream."
Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA is quoted as stating:
"Certainly today, with our broadly socially less restrictive attitude to most pornography and to sex more broadly it may seem odd that the government was spending so much effort on something like this," he said. "But attitudes back then were much different."
I've always stated that living in Orlando is comparable to living on another planet, but I suppose that I also assumed people in other parts of the country were aware, at least on some level, of what goes on here. I wrote the book so that they could be enlightened as to investigative tactics and targets of the MBI. I was not the only target, by a long-shot, and the story is not about me. It is about the War on Adult Business in Orlando. Please – don't allow this agency to convince you that the thousands of targets over the years deserved the pursuit and prosecution. Investigate further, wake-up, and smell the coffee – this agency has ruined many lives.
In relation to porn movies, I bring to your attention the case of Jerry's General Store, but even in my own case an agent asked me, after I was acquitted by the jury, "How does it feel to be a purveyor of porn?" I had a perplexed look as I had no clue what he was talking about as I responded: "Every escort on my website was dressed in more than a bikini covers, and some had party dresses on. I don't know anything about purveying porn." As I walked away I thought what a weirdo. Yes, I'm surrounded by kooks.
The Jerry's case involves a mom-and-pop style store in East Orlando. Jerry Cooper died in 2000 and his daughter, Roxie Hanna, took over the store. Her mother, Diana Cooper, and grandmother, Eileen Hart, helped run the store. Jerry's sold XXX DVDs and videos as announced by the sign in front. In November of 2002, as I awaited trial, these three women were arrested on a variety of charges, including the first degree felony of "racketeering". In that this charge alone carries a potential prison sentence of up to 30 years in Florida, each of the women had high bonds. If the topic is of interest, it's better to read the Orlando Weekly stories as these reporters (several) have in-depth knowledge of the case. The newspaper refers to the MBI as the "Nazi morality police" a term that I used during my own case before the articles on the agency were published. It was also a term that Jerry Cooper used when he was alive, and it's likely that many of the agency's targets have used the same or a similar term to describe these whacks, because that is what they portray. I will state that each of the ladies ended-up pleading to charges, so there never was a trial.
Former Orlando Weekly reporter William Dean Hinton wrote an investigative piece that was so lengthy it covered most of the newspaper on 08/07/2003. It is appropriately titled: The Morality Police. If you scroll down a couple of pages you'll find two photos, with one depicting then-MBI Director, Joe Cocchiarella (he's the agency's attorney now via the State Attorney's office), posing with confiscated erotica in 1989. The other photo was taken in 1933, and is of Hitler's SA posing with confiscated erotica. Scary stuff, but even scarier if you have ever been one of the MBI targets.
It has been 77 months since the day the jury acquitted me on organized crime charges, and still to this day some form of horrified anger takes over when I think about some of the many things the MBI did. I can't even read my own book.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Operation Unhappy Ending
It seems that there is an additional messy massage parlor case, and right in my backyard. The arrests took place back in December 2008, and a guilty plea to "Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering (RICO)" was secured on the main target and owner, Mirta Okonski, a fleeting two months later. In February 2009, Okonski agreed to a plea deal that included no time in prison and requires her to help prosecutors secure convictions against her co-conspirators. This plea deal was made in record time!
The investigation was appropriately named Operation Unhappy Ending, and it was conducted by the Indian River County Sheriff's Office (IRCSO). According to records, Okonski was a licensed massage therapist in Florida and owned several parlors from Daytona Beach to Boynton Beach in South Florida. It was neighboring businesses at the Vero Beach parlor in Indian River County that initiated complaints. Those complaints were the beginning of six-months of surveillance that included video-taping clients entering and leaving the business, and of course included vehicles and tag numbers. In short, IRCSO had the goods on Mirta, necessitating a plea. One important note here is that Okonski was born in 1946, didn't exactly age well according to booking photos, and is also alleged to have had sex for money with at least one client. Indeed, this is revealing of the mentality of men that visit these places. You'd have to see the booking photos of all these women to get my point, but I won't be posting them here. Kudos to the IRCSO for not mentioning human trafficking.
Okonski had a bond of $500K and her accounts were frozen as prosecutors considered seizing her money and property. Apparently they decided against this strategy as she managed to pay the bond within a few days. Others arrested at the same time included: Jennifer Alzate, 43; Pamela Arnold, 59; Joaquin Desousa, 50; Elsy Flores, 43; Rita McCahera, 40; and Marisol Romero, 43. All of the women were arrested on the "racketeering" count and had additional charges as well. Desousa is Okonski's ex-husband and participated only in collecting and depositing money from the Daytona Beach parlor.
McCahera is threatening every news outlet on the internet that posted stories with her name included, but Rita McCahera should realize that in Florida an arrest is a matter of public record, even if charges are dismissed, nolle prossed, or if a jury finds a defendant not guilty. While I sympathize with her, I also see that her threats were premature: She pled guilty to "living off the earnings of prostitution" and "practicing healthcare without a license" – in Florida massage licenses are considered healthcare and are regulated by the State. For all of the threats, screaming, and references to God being her witness that she's not guilty and would never plead guilty, Rita pled out and was sentenced to 5 years of felony probation on 03/19/2009. Ironically, she was STILL SCREAMING THREATS on March 31, 2009, on a Topix message board.
I have a variety of thoughts on this story, but first and foremost, I must state that I don't feel sorry for Rita after all. A jury found me not guilty, I never pled to anything and have never been convicted of anything except a speeding ticket, yet lawsuits are not really an option, and state and federal records reflect my arrest charges and not my acquittal. Oh, and they almost killed me. Rita, if you're not guilty you should not have pleaded guilty – suing them is no longer an option – I don't care what your attorney claims.
Today Okonski is back in jail on a "violation of community control" charge. She did receive a sentence of 10 years of felony probation in exchange for her help and testimony, and as she sits in the Indian River County Jail, I can only imagine that she now realizes that this was no free pass. In Florida a lengthy felony probation sentence will often involve incarceration for the dealmaker at one point or many. If I had ever considered a deal in my own case, probation would not have been involved. Prosecutors knew this and offered deals structured around everything except probation.
Also important is the fact that investigators with the Indian River County Sheriff's Office and state prosecutors went after each and every potential defendant in this case. Yes, even the many clients of the massage parlors. The clients that patronized these businesses were not given a hotline number and a free pass as those involved in the Nan O'Reilly case in Colorado are today – the men were located (via the video recordings) and charged with "solicitation of prostitution" and sentenced to fines, probation and the requirement to undergo an HIV test. There is equal and fair treatment under the law in Florida after all – at least in Indian River County courts. While I disagree with these types of prosecutions entirely, credit must be given when and where it is due. And so I learn that Phoenix investigators and prosecutors are not alone in the quest for equal and fair treatment of all potential defendants as I originally believed when writing Desert Divas Investigation.
The investigation was appropriately named Operation Unhappy Ending, and it was conducted by the Indian River County Sheriff's Office (IRCSO). According to records, Okonski was a licensed massage therapist in Florida and owned several parlors from Daytona Beach to Boynton Beach in South Florida. It was neighboring businesses at the Vero Beach parlor in Indian River County that initiated complaints. Those complaints were the beginning of six-months of surveillance that included video-taping clients entering and leaving the business, and of course included vehicles and tag numbers. In short, IRCSO had the goods on Mirta, necessitating a plea. One important note here is that Okonski was born in 1946, didn't exactly age well according to booking photos, and is also alleged to have had sex for money with at least one client. Indeed, this is revealing of the mentality of men that visit these places. You'd have to see the booking photos of all these women to get my point, but I won't be posting them here. Kudos to the IRCSO for not mentioning human trafficking.
Okonski had a bond of $500K and her accounts were frozen as prosecutors considered seizing her money and property. Apparently they decided against this strategy as she managed to pay the bond within a few days. Others arrested at the same time included: Jennifer Alzate, 43; Pamela Arnold, 59; Joaquin Desousa, 50; Elsy Flores, 43; Rita McCahera, 40; and Marisol Romero, 43. All of the women were arrested on the "racketeering" count and had additional charges as well. Desousa is Okonski's ex-husband and participated only in collecting and depositing money from the Daytona Beach parlor.
McCahera is threatening every news outlet on the internet that posted stories with her name included, but Rita McCahera should realize that in Florida an arrest is a matter of public record, even if charges are dismissed, nolle prossed, or if a jury finds a defendant not guilty. While I sympathize with her, I also see that her threats were premature: She pled guilty to "living off the earnings of prostitution" and "practicing healthcare without a license" – in Florida massage licenses are considered healthcare and are regulated by the State. For all of the threats, screaming, and references to God being her witness that she's not guilty and would never plead guilty, Rita pled out and was sentenced to 5 years of felony probation on 03/19/2009. Ironically, she was STILL SCREAMING THREATS on March 31, 2009, on a Topix message board.
I have a variety of thoughts on this story, but first and foremost, I must state that I don't feel sorry for Rita after all. A jury found me not guilty, I never pled to anything and have never been convicted of anything except a speeding ticket, yet lawsuits are not really an option, and state and federal records reflect my arrest charges and not my acquittal. Oh, and they almost killed me. Rita, if you're not guilty you should not have pleaded guilty – suing them is no longer an option – I don't care what your attorney claims.
Today Okonski is back in jail on a "violation of community control" charge. She did receive a sentence of 10 years of felony probation in exchange for her help and testimony, and as she sits in the Indian River County Jail, I can only imagine that she now realizes that this was no free pass. In Florida a lengthy felony probation sentence will often involve incarceration for the dealmaker at one point or many. If I had ever considered a deal in my own case, probation would not have been involved. Prosecutors knew this and offered deals structured around everything except probation.
Also important is the fact that investigators with the Indian River County Sheriff's Office and state prosecutors went after each and every potential defendant in this case. Yes, even the many clients of the massage parlors. The clients that patronized these businesses were not given a hotline number and a free pass as those involved in the Nan O'Reilly case in Colorado are today – the men were located (via the video recordings) and charged with "solicitation of prostitution" and sentenced to fines, probation and the requirement to undergo an HIV test. There is equal and fair treatment under the law in Florida after all – at least in Indian River County courts. While I disagree with these types of prosecutions entirely, credit must be given when and where it is due. And so I learn that Phoenix investigators and prosecutors are not alone in the quest for equal and fair treatment of all potential defendants as I originally believed when writing Desert Divas Investigation.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Internet History Day
Today I am taking a break from the serious posts and reflecting on the past. In case you are unaware, for an entire decade I owned escort services in Orlando, Florida, until the state harassed me out of business and then later, after I closed the services, arrested me on racketeering and conspiracy charges. The website changed over the years, and actually began as Abra-Cadabra Orlando Escorts. Back then (late 1993) the domain name was just a page on the ISP's domain and had a character that reminded one of tinkerbell sitting in a champagne glass waving a wand in the air as magic dust appeared across the screen. When I renamed it Valentine's, the theme forever after was hearts. By then the domain was www.escortorl.com. It was one of the top 100 websites on the internet for years and was named a Net Guide Gold site. It was at the top of search engine lists in all keywords that pertained.
These are screenshots of the website in 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2001 - in order. The website is forever archived on the Internet Archive and can be found by typing the domain name in the Way Back Machine. Sadly, the Internet Archive didn't exist until 1996 when Alexa, an Amazon company, began its massive archiving of websites with the goal of creating a library. The website is a part of internet history. Indeed, the world has changed since the days of the wild west era of the internet.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Misuse of the VTVPA and Its Successors
The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act was enacted in October of 2000, and was last reauthorized as the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007 with additional provisions written-in. The Act is often misused by prosecutors that have no valid strategy in an adult business investigation. I'll speak plainly here: If these prosecutors were as concerned as they claim that there was actual human trafficking involved in a case, each would also prosecute the male clients that patronize the adult establishments. But they know better – this group is not two beers short of a six-pack; they just pretend to be.
The perfect example of abuse of the Act is the Lev Trakhtenberg case. I've named a list of other recent cases wherein agents refer to "human trafficking" when the reality is that a massage parlor merely had workers of non-U.S. origin or was owned by an Asian-American woman, and in fact, the workers were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. This practice creates what I'll refer to as an integrity challenge of the law enforcement or prosecutor spokesperson. Sure, human trafficking does exist in adult business and in a variety of other businesses, and the approach of using the label here, there, and everywhere has inadvertently minimized the real cases. The religious agenda also cannot be overlooked – these people want to rid the country of prostitution and often attack from the side using any weapon in the arsenal. The label "human trafficking" has become a prosecutorial weapon to garner public support in otherwise unpopular prosecutions.
In the Trakhtenberg case, the use of the VTVPA to prosecute Lev Trakhtenberg and two co-defendants was on the basis that the women dancers from Voronezh, Russia were deceived as to the type of dancing each was to do when she arrived in the US, and that each was forced to work in these New Jersey strip clubs until the agreed amount of money ($5600) was repaid. I know for fact that these were false allegations and federal prosecutors in N.Y. and N.J. were aware of the misrepresentations. Lev produced the original advertisements placed in the Russian newspaper, and the ads were clear and descriptive as to the type of dancing. Additionally, each potential dancer was interviewed at length as to her understanding of the strip club dancing prior to agreeing and traveling to the US. To take it a step further, there was evidence that several of the dancers from Russia continued dancing in the same clubs, during the case, in which federal prosecutors had them claiming they were coerced, and then upon arrival, forced to work. A few of the women that escaped the clutches of federal prosecutors and returned to Voronezh also sent sworn affidavits to Lev for his defense.
I do not have personal knowledge of any other cases; however, fail to understand how a worker in a massage parlor making thousands of dollars a month ($5K to 30K) could be considered a victim of human trafficking, or anything else for that matter. Thus far I have seen no evidence in the Rhode Island, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Colorado, or Florida cases that each of these ladies could not leave if she decided that the employment was not morally acceptable to her. These were grown women that made decisions in their lives; decisions based on free will and choice. Any one of them could have opted to work as a minimum wage slave or clean houses for a living. Referring to them as trafficking victims and dangling a work visa in front of their faces, as in the Trakhtenberg case, has only served to further damage the real victims of trafficking.
A quick look at several websites, including Polaris Project, reveals the extent that these organizations will go in promoting the cause – censorship of publishers and the anti-prostitution agenda – as each seeks to raise donations and gain federal grants. Human Trafficking.org also utilizes a religious platform, and both consistently refer to child trafficking. Once again I'll make the point that these massage parlor workers are almost always in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, and none of the cases that I have referenced involve children. It is a twist of words used to attack prostitution and has nothing to do with anything else.
The perfect example of abuse of the Act is the Lev Trakhtenberg case. I've named a list of other recent cases wherein agents refer to "human trafficking" when the reality is that a massage parlor merely had workers of non-U.S. origin or was owned by an Asian-American woman, and in fact, the workers were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. This practice creates what I'll refer to as an integrity challenge of the law enforcement or prosecutor spokesperson. Sure, human trafficking does exist in adult business and in a variety of other businesses, and the approach of using the label here, there, and everywhere has inadvertently minimized the real cases. The religious agenda also cannot be overlooked – these people want to rid the country of prostitution and often attack from the side using any weapon in the arsenal. The label "human trafficking" has become a prosecutorial weapon to garner public support in otherwise unpopular prosecutions.
In the Trakhtenberg case, the use of the VTVPA to prosecute Lev Trakhtenberg and two co-defendants was on the basis that the women dancers from Voronezh, Russia were deceived as to the type of dancing each was to do when she arrived in the US, and that each was forced to work in these New Jersey strip clubs until the agreed amount of money ($5600) was repaid. I know for fact that these were false allegations and federal prosecutors in N.Y. and N.J. were aware of the misrepresentations. Lev produced the original advertisements placed in the Russian newspaper, and the ads were clear and descriptive as to the type of dancing. Additionally, each potential dancer was interviewed at length as to her understanding of the strip club dancing prior to agreeing and traveling to the US. To take it a step further, there was evidence that several of the dancers from Russia continued dancing in the same clubs, during the case, in which federal prosecutors had them claiming they were coerced, and then upon arrival, forced to work. A few of the women that escaped the clutches of federal prosecutors and returned to Voronezh also sent sworn affidavits to Lev for his defense.
I do not have personal knowledge of any other cases; however, fail to understand how a worker in a massage parlor making thousands of dollars a month ($5K to 30K) could be considered a victim of human trafficking, or anything else for that matter. Thus far I have seen no evidence in the Rhode Island, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Colorado, or Florida cases that each of these ladies could not leave if she decided that the employment was not morally acceptable to her. These were grown women that made decisions in their lives; decisions based on free will and choice. Any one of them could have opted to work as a minimum wage slave or clean houses for a living. Referring to them as trafficking victims and dangling a work visa in front of their faces, as in the Trakhtenberg case, has only served to further damage the real victims of trafficking.
A quick look at several websites, including Polaris Project, reveals the extent that these organizations will go in promoting the cause – censorship of publishers and the anti-prostitution agenda – as each seeks to raise donations and gain federal grants. Human Trafficking.org also utilizes a religious platform, and both consistently refer to child trafficking. Once again I'll make the point that these massage parlor workers are almost always in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, and none of the cases that I have referenced involve children. It is a twist of words used to attack prostitution and has nothing to do with anything else.
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