By Howard Koplowitz
Two Queens women were among seven charged Wednesday with enterprise corruption for their alleged involvement in an Ozone Park−based prostitution ring that advertised on Craigslist, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said.
Suspected prostitution bookers Lina “Tina” Vasquez, 24, of Jamaica, and 48−year−old Barbara “Lisa” Morris of Astoria were indicted on enterprise corruption charges for their alleged involvement in Room Service Entertainment, which Cuomo said hired prostitutes, booked their appointments and hired drivers to take the hookers to meet their johns.
Cuomo accused Massapequa, L.I. resident Scott “Sal” Rosenberg, 45, and 31−year−old Josef Davenport of Brooklyn as being the co−owners of the company.
The attorner general claimed Rosenberg oversaw the day−to−day operations of Room Service Entertainment and Davenport handled the company’s finances.
He said Brooklyn resident Patricia “Nikki” Krupa, 32, was the manager and booker for the company. The others charged were bookers, according to Cuomo.
All of the defendants were charged with enterprise corruption, Cuomo said, with Rosenberg facing between 4 1⁄2 to 25 years in prison if convicted and one to 25 years for the others charged.
The attorney general said the Ozone Park−based ring operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week from June 2007 until 2008, with bookers using the office to make appointments between clients and prostitutes. He said the company serviced all five boroughs, Westchester, Long Island and beyond.
Cuomo said the bookers told clients not to explicitly discuss sex over the phone and instead used code words such as “GFE” for girlfriend experience and “skiing” and “rock climbing” to mean drugs and partying.
After an appointment was arranged, Cuomo said the bookers would call drivers employed by Room Service Entertainment to transport prostitutes to where they were meeting the Johns.
Cuomo claimed Room Service Entertainment advertised exclusively with the Website Craigslist and he took aim at the San Francisco−based company for failing to curb prostitution and other postings suggesting illegal activity on the site.
“Until Craigslist gets serious about putting real protections in place, it will continue to be an environment where criminal operations thrive with impunity,” he said in a statement. “Even after so−called reform of the Website last fall, this prostitution ring easily gamed the system and allegedly used Craigslist to spread its illegal operation throughout all the five boroughs and beyond. Today’s arrests underscore the inherent risks posed by Craigslist, and, most importantly, the need for protections that are full−fledged, not half−baked.”
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e−mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 173.
