‘Cop of the Month’ and instructor stop day jobs to be ‘pimps in prostitution ring’
A PE teacher and policeman once dubbed ‘Cop of the Month’ allegedly worked as pimps in a New York prostitution ring, prosecutors said Tuesday (October 15).
Steven Arey, 53, and George Trimigliozzi, 55, both moonlighted as managers at a Long Island brothel dubbed ‘American Girls Spa’, collecting “house fees” from sex workers and hiring prostitutes, according to an indictment heard in a Suffolk County court.
Officials said Arey was a physical education teacher for 26 years, while Trimigliozzi served as a policeman for 18 years. Trimigliozzi once abandoned a cop job in 2021 before driving off at near-90 mph speeds to intervene at the brothel when a customer had been robbed, prosecutors claimed.
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“It is a sad day in law enforcement when a public servant is arrested,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “The allegations in this indictment describe a long-term pattern of organised criminal activity and a shocking betrayal of public trust.”
A five-year investigation discovered the duo worked for prostitution that allegedly had sex workers who couldn’t read or speak English sign “leases”, which required them to pay up to £9,000 at various brothels, a court heard.
Prosecutors claimed Frank Saggio, 60, ran several of the brothels the duo were involved in. Saggio oversaw the American Girls’ Spa and a second location in West Babylon, known as the Tunnel of Love.
Saggio faces two counts of sex trafficking based on the accusations that he required sex workers to pay him a certain amount of money each month.
Newsday reported Arey and Trimigliozzi respectively pleaded not guilty to 28 and 17 counts levelled against them in the indictment. The publication also reported Trimigliozzi’s lawyer said in court the ex-law enforcer had been named “cop of the month” six times.
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