Hispanic women workers get up to $60 per hour
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Saturday, May 27, 2006
Eastern Shore News
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Feds: Mappsville man ran brothel in home
Suspect charged Sat. with bringing working womenfrom northern states for calls in $30 cathouse
By Ted Shockley
Staff writer
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MAPPSVILLE -- Three Accomack County residents were arrested last Saturday in an FBI sweep, including one charged with running a busy weekend brothel here featuring women brought to the Shore from New York and New Jersey.
Gustavo Ocasio Lopez, no age given, of Mappsville, was set to have his preliminary hearing resume yesterday, said Cindy Comstock of the Norfolk office of the U.S. Justice Department.
Lopez is charged with transporting people across state lines for the purpose of prostitution, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed by an FBI special agent.
The arrests prompted a stir and plenty of rumors in the rural communities where they happened, with witnesses citing armed agents standing on the running boards of black sport-utility vehicles as they descended on the suspects.
The affidavit details the alleged brothel's business workings based on a joint investigation of the FBI, federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and State Police that spanned from August 2005 to February.
Norfolk-based FBI special agent Jennifer Collins said in the affidavit that the Hispanic female prostitutes would travel weekly from New York to work in the alleged brothel from Thursdays through Saturdays.
A witness claimed the prostitutes are from New York or New Jersey and about three to five worked at the business each weekend.
A camera was installed outside the building, with agents reporting "a significant number of vehicles entering the property from approximately noon on Thursdays until approximately midnight on Sundays," and that the "vehicle occupants appear to be Hispanic males," it states.
One of the witnesses Collins cited alleged that customers would buy a $30 ticket good for 15 minutes of sex, with an additional $30 required "if the customer would like more time with a prostitute."
Tickets essentially were sold at the door and customers would then provide the ticket to the prostitute for services, it states.
During one weekend last year, a witnesses stated that the alleged brothel "had a special weekend in which they had only 18- and 19-year-old prostitutes."
Business records from A&N Electric Coop., link Lopez to the home, the documents show.
Lopez also was ticketed after a New Jersey traffic stop during which "four young Hispanic women" were found in his Chrysler van.
During several occasions, Lopez was seen acting as a guard at the rear entrance to the home and women were seen leaving the alleged brothel on Sunday evenings before traveling out of the state.
The affidavit concludes by detailing a Feb. 10 visit by an undercover Customs Enforcement agent who entered, was told the price and instructed to get in line with four to five other men. The agent witnessed the inside of the building and, outside, identified Lopez as one of the guards.
"While waiting in line, (the witness) observed a door open, and an Hispanic male exited the room while pulling up his pants," the affidavit states. "The Hispanic male customer was followed by an Hispanic female, wearing a black lingerie outfit."
Arrested on charges unconnected to the alleged brothel were Manuela Ferreiras, no age given, of Bloxom, charged with knowingly making a false statement under oath with respect to a matter related to naturalization or citizenship, and Antonio Quintero, no age given, also of Bloxom, charged with using a false social security number.
A federal judge on Wednesday ruled in preliminary hearings that grand juries will hear the charges against Ferreiras and Quintero.
Originally published Saturday, May 27, 2006
