Guest W***ledi*Time Report post Posted January 8, 2011 (edited) Tresa Baldas reports for the Detroit Free Press, 8 Jan 2011: http://www.freep.com/article/20110108/NEWS01/101080340/1003/Prostitution-rings-black-book-on-its-way-to-Fla. The coveted black book at the center of what federal prosecutors in Michigan are calling a major bust of a nationwide high-priced escort service will have its own ticket to Tampa. Florida defense lawyer Paul DeCailly, who fought for access to the list that names tens of thousands of clients -- including several from metro Detroit -- had his request granted by a federal judge in Detroit on Friday and is heading back to the Sunshine State without the list. He said he doesn't want to take any chances with losing it or someone stealing it. So, the feds are sending the list to Florida, where the escort service was based, separately -- under tight security, of course. DeCailly will pick it up at a government office possibly by next week. "There are so many things that could happen ... and I don't want to violate the judge's order in any way," DeCailly said. Against a prosecutor's wishes, DeCailly is getting an unedited customer list of Miami Companions, which was busted in metro Detroit last summer. DeCailly is representing Gregory Carr, a Dearborn Heights native and co-owner of the service, who was indicted in July on prostitution and money laundering charges. Carr, his ex-wife Laurie Carr and three others were indicted for running what the government says was once one of the largest prostitution rings in the U.S., with metro Detroit being among its busiest ports. According to court records, from the early 2000s through 2009, Miami Companions sent prostitutes to hotels in Southfield, Romulus, Novi and Canton. The Carrs raked in more than $4 million, records show. Laurie Carr pleaded guilty in October and is cooperating with authorities. Gregory Carr is scheduled to go to trial March 22. U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow granted DeCailly's request to have the list -- which contains some 30,000 names -- but he did set some conditions: Prosecutors must give DeCailly the list on a computer disc that can't be copied, DeCailly can't print any information off the disc, and the client database can't be shared with the public. "I'll take whatever the judge will give me," said DeCailly, who had argued in court that he should be trusted with the black book. DeCailly has been fighting for weeks for access to the entire customer list, claiming he has a right to see what the government has on his client. Federal prosecutors had argued against releasing the entire list on privacy grounds, indicating they didn't trust what DeCailly might do with the information. The list contains the names of customers, their contact information, details about dates and clients' sexual preferences. "It could be used to potentially harass and intimidate potential witnesses. It could be lost, stolen or used by others," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Blackwell argued in court, later adding, "Once it's out there, it's out there." Blackwell brought the list to court Friday, and held it up. "This is the list, the black book," she said, raising in the air a sealed plastic bag containing a computer disc. She stressed, "I am very careful with how we treat this disc." The disc, meanwhile, is headed south. "I just want to defend my client," DeCailly told the Free Press. Edited January 8, 2011 by W***ledi*Time Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cat 262460 Report post Posted January 8, 2011 This is absolute bullshit! $4 million in 9 years? WTF? Definitely not the largest in the US then, because a little wee small town agency can do $500G's a year. No underage or drugs, just LE looking to harrass people. I have real issues with this kind of thing. Carr is going to do some time tho, nobody every really wins against the Feds. Wishing his lawyer all the good luck I can send... cat Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest W***ledi*Time Report post Posted January 8, 2011 In this article, it isn't clear just what the $4 million figure is supposed to represent. Since it was in the paragraph listing the Michigan communities, I had originally taken it to be referring to revenue in the Detroit-area only. Looking at old news articles, it seems that the $4 million figure actually stems from the money-laundering charges. This is the number cited (in articles last summer) for the amount that had been identified as having been deposited in domestic bank accounts: "Feds say the Carrs put over $4 million into numerous bank accounts in the U.S., plus millions more in overseas bank accounts", which were used to pay employees in their call centres in Panama and Costa Rica. So I'd guess that in today's article, "more than" $4 million probably translates into "a lot more than". Since they supposedly charged $500/hr, 30,000 clients at one hour each already adds up to a $15,000,000 tip-of-the-iceberg figure. That's not taking into account multi-hour appointments or repeat customers. http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Miami-Based-Prostitution-Ring-Busted-99025559.html http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/22/1741807/feds-indict-5-linked-to-miami.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
