Four illegal immigrants plead guilty to operating E. Tenn brothels
By Matthew Lane
Published August 10th, 2011 4:16 am

GREENEVILLE — Four illegal immigrants who operated three brothels and prostitution delivery services in Morristown, Knoxville and Nashville have pleaded guilty to federal prostitution charges.

Rubio Trinidad Narciso, Freddy Lopez Torres and Elda Dorali Moreno Ramirez — all citizens of Mexico — and Rosa Garcia Menendez — an El Salvador citizen — all recently pleaded guilty to federal prostitution charges in U.S. District Court in Greeneville.

The charges include inducing interstate travel for the purpose of prostitution, conspiracy to induce, and transporting an individual across state lines for prostitution. The sentences range from five to 20 years in prison with fines up to $250,000.

A sentencing date has been scheduled for Jan. 12, 2012.

These defendants were four of nine Hispanic men and women federal authorities arrested in May on a 13-count indictment for operating brothels and prostitution delivery services in Tennessee and Kentucky from 2006 to 2011. The remaining five defendants have not pleaded guilty, and their cases are pending trial.

From November 2006 to May 2011, prosecutors say the nine defendants brought prostitutes from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina to work in brothels in Morristown, Knoxville, Nashville and Louisville, Ky., and provide prostitution delivery services throughout the Tri-Cities.

The defendants advertised their brothels and services through word of mouth in the Spanish-speaking community and with business cards containing code words for prostitution, such as haircuts, flowers and snacks.

Virtually all of the prostitutes entered the United States illegally and used false names or nicknames. The defendants traded the prostitutes among their brothels on a weekly basis, and court records state most of the prostitutes worked 11 hours a day, six days a week, 50 weeks per year.

Prosecutors say the prostitutes were generally expected to service 30 customers a day, charging $30 for 15 minutes of sexual intercourse. The defendants provided the prostitutes no health care, and in most instances they were required to purchase condoms from their tip money.

“The prostitutes lived nomadic lives, traveling from one city to another,â€