Florida

Police bust Craigslist prostitution business:

Punta Gorda Police have done it again. They’ve arrested another alleged craigslist hooker. This time they arrested Shane Boyett on charges of prostitution.

In case you didn’t know the Punta Gorda police department is kind of famous for using the internet to their advantage. They have busted several drug dealers in their area just by using MySpace.

craigslist hookers be warned.

Two arrested in Internet-based prostitution sting:

Police in Punta Gorda, Florida arrested 25-year-old Jacie L. Palumbo and 50-year-old Alan L. Russo. The pair were arrested after police noticed their ads not only on craigslist but on Backpage and TravsList.

I don’t know who Trav is but his list is nothing but hookers.

Man used Craigslist for prostitution, deputies say:

47-year-old Ronald J. Zappia of Riverview, Florida was arrested for being a craigslist pimp. One of his girls dimed him out to police when she got caught in a craigslist sting.

St. Lucie County sheriff announces 35 arrests in Craigslist prostitution sting:

Police in Port St. Lucie say that since Sept 18th they have arrested almost 3 dozen people in various craigslist hooker stings. Those arrests include johns, pimps and prostitutes.

Let’s hear from St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara…

“It’s an open secret that people are using Craigslist for prostitution,” Sheriff Ken Mascara said in a news release.

The Web site contains a disclaimer that the site is not to be used for illegal activities, but it appears people are blatantly ignoring that prohibition, Mascara said.

And craigslist does nothing about it.

?Teacher Among 13 Arrested In Polk Prostitution Sting:

The Polk County, Florida Sheriff’s Department arrested 13 johns in a craigslist prostitution sting. One of those arrested was a local school teacher. He got singled out in the article because of his job yet they made no mention of the occupations of the other 12 arrested.

The guys that should go out now and buy lottery tickets because they’re that damn lucky are these two…

Two men came to the house but changed their minds and left without going inside. They were not arrested, Judd said.

You don’t get much luckier than that.

Man Wearing Bra, Slip Asks Woman To Rub His Breasts, Police Say:

Here’s another reason why not to invite craigslist buyers to your house.

A woman from Central Florida placed an ad on craigslist selling some of her bras. The person who showed up was 56-year-old Ronald Grocoff. He wasn’t buying them for his wife, or his daughter, or his mistress. Nope, they were for him…sort of.

When Grocoff got to the woman’s residence he asked to try on the bras. He did and also tried on a slip. Now here’s where it gets weird. Grocoff asked the woman to grab his pseudo-rack then started grinding against her and grabbed her boob.

Grocoff said, “I’m getting turned on,” according to the woman. “This is making me hot.”

Grocoff asked the woman if he could masturbate, the arrest report said.

The woman’s boyfriend restrained Grocoff until police arrived.

Who in the blue hell thinks you can just walk into a stranger’s home and start cranking one out while wearing her old underwear? Ew.

I know you probably wouldn’t want to be selling your bras in public but I wouldn’t let any craigslist ‘buyer’ into my house.

Oviedo officer resigns after online sex ads, photos uncovered:

Scott Woodlee, a 12-year veteran of the Oviedo, Florida Police Department, resigned after an ad he placed on craigslist was discovered. Can you guess what kind of ad it was?

The posts solicited for men, women as well as couples on the “Casual Encounters” section of CraigsList. The Web site asks those who click on that section whether they are over 18 years of age but doesn’t verify it through a birth date.

“…the ads were very explicit, seeking married couples, single women, college girls, interracial ladies,” a memo from Lt. George Ilemsky, head of the department’s internal investigation department, wrote in his report.

According to the article Woodlee’s naked craigslist pic has his face obscured and he claims the ad was done for ‘entertainment’.

I’ve covered this at MyCrimeSpace several times. When you’re a public servant like a policeman or fireman your life is scrutinized 24/7 whether you like it or not. Even off duty you still represent the uniform.

I hate to see a cop resign over something stupid like this but I’m not surprised.

Trial Delayed For Man Accused Of Forcing Women Into Prostitution:

The trial for craigslist pimp Aaron George was supposed to have started today but has been rescheduled for September 16th.

George is accused of forcing women into prostitution including am 18-year-old and a woman who was six months pregnant.

George had previously escaped Orange County, Florida jail but was apprehended in California.

Craigslist Leads to Assault Arrest:

Jacksonville, Florida police were conducting a sting at the residence of a craigslist hooker. Officer 1 goes into the apartment undercover and makes the exchange. Officer 2 then knocks on the door and identifies himself as police. That’s when Clinton Willie Dove burst out of the closet brandishing a knife. Officer 1 then identifies himself as police while Officer 2 breaks down the door.

That fool is lucky he didn’t get his dumb ass shot.

Police: Men Arrested In Craigslist Sex Sting Used Special Codes:
A Sears men’s room in Volusia County, Florida was used as a place for anonymous sex as advertised on craigslist. Apparently it’s participants used special noise codes to indicate their intentions.

“There are certain signs that we would not pick up on unless we knew what they were,” Daytona Beach police Chief Mike Chitwood said. “The excessive pulling up and down your zipper, the sniffing and snorting, the tapping of the feet and the reaching underneath the stall — I would break your jaw if I was in the stall and saw a hand coming underneath.”

Nine men were arrested including High School health teacher David Behringer and former city Commissioner Mike Shallow.

You know I have no problem with gay or straight people having sex. But for the love of Pete people get a room.

Jags Fan: “I was Scammed On Craigslist”:
Jim Smith and his wife are huge Jacksonville Jaguar fans. So he was pretty pumped when he found cheap season tickets on craigslist. They went to the first two games of the season with no problem but at the third game there was someone else in their seats and were told by Jaguars management that their tickets were no longer valid. How did it happen?

The original buyer from Craigslist had bought the season tickets on an installment payment plan. When he missed a payment he was put on notice. When he stopped paying, the Jaguars notified him that the tickets were voided in the computers. The seats would be put up for sale to a new buyer.

The Jacksonville Beach man was ordered to surrender the now worthless tickets back to the team, but instead, he posted them on the internet to find an unsuspecting buyer.

When I say cheap season tickets I mean cheaper than their value. Mr. Smith is out $900. Mr. Smith himself had the best advice.

“Craigslist is pretty much, ‘Buyer Beware!’”

Online sting nets 7 prostitution arrests:
The Daytona Beach police arrested 7 craigslist prostitutes in a sting operation.

Those arrested were Jennifer Ahern, Michelle Boros, Paula Beard, Annette O’Brien, Mary Jones, Lisa Kisner, and Shantrel Franklin (aka Gaynell Noel).

And again for those who say prostitution is a victimless crime…

At least two of the women — 27-year-old Shantrel Franklin of Orlando and 35-year-old Jennifer Ahern of Daytona Beach — arrived at the motel accompanied by their significant others and their children. The men and the children stayed in the car, police said.

Tell me that those kids aren’t victims. Just wait here darling mommy has to go screw a stranger for money.

And of course we have to hear from the criminal apologists…

It’s no one’s business why the women are there and police should stop chasing after escorts and street prostitutes when there are more nefarious crooks on the street, said Norma Jean Almodovar, president of the Los Angeles branch of a prostitute advocacy group called, Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics or, COYOTE.

Almodovar, a former call girl who says she was once a traffic cop, quit her job as a police officer in disgust and became an escort in the early 1980s.

“If women are, in fact, the victims of prostitution because they can get killed, etc., why are police setting them up to be arrested?” Almodovar said Friday. “This is a job, period. Believe me, there are many of us who want to do this job.”

Almodovar said police should be targeting people who sexually exploit minors, or people who recruit foreigners to move here under false employment pretenses, then turn them into sex slaves.

She said prostitution advocacy groups such as COYOTE and Prostitutes of New York are fed up with law enforcement stings they say entrap prostitutes and others who labor in the sex industry.

Again with the word entrapment. You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means. It’s only entrapment if you coerce someone into doing something they wouldn’t ordinarily do. Since these women were advertising on craigslist I very seriously doubt they were coerced. And while there may be some who want to be a prostitute I can almost guarantee that most women who are wish that they weren’t. Why arrest the prostitutes? Because it’s against the law. Duh.

And let’s hear from craigslist president Jim Buckmaster again…

On the company’s Web site under a heading titled “Craigslist Controversies,” company officials said: “Craigslist have stated many times that they cannot and will not police the site.”

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said by e-mail Friday the company does not condone illegal activity and “strives together with the Craigslist community and in cooperation with law enforcement to minimize the misuse of the site for unlawful purposes.”

Isn’t ignoring the commission of a crime just as bad as taking part in it?

Seller: Online gun sale attracting convicted felons:
A Florida man tried to legally sell an AK-47 on craigslist. However being the wretched hive of scum and villainy that craigslist is he says the only people interested in purchasing the gun were convicted felons. Luckily the seller completed background checks on all interested parties before agreeing to sell the gun. He says he’s not going to sell the gun and store it away in his attic. I have a better suggestion. I would hope that he would dismantle the gun and scatter the parts to the four winds.

Woman Used CraigsList For Prostitution, Police Say:
The woman at left is 38-year-old Diane Bergeron. Busted for craigslist prostitution in Hollywood, Florida.

An undercover officer used the Internet advertisement allegedly posted by 38-year-old Bergeron to find her apartment.

The officer said Bergeron was put under arrest when she offered him services for a specific dollar amount and then disrobed.

She was also charged with battery on law enforcement. I wonder how that came about.