(((I dunno what this retired Pennsylvania businessman is doing allegedly mixed up with a multistate Arizona call-girl racket, but the mechanics of it are interesting. It's entirely Web-based.)))
Link: Ferretti knew alleged head of sex ring – themorningcall.com.
The attorney for former Lehigh Valley business leader William P. Ferretti – who was named as one of the top figures in Arizona's largest prostitution ring – said Tuesday that his client knew the alleged ringleader of the escort service but was in no way connected to the business.
Phoenix attorney Michael D. Kimerer described the case against the 65-year-old Ferretti, who oversaw one of the area's largest hospital trust funds and co-founded Medstar Communications Inc. while in the Lehigh Valley, as simply one of guilt by association.
(...)
Phoenix authorities say Ferretti was one of at least nine key players in the operation they say brought in $250,000 a month. Police say Nichta ran a legitimate online escort service under various Web sites, but for an additional $30 monthly fee, customers could gain access to another Web site that showed women performing sexual acts. Customers could then hire the women for sex, authorities said.
(((I wonder why streetwalkers even bother to appear in streets.
That must be crazily dangerous compared to these online negotiations.)))Hundreds allegedly signed up for escorts through the operation, which extended from Arizona to New Mexico, and, briefly, in Philadelphia. Earlier this month, police arrested several people, seizing high-priced homes and luxury vehicles and several firearms. Ferretti, a multimillionaire venture capitalist and executive coach for entrepreneurs and corporate executives, had none of his assets seized, his attorney said.
An indictment handed up by a Maricopa County Superior Court grand jury late last month named 55 people, including Nichta and Ferretti. Authorities would not say what Ferretti's alleged role was in the prostitution ring. Thirty-three of the 55 suspects have been arrested.
Kimerer said Ferretti was taking computer lessons at an Apple store (((oh for heaven's sake))) in the corporate building where Nichta owned two businesses – a mortgage company and the escort service. On occasion, his client would drop in on Nichta to greet him and talk, he said.
But that was it, Kimerer said, insisting Ferretti never invested or had any other connection to the escort service.
''I believe [police] have made a mistake, or made an inference that really was something else,'' Kimerer said. ''He was probably at the wrong place at the wrong time.''
While Kimerer provided a possible explanation, he admitted he has no evidence detailing why his client was arrested on Aug. 4 and charged with (((brace yourselves))) conspiracy to control an illegal enterprise, illegal control of an enterprise, first-degree money laundering, operating a house of prostitution, employee at a house of prostitution, pandering, receiving the earnings of a prostitute and the use of a wire or electronic communication....
(((With that many people arrested, somebody's gonna be ratting...
or maybe the police just walked off with a ringleader's laptop. Emile
Zola, a situation like this calls out for your pen... or your word processor.)))
