NAPERVILLE (STMW) -- A Naperville woman is behind bars after a neighbor tipped off police she might have been involved in prostitution.
Telltale signs gave at least one homeowner a hunch something out of the ordinary was going on inside the house on Milton Drive in Naperville.
First there was the unusually heavy volume of traffic cruising through an otherwise sleepy part of town. That traffic included a remarkable number of luxury cars, which seemed out of place in the largely working-class neighborhood. Not to mention how all of those drivers were men, most of them middle-aged or older.
And the single strand of lavender-colored electrical lights framing the front window of the house seemed a bit peculiar, too.
Perhaps that's why the homeowner didn't seem all that shocked to learn Naperville police had arrested Patricia H. Scoleri in her home in the 500 block of Milton Drive, and charged her with keeping a place of prostitution.
The homeowner said Scoleri moved into the Spring Hill neighborhood about two years ago.
Scoleri rents the house in which she lives, said the neighbor, who declined to be identified. The men who frequented her home "were in and out a lot," the neighbor said.
Naperville police Sgt. John McAnally said Scoleri worked alone. She was one of four people arrested in three anti-prostitution sting operations conducted between 1 and 7 p.m. Thursday on the city's north and northeast sides.
Members of the police department's special operations group learned Scoleri and the others were allegedly "engaging in acts of prostitution through various Internet sites at hotels and motels" in the city, McAnally said.
The suspects "posted various services on the Internet and agreed to meet their customers at various hotels and perform sexual acts in exchange for money," McAnally said in a written statement. The Web sites included Craigslist and Backpage, he said.
Undercover police officers went to the designated places and met with the suspects, who were arrested after sexual services were offered and money changed hands, McAnally said.
Police reports indicated Scoleri, 40, was arrested around 2 p.m. in her home. In addition to keeping a place of prostitution, she was charged with prostitution, unlawful possession of cannabis and violation of the massage licensing act.
Scoleri reportedly has four children. Jimmie Whitelow, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, said Friday night his agency has had no contact with Scoleri and has received no report from police concerning her.
Arrested about 5:30 p.m. in the second incident was Tonya M. Adams, 23, of Chicago's South Side. She was charged with prostitution and driving without a license.
The third sting occurred just before 6:30 p.m. and ended in the arrests of Jessica M. Walley, 21, of Skokie; and Mark A. Williams, 27, an admitted street gang member from Schaumburg.
Walley was charged with prostitution and unlawful possession of cannabis. Williams was charged with pimping, obstructing a peace officer, driving with a suspended license and driving without insurance.
Williams, just before being taken into custody, allegedly tried to send Walley a telephone text message, in which he warned her police were about to arrest them both, McAnally said.
Adams was nabbed in one hotel, and Walley and Williams in another. McAnally declined to identify the businesses because their owners and operators had readily cooperated in the investigations.
All four suspects are free on bail and scheduled to be arraigned next month in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton.
Police conducted a similar sting Feb. 3 at two north side hotels. Two women from Rockford and a third from Ohio were arrested that day on prostitution-related charges. Sunday, 14 March 2010 wbbm780.com
And the neighborhood was harmed, how ?