New York

Brooklyn man accused of sex trafficking:

Meanwhile we still have other crimes to clear out of my inbox.

24-year-old Jamali Brockett of Brooklyn, New York has been arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking. He allegedly pimped out girls on craigslist ranging in age from 15 to 20 along the Eastern Seaboard. He would take the girls’ money and pay for their food clothes and shelter. He sexually assaulted them and would threaten them into not leaving his employ.

Let’s hear from the U.S. District Attorney…

At a brief court appearance yesterday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Pam Chen called Brockett, also known as “Marley,” “King” and “Daddy,” a “menace to society, who preyed upon young women for his own profit and sexual gratification.”

I guess his girls wouldn’t be considered victims would they?

Queens Man Sentenced For Craigslist Pimping:

33-year-old Tyrone Waite of Jamaica, Queens was sentenced to up to seven years behind bars for being a craigslist pimp and lying to a grand jury. Not only was he a craigslist pimp but he was trying to pimp out a 13-year-old girl on craigslist. At the time of his arrest he also had naked pics of the 13-year-old on his laptop.

As a special bonus the D.A. pontificates on prostitution being referred to as a victimless crime.

“Prostitution is not a victimless crime but a terrifying and despicable offense against society practiced by callous people who enslave young women without hope and victimize them one day at a time”, district attorney Richard A. Brown said. “This guilty plea and sentencing allowed the young victim to avoid testifying at trial and hopefully will help her to recover from her ordeal.”

Word.

Craigslist User Indicted For Counterfeit Money, Software:

36-year-old Malikim Brown of New York City has been indicted on federal charges of selling counterfeit US currency among other items. He posted several ads on craigslist offering ‘discount’ (read: pirated) software. An investigation also discovered that he was dealing fake checks, counterfeit money, and phony money orders.

Craigslist really is the internet’s black market.

ONLINE DATE WITH DEATH:

Over at MyCrimeSpace there’s a running joke that the hot girl on MySpace doesn’t really want you. Over there I’ve posted more than a few stories abiut guys who go to meet hot girls that they met on MySpace only to be robbed. It seems that rule now applies to craigslist too.

24-year-old Daniel Brandtof New York City went to a Coney Island apartment to meet what he thought was going to be a woman he met on craigslist. Instead Brandt was shot in the head and two men ran off. Brandt later died at the hospital.

Police say they know who the suspects are and are awaiting search warrants.

Thanks to Gothamist.

Local man allegedly behind scam:
33-year-old Dennis Pike of Plattsburgh, New York was arrested for scamming people on craigslist.

He would pose as a Canadian and pay for items sold on craigslist with traveler’s checks. Except the checks were fakes.

Remember folks, if you have to sell something on craigslist make sure the transaction is cash only.

Prostitution suspects were victims of housing market:
This is one of the more unusual articles about craigslist prostitution I’ve ever read. It seems that married couple Heather A Mazzenga (left) , 32, and Robert L. Werner, 34, of New Rochelle, New York are in a little trouble for turning their suburban home into a house of ill repute. It seems that Mazzenga and Werner are mortgage brokers and took a bath in the real estate market. So the reclaim their losses they hired “models” on craigslist.

Four other women - all between the ages of 21 and 30 - were also charged Friday. One of them, Amy D. Palefsky, 24, of White Plains said she never had sex for money and engaged in “consensual voyeurism,” or the act of watching people in a sexual interlude, at the house because she wanted to learn more about her own sexuality.

“There was no penetration, there was no genital or body touching for money,” Palefsky told The Journal News yesterday. “It was completely voyeuristic behavior and self-expression.”

That means guys paid to watch her get off is what it sounds like. Not illegal as far as I know but since it was taking place in a brothel I guess she got pulled in to.

Palefsky, a communications major at a local college, said she found out about the North Avenue house through Craigslist.org, a Web site that allows people to post free, classified advertisements. The posting, she said, was a call for models and promised “to earn $800 per day.” Palefsky had only visited the home once. On that visit, she found a dimly lighted house with scented candles and massage tables, she said.

Yep, that sounds like a whorehouse to me.

Along with Palefsky, Robin L. Mapes, 30, of Middletown, Denisha K. Hudson, 23, of Ardsley and Lydia M. Clanton, 20, of the Bronx are facing misdemeanor charges of prostitution and practicing a profession without a license, a felony. Police said the women were offering massages as well as sexual favors.

So not only did they get busted for running a whorehouse but for practicing massage without a license. Brilliant.

Now for the cherry on top…

The house is on the edge of the city’s exclusive North End section and across the street from a museum dedicated to Thomas Paine, author of “Common Sense,” the 1776 pamphlet that helped rouse the nation to war.

Maybe if they had common sense they wouldn’t be in so much financial and legal “Paine”.

Go ahead and groan. I won’t mind.