Miami Companions sex ring kingpin sentenced to 14 months
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Ohio
Detroit— Greg Carr, the sex-ring king who built Miami Companions into one of the largest prostitution services in the country before it was busted in Detroit, was sentenced to 14 months in prison today.
That's about half of the 27 months in prison sought by federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow said it was rare for federal court to handle a prostitution case that did not involve violence and pointed to Carr's lack of criminal record before being indicted last summer.
The sentencing largely caps one of the most titillating and anxiety-producing criminal cases in recent years because prosecutors seized a client database of more than 30,000 customers — including a rock star and a Washington lobbyist — who paid as much as $500-an-hour to have sex with Miami Companions prostitutes.
It is unclear if the book will ever be released because Tarnow has issued a protective order shielding it from the public.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Carr said he was pleased.
"I was leading a double life; that's a difficult thing to do," said Carr, who was surrounded by about 15 supporters. "Most people in this industry do that. It's a welcome relief to be myself again."
Carr, 44, a Central Michigan University graduate and Dearborn native, reached a deal with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to persuade or entice someone to engage in prostitution. Tarnow sentenced Carr to 14 months on each charge, to be served concurrently.
Carr admitted helping run Miami Companions from 2000 to last year.
He also agreed to forfeit more than $14,000 seized by investigators from two bank accounts.
This morning, his girlfriend Fabiola Contreras, a former Miami Companions prostitute, pleaded guilty in federal court and could spend six months in prison and be forced to leave the country.
Contreras, a native of Chile, will be sentenced Aug. 12 on a misdemeanor charge of helping to employ illegal aliens who worked as prostitutes for Miami Companions.
Contreras, a former $500-an-hour prostitute known as "Antonella," is the fifth person charged in the case to reach a plea deal.
Tarnow asked Contreras why she was pleading guilty.
"Because I'm guilty of hiding illegal people that flew here to commit prostitution in Michigan," she said. "The company was organizing the trips."
In exchange for her plea, the U.S. Attorney's Office dropped a charge of conspiracy to coerce and entice prostitution, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Contreras, a resident of Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., joined Miami Companions in 2008 but stopped working as a Miami Companions prostitute the next year when she started dating Carr, according to prosecutors.
The Miami Companions ring was busted in Metro Detroit, where clients spent more than $167,000 for sex between March 2007 and January 2009, according to federal prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney's Office labeled Miami Companions one of the country's largest escort services, dispatching dozens of prostitutes to hotels and beachfront villas around the world. And Metro Detroit was one of the busiest stops on the tour.
The ring was one of the largest in the country. Miami Companions compiled a client list numbering more than 30,000 people.
Carr's ex-wife, Miami Companions co-owner Laurie Carr, pleaded guilty Oct. 22 to conspiracy to coerce and entice prostitution and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
She could get 12 months in prison if she provided substantial help to prosecutors in their investigation against her ex-husband.
Two others have reached plea deals.
Nayubet Swaso, a porn star who worked as a prostitute for Miami Companions, was sentenced to two years probation Friday.
And former office manager Michelle (Mickey) Matarazzo, could get seven months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to coerce and entice prostitution. She is awaiting sentencing.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110512/METR…
That's about half of the 27 months in prison sought by federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow said it was rare for federal court to handle a prostitution case that did not involve violence and pointed to Carr's lack of criminal record before being indicted last summer.
The sentencing largely caps one of the most titillating and anxiety-producing criminal cases in recent years because prosecutors seized a client database of more than 30,000 customers — including a rock star and a Washington lobbyist — who paid as much as $500-an-hour to have sex with Miami Companions prostitutes.
It is unclear if the book will ever be released because Tarnow has issued a protective order shielding it from the public.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Carr said he was pleased.
"I was leading a double life; that's a difficult thing to do," said Carr, who was surrounded by about 15 supporters. "Most people in this industry do that. It's a welcome relief to be myself again."
Carr, 44, a Central Michigan University graduate and Dearborn native, reached a deal with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to persuade or entice someone to engage in prostitution. Tarnow sentenced Carr to 14 months on each charge, to be served concurrently.
Carr admitted helping run Miami Companions from 2000 to last year.
He also agreed to forfeit more than $14,000 seized by investigators from two bank accounts.
This morning, his girlfriend Fabiola Contreras, a former Miami Companions prostitute, pleaded guilty in federal court and could spend six months in prison and be forced to leave the country.
Contreras, a native of Chile, will be sentenced Aug. 12 on a misdemeanor charge of helping to employ illegal aliens who worked as prostitutes for Miami Companions.
Contreras, a former $500-an-hour prostitute known as "Antonella," is the fifth person charged in the case to reach a plea deal.
Tarnow asked Contreras why she was pleading guilty.
"Because I'm guilty of hiding illegal people that flew here to commit prostitution in Michigan," she said. "The company was organizing the trips."
In exchange for her plea, the U.S. Attorney's Office dropped a charge of conspiracy to coerce and entice prostitution, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Contreras, a resident of Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., joined Miami Companions in 2008 but stopped working as a Miami Companions prostitute the next year when she started dating Carr, according to prosecutors.
The Miami Companions ring was busted in Metro Detroit, where clients spent more than $167,000 for sex between March 2007 and January 2009, according to federal prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney's Office labeled Miami Companions one of the country's largest escort services, dispatching dozens of prostitutes to hotels and beachfront villas around the world. And Metro Detroit was one of the busiest stops on the tour.
The ring was one of the largest in the country. Miami Companions compiled a client list numbering more than 30,000 people.
Carr's ex-wife, Miami Companions co-owner Laurie Carr, pleaded guilty Oct. 22 to conspiracy to coerce and entice prostitution and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
She could get 12 months in prison if she provided substantial help to prosecutors in their investigation against her ex-husband.
Two others have reached plea deals.
Nayubet Swaso, a porn star who worked as a prostitute for Miami Companions, was sentenced to two years probation Friday.
And former office manager Michelle (Mickey) Matarazzo, could get seven months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to coerce and entice prostitution. She is awaiting sentencing.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110512/METR…
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The Miami Companions ring was busted in Metro Detroit, where clients spent more than $167,000 for sex between March 2007 and January 2009.
Economy in the toilet, but an industry that employs people and stimulates the economy is shut down. tsk tsk.