Anyone surprised? "US man charged with running “sex tours” to Dominican Republic "

[MrHappy]

This is from DominicanToday.com

The dumb schmuck that was offering sextours to the DR on Craigslist....

"Washington.– A Tomkins Cove man has been accused of organizing sex tours to the Dominican Republic where he arranged vacation packages that included “ companion or companions.”
According to the District Attorney's Office, Jonathan Scharf, 49, of 23 Soluri Lane, was arrested yesterday at his home where authorities executed a search warranted and confiscated several computers, the district attorney said. He was charged with two counts of felony third-degree promoting prostitution.
Scharf, who authorities identified as a day trader, has been linked to an advertisement on craigslist.com for "Hot and erotic trip to paradise" that offered monthly excursions to the Dominican Republic with vacation packages offering room, liquor, meals and a companion or companions for the week, officials said.
If convicted, he faces up to seven years in state prison."

[PapiQueRico]

I'm not sure where the real stupidity lies. This guy thinking he could get awsay with doing this from the US, or our laws and LE's interest in this.

I guess the answer is.......BOTH.

[prtyr2]

yeah but if we didn't have the stupid laws he would not be stupid for getting caught;-)


I'm not sure where the real stupidity lies. This guy thinking he could get awsay with doing this from the US, or our laws and LE's interest in this.

I guess the answer is.......BOTH.

[Jimmydr]

This is from DominicanToday.com

The dumb schmuck that was offering sextours to the DR on Craigslist....

"Washington.– A Tomkins Cove man has been accused of organizing sex tours to the Dominican Republic where he arranged vacation packages that included “ companion or companions.”
According to the District Attorney's Office, Jonathan Scharf, 49, of 23 Soluri Lane, was arrested yesterday at his home where authorities executed a search warranted and confiscated several computers, the district attorney said. He was charged with two counts of felony third-degree promoting prostitution.
Scharf, who authorities identified as a day trader, has been linked to an advertisement on craigslist.com for "Hot and erotic trip to paradise" that offered monthly excursions to the Dominican Republic with vacation packages offering room, liquor, meals and a companion or companions for the week, officials said.
If convicted, he faces up to seven years in state prison."


So thats what happened to El Tibby?

[Jimmydr]

I'm not sure where the real stupidity lies. This guy thinking he could get awsay with doing this from the US, or our laws and LE's interest in this.

I guess the answer is.......BOTH.


You read about this monthly so anyone going into this from the States is "Stupid"

[Beads]

Maybe this will stop some of those stupid ads with people trying to make money doing something anyone can do for free.

[Vincent Vega]

I know you guys get pissed at me when I say this, but, you must be careful what you say here too.

[JD426]

I dont understand how one can be convicted of a "crime" which occurs on FOREIGN soil , esp when its not even a crime in THAT country ?
what if someone were to organize a Tour of the BROTHELS of VEGAS , is that breaking a NJ law punisheable up to 7 Years in NJ state Prison ??. Seems to me LE is really pushing the boundaries here.
if anything, this proves it is not about "improving the quality of life" by removing prostitution from our neighborhoods, which is what LE is always claiming, its about the $$, once again.

[Vincent Vega]

Hey JD, that is exactly what the laws says. It says any American who travels to a foreign county and commits an act that is illegal in the USA, even if it is legal in the country in which it is committed, they can be prosecuted here. It is listed in your passport.

Now, I know this. The guy that was arrested was not arrested solely because of what he posted on Crieg's List. He would have to commit "an act in furtherance of" to make it a crime. That tells me there was a investigation conducted in which an undercover agent exchanged money with this guy for a trip. Whether it was done in person or via payment over the internet doesn't make a difference.

[LM]

here's the ad.......

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/ers/980028844.html

also I think there was also a thread on the ad already...

http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/showthread.php?t=157729

[curiousdude]

wmarks35 is right. A pretty good site, with info on US laws, and laws of individual states, with apparently pretty comprehensive and up-to-date information, is here: http://prostitution.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=119

Most people probably know about the Mann Act, 18 USC 2421, which is what brought NY's former gov down last year (even though I don't think he was every prosecuted) but the relevant law here is probably 18 USC 1952 (you can see more at the above site):

_____________________________________________________________
Interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises

TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 95--RACKETEERING
Sec. 1952. Interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises
(a) Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses the mail or any facility in interstate or foreign commerce, with intent to--

(1) distribute the proceeds of any unlawful activity; or
(2) commit any crime of violence to further any unlawful activity; or
(3) otherwise promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, or carrying on, of any unlawful activity, and thereafter performs or attempts to perform--

(A) an act described in paragraph (1) or (3) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both; or
(B) an act described in paragraph (2) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
(b) As used in this section (i) ``unlawful activity'' means (1) any business enterprise involving gambling, liquor on which the Federal excise tax has not been paid, narcotics or controlled substances (as defined in section 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act), or prostitution offenses in violation of the laws of the State in which they are committed or of the United States, (2) extortion, bribery, or arson in violation of the laws of the State in which committed or of the United States, or (3) any act which is indictable under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, or under section 1956 or 1957 of this title and (ii) the term ``State'' includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
(c) Investigations of violations under this section involving liquor shall be conducted under the supervision of the Attorney General

[Gladiator]

I guess LE can't dedicate their limited resources to tackling more important criminal activities than this...

What a waste of tax payers' money!

[Cuba Libre]

I dont understand how one can be convicted of a "crime" which occurs on FOREIGN soil , esp when its not even a crime in THAT country ?
what if someone were to organize a Tour of the BROTHELS of VEGAS , is that breaking a NJ law punisheable up to 7 Years in NJ state Prison ??. Seems to me LE is really pushing the boundaries here.
if anything, this proves it is not about "improving the quality of life" by removing prostitution from our neighborhoods, which is what LE is always claiming, its about the $$, once again.What he was doing is illegal in the DR. While Prostitution is legal in the DR, Pimping (or profiting from Prostitution) in NOT legal in the DR.

[curiousdude]

What he was doing is illegal in the DR. While Prostitution is legal in the DR, Pimping (or profiting from Prostitution) in NOT legal in the DR.
And while pimps in the DR can get away with that by paying bribes to the right people there (as long as they stay in the DR and operate only there), pimps who operate in the US and work through interstate commerce, through the internet, are asking for trouble.

[Jimmydr]

And while pimps in the DR can get away with that by paying bribes to the right people there (as long as they stay in the DR and operate only there), pimps who operate in the US and work through interstate commerce, through the internet, are asking for trouble.

Everyone in DR (Nortcoast) is a pimp. Their mothers, sisters, brothers and the list goes on.

[TropicBob]

You read about this monthly so anyone going into this from the States is "Stupid"


I was almost stupid two weeks ago, started thinking of TropicBob's Tours from Tampa. Damn! Glad I got drunk that day and passed out in a haze.....

[TropicBob]

wmarks35 is right. A pretty good site, with info on US laws, and laws of individual states, with apparently pretty comprehensive and up-to-date information, is here: http://prostitution.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=119

Most people probably know about the Mann Act, 18 USC 2421, which is what brought NY's former gov down last year (even though I don't think he was every prosecuted) but the relevant law here is probably 18 USC 1952 (you can see more at the above site):

_____________________________________________________________
Interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises

TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 95--RACKETEERING
Sec. 1952. Interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises
(a) Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses the mail or any facility in interstate or foreign commerce, with intent to--

(1) distribute the proceeds of any unlawful activity; or
(2) commit any crime of violence to further any unlawful activity; or
(3) otherwise promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, or carrying on, of any unlawful activity, and thereafter performs or attempts to perform--

(A) an act described in paragraph (1) or (3) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both; or
(B) an act described in paragraph (2) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
(b) As used in this section (i) ``unlawful activity'' means (1) any business enterprise involving gambling, liquor on which the Federal excise tax has not been paid, narcotics or controlled substances (as defined in section 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act), or prostitution offenses in violation of the laws of the State in which they are committed or of the United States, (2) extortion, bribery, or arson in violation of the laws of the State in which committed or of the United States, or (3) any act which is indictable under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, or under section 1956 or 1957 of this title and (ii) the term ``State'' includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
(c) Investigations of violations under this section involving liquor shall be conducted under the supervision of the Attorney General

Maybe LE is now going after the reverse of human trafficking....monger trafficking instead! :-)

[greydread]

Rule:

If you happen upon a good thing it is inevitable that the more people you tell about it the quicker it will get fucked up.:(

The object of LE's attention in this story was pinched for being greedy and not having a sufficient plan to mask his greed with value.

Fuck him.

[Summit]

One thing is a Pimp, an other is The Pimp......

Cause i'm the Wolf Man and i'm The Pimp.....and i won't go to jail for it HAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA

But true pimping is against the law here......But it's not often prosecuted , you got to do some real dumb ass stuff to go to jail here for it.

[Summit]

PS that guy got in real trouble cause the conspiracy started in the US ( The ad ) and the transaction took place there ( money exchanged hands ).
So even if the sex took place in the moon , the actual crime ( pimping ) took place in the USA.

[Vincent Vega]

A US citizen can travel to the DR and purchase a house to use as a brothel and advertise exclusively in Europe and only do "sex for sale" with Europeans, and he can still be prosecuted back in the USA.

[yourmomma999]

If he were smarter he would have had a friend over there help him do it correctly and send the money to an account setup. For a day trader he should have been smartet, anyways, Im sure he was robbing people blind, and hopefully after the first time they figured out they did not need his dumbass. And you are correct about pimping being illegal and if you do it you have to pay off the authorities, and I have heard that in Sosua around the beach areas, Morau Mai, La Roca, that there are international LE that look like regular people that sit in a car from time to time with special microphones to make sure that pimping is not going on (at least outwardly in the streets) I was told this by someone who supposedly was doing just that over there (offering girls services), so I figured why would he lie?

That law which someone posted is just the governments way to get you for not paying taxes. The U.S. gov't has more stupid laws on taxes than anywhere. It cost so much to live here I can not wait to retire and move out to a 3rd world island in the Carribean.


And while pimps in the DR can get away with that by paying bribes to the right people there (as long as they stay in the DR and operate only there), pimps who operate in the US and work through interstate commerce, through the internet, are asking for trouble.

[MrHappy]

One thing is a Pimp, an other is The Pimp......

Cause i'm the Wolf Man and i'm The Pimp.....and i won't go to jail for it HAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA

But true pimping is against the law here......But it's not often prosecuted , you got to do some real dumb ass stuff to go to jail here for it.


Domwolf my friend, you are a DOG!!!!!! wahahahahahhahaha

[curiousdude]

PS that guy got in real trouble cause the conspiracy started in the US ( The ad ) and the transaction took place there ( money exchanged hands ).
So even if the sex took place in the moon , the actual crime ( pimping ) took place in the USA.
That is probably why they went after him - because he resides in the US and was doing his shit from here - but legally it doesn't really matter (at least according to the law) that the "transaction" took place in the US. If you read the text of the racketeering laws that relate to prostitution, you should see what I mean. But practically speaking, what you are saying is right. He was nailed because he tried to do that in the US. The owner of a whorehouse in Sosua, say, on Pedro Clisante, who is from, say, Germany, and operates solely in the DR, and takes salidas, and even has a website advertising his business, is physically outside the jurisdiction of the authorities in the US and would be hard, if not impossible, to nail. If he were instead an American citizen, however, and went home to the US, he could be prosecuted under US law. However, his prosecution would still be unlikely if he didn't operate from and in the US, but not because he could not be prosecuted. It's just that it would be much harder for the US authorities to prosecute and prevail, as, in that case, most of the evidence, witnesses, etc. would be harder to find and bring into a US court, as the physical evidence and material witnesses would likely be in the DR.

[curiousdude]

A US citizen can travel to the DR and purchase a house to use as a brothel and advertise exclusively in Europe and only do "sex for sale" with Europeans, and he can still be prosecuted back in the USA.
Yes, wmarks345, is right on the mark here. Not likely to happen, but you're exactly right.

[Summit]

Domwolf my friend, you are a DOG!!!!!! wahahahahahhahaha


Dude , i am a Dog , but i am THE ALFA DOG, i run the PACK...hahahahahahahahahahahaah

Dude we need to hook up in PalALba soon......

[Hemp]

i like your style...lol
Dude , i am a Dog , but i am THE ALFA DOG, i run the PACK...hahahahahahahahahahahaah

Dude we need to hook up in PalALba soon......

i like your style...lol

[SJG]

So how does Dennis Hoff get away with running a web site for the Moonlight Bunny Ranch?

http://www.bunnyranch.com/

[curiousdude]

So how does Dennis Hoff get away with running a web site for the Moonlight Bunny Ranch?

http://www.bunnyranch.com/
The website just has porn and advertises the Bunny Ranch, which is in Nevada, where prostitution is legal in some circumstances. There are even licensed "houses of prostitution" - presumably the Bunny Ranch is such a licensed house of prostitution, so the US federal law, while it might apply to an American on the internet promoting a site/whorehouse in another state, or even in another country, would probably not apply to the Bunny Ranch, because it is probably a licensed "house of prostitution" in Nevada. (Again, the link I gave down below has a chart with a description of the laws of each state in the US, including Nevada.)

[Vincent Vega]

OK, I am going to try an explain this. In 90% of all federal cases, the FBI, DEA and especially ATF can only charge persons who violate federal law as the crime effects “interstate commerce.” The Bunny Ranch's web site does not allow you to purchase any sex. Just T-shirts and other bull shit things. If you want to have sex with the girls there, you gotta go there and pay there. And when you get there, it is all legal under Nevada state law. No Fed problem. However, if the web site was to take money for the purpose of prostitution from customers who do not live in Nevada, big Fed problem. Also, if one of the girls were to travel across Nevada's state line to have sex in exchange for money, again, effect on interstate commerce and again, big Fed problem. Then, you have statues that deal solely with persons crossing international borders and committing certain crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of federal agencies alone.


ATF suffers the most under these restrictions. Let's say this. They investigate and arrest a person for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Afterwards, they look at the weapon and learn it is a fully legal Tech 9 pistol. The arrest in made within the state of Florida. Tech 9's are made in Miami. There is no effect on interstate commerce. They can't charge him. They must turn him over to state authorities who can charge him for state violations. The only exception would be if the arrested subject's felony conviction was in federal court.




The other 10% of crimes the feds can arrest for, which do not effect interstate commerce are crimes of civil rights violations, public corruption, lieing to the FBI and the big important one, failure to pay excise taxes. Federal law is very good about covering all bases in investigations. Get caught with an illegal machine gun. They charge you with failure to pay the excise tax. Get caught with 100 kilos of cocaine, one of the charges will be failure to pay the excise tax for selling cocaine. That's right. The government sells stamps for almost every crime involved with interstate commerce. The stamp shows you have paid the excise tax. A few years back, it cost $100,000.00 for the stamp to sell 10 pounds of illegal marijuana. So, as you may have guessed, no one pays the taxes. This is important to the feds because if their case suffers problems that might throw out certain pieces of evidence they have, not paying the excise tax might be the only thing they can prove. As a side bar, another trick they like to use is talking a person into signing a “consent to search” for their home or business when in reality the feds already possess a search warrant for said premise. The theory is if later the search warrant is deemed to be based on faulty information and is thrown out, they still have the signed consent to search. And consent to searches stand up in court.

The federal manpower as it pertains to LE is very small when compared to police departments. So, they must concentrate on big cases and cases that effect national security and so on.


So, the best course of action if you are going to broker pussy for money is to maintain the profile of an ameba inside a pile of snake shit. The last thing you want to do is get onto Craig's list and hang you dick in the open for all to take notice.

[Don Tomas]

They charge you with failure to pay the excise tax. Get caught with 100 kilos of cocaine, one of the charges will be failure to pay the excise tax for selling cocaine. That's right. The government sells stamps for almost every crime involved with interstate commerce. The stamp shows you have paid the excise tax. A few years back, it cost $100,000.00 for the stamp to sell 10 pounds of illegal marijuana. So, as you may have guessed, no one pays the taxes.

Believe it or not those tax stamps are bought, by stamp collectors. Of course I wouldn't recommend buying more then one for each "product" but collectors do buy them.

[tomtom33]

[SIZE=4]ATF suffers the most under these restrictions. Let's say this. They investigate and arrest a person for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Afterwards, they look at the weapon and learn it is a fully legal Tech 9 pistol. The arrest in made within the state of Florida. Tech 9's are made in Miami. There is no effect on interstate commerce. They can't charge him. They must turn him over to state authorities who can charge him for state violations. The only exception would be if the arrested subject's felony conviction was in federal court.

The Commerce Clause has been very broadly interpreted by the courts. Were all components of the pistol manufactured in Florida? Was the pistol loaded? If so, where were the bullets manufactured? If they were made in Florida, where were the shell casings made? How about the gunpowder?

[Vincent Vega]

If the gun is stamp "made where ever" then that is it's base of commerce. Bullets have nothing to do with the situation I describe. Absolutely nothing. The US Title 18 criminal codes has an extensive list of definitions to describe all listed elements of crimes. The definition of a firearm does not have the word bullet anywhere in its description. Nor gunpowder. A convicted felon can be caught with an empty gun and the charge is the same. The fact a gun is loaded with bullets has no weight in determining the weapon's base of commerce.

I only gave the example of the gun with ATF to give a broad overview of how federal crimes are determined as it pertains to interstate commerce. It really had nothing to do directly with the subject at hand.