Seven veteran New York cops charged with operating brothel ring – accepting cash and sex while on duty, in exchange for protection and informtion
Retired cop ad his wife roped his brother active duty NYPD cops into running chain of brothels
Six of them appeared in court Thursday charged with operating a brothel ring with additional charges of having had sex with prostitutes while on duty
Retired vice detective Ludwig Paz, 51, and his wife Arelis Peralta were named in an indictment on Thursday as the ring leaders of the prostitution ring which took in $2million between 2016 and 2017
Paz who allegedly used his police knowledge to operate without detection – allegedly paying for information from active cops, extending discounts at his brothels in exchange for protection, to cops
The pair allegedly ran seven of the organization’s eight brothels and also operated an illegal lottery racket
They were indicted along with seven active NYPD cops and 40 others as part of the sweep
Det. Rene Samaniego, 43, Sergeant Carlos Cruz, 41, Giovanny Rojas Acosta, 40, Sergeants Cliff Nieves, 37, Steven Nieves, 32, Giancarlo Raspanti and Sergeant Louis Failla were caught up in the investigation
Forty-nine people in total were charged as part of the investigation
Vice kingpins: Retired Vice detective Ludwig Paz, [left] and his wife Arelis Peralta [right], are the alleged ringleaders
Seven New York city police officers indicted for operating a prostitution ring for more than a year appeared in court in Queens, NY on Thursday as prosecutors accused them of having sex on the job while visiting the brothels they allegedly ran.
Forty-nine people in total were charged as part of the investigation.
They include active duty cops Detective Rene Samaniego, 43, Sergeant Carlos Cruz, 41, Giovanny Rojas Acosta, 40, Sergeants Cliff Nieves, 37, Steven Nieves, 32, Giancarlo Raspanti and Sergeant Louis Failla who all appeared at Queens Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The officers are accused of not only helping alleged ringleader, retired vice cop Ludwig Paz, 51, operate the ring with his wife, but some are said to have engaged the services of the prostitutes while on duty.
Accused: Sgt. Giancarlo Raspanti [left] and Vice detective Rene Samaniego [right], appear in court in Queens, NY on Thursday charged with assisting and operating a prostitution ring for a year beginning 2016
Caught in the sweep: Sgts. Carlos Cruz [left] and Louis Failla [right], appear in court in Queens on Thursday, to face charges of operating brothels
Sgt. Cliff Nieves [left] and his brother Sgt. Steven Nieves [right], both were charged in the investigation
NYPD officer Giovanny Rojas[photo], is also facing charges in the investigation
Paz’s wife Arelis Peralta was similarly charged that engulfed their children as well.. Peralta appeared in court with their children on Thursday but her husband was not present.
The Queens District Attorney says the criminal enterprise, which also included gambling rooms and an illegal lottery syndicate, raked in $2million between 2016 and 2017.
According to police, Arelis Peralta [L-R] and her husband Paz, also operated illegal lottery and betting services out of beauty salons
Paz allegedly used his knowledge of law enforcement to evade detection and arrest by making sure any new clients who visited the brothel took off their clothes before they got inside, ruling out the chance that any undercover cops had come because police officers are not allowed to expose their genitals when dealing with prostitutes while on duty.
He also, it is alleged, paid active duty cops for information so he was able to avoid being raided.
The investigation began in September 2015 after NYPD detectives received a tip-off about an operation. Over the course of two years, they used wire taps to monitor the group and dismantle the operation.
Paz and Parelta authorities said, have made $2million from the scheme in about a year. They are seen here while on a tropical vacation
Social media photographs show them on South American vacations and in nightclubs surrounded by bottles of champagne.
Paz, Samaniego, Cruz and Rojas Acosta were all charged with enterprise corruption.
The Nieves brothers were charged with promoting prostitution and operating a brothel for the sole purpose of hosting a bachelor party.
Raspanti is accused of providing Paz with confidential police information in exchange for discounted sex at a brothel, and Failla is charged in connection with allegedly assisting Paz following a brothel raid.
Peralta is charged with enterprise corruption, fifth-degree conspiracy and first-degree promoting gambling.
Police say Paz used his knowledge of the police force to stop raids and even paid active duty cops in discounts at the brothels for inside information The couple, who have two children, ran seven of the eight brothels, according to police. They even recruited their children into management of the ‘business’. Both were charged on Thursday
The couple’s children seen [photo], leaving court with with jackets covering their faces. were also charged
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said: ‘The vast majority of NYPD police officers are honest and dedicated to enforcing and upholding the law.
‘However, today’s indictments of one former detective and seven current police officers of the NYPD dishonor the badge.
‘The main culprit in this case – a retired detective – allegedly used his knowledge of the inner workings of the New York City Police Department to run a string of brothels in Queens, Brooklyn and Hempstead, Long Island.
‘These operations stop today.’
Police Commissioner O’Neill added: ‘These NYPD officers, who swore an oath to uphold ideals greater than themselves, have ruined their own careers and reputations.
‘More importantly, they have diminished the great work of tens of thousands of other honest and ethical cops.’
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