TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a Jersey City man was sentenced
to state prison today for running a major
human trafficking and prostitution ring
in which women were induced to use heroin
and cocaine and were beaten if they did
not turn a daily quota of tricks.
According
to Director Taylor, Allen Brown, a.k.a.
“Prince,” 48, of Jersey City,
was sentenced to 18 years in state prison,
including 10 years and 10 months of parole
ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Kevin
G. Callahan in Hudson County. Brown pleaded
guilty on April 1 to first-degree racketeering
and second-degree theft by extortion. The
charges were contained in an Aug. 7, 2009
state grand jury indictment.
Deputy
Attorney General Annmarie Taggart prosecuted
the case and represented the Division of
Criminal Justice at the sentencing. Judge
Callahan sentenced Brown to consecutive
sentences of 10 years on the racketeering
charge, including four years of parole ineligibility,
and eight years on the extortion charge,
including six years and 10 months of parole
ineligibility.
In
pleading guilty, Brown admitted that he
used violence and drugs to control women
and force them to engage in prostitution.
He further admitted that he extorted money
from one victim who received an inheritance
from her family estate, making threats against
her and her family to force her to turn
over the money. The charges resulted from
“Operation Red Light,” an investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs
& Organized Crime Bureau and the Jersey
City Police Department. Seven other defendants
have pleaded guilty in the case.
“Allen
Brown exploited vulnerable young women,
imprisoning them in a life of prostitution
and narcotics addiction,” said Attorney
General Dow. “Now it is his turn to
face prison, where he will not be able to
harm any more women.”
“With
the lengthy prison sentence imposed today
on this pimp and the guilty pleas we previously
secured from seven co-defendants, we have
successfully resolved this tragic case of
human trafficking,” said Criminal
Justice Director Taylor. “While no
punishment will make amends for what he
did to his victims, this sentence serves
justice and is a tribute to the exemplary
investigation conducted by the Division
of Criminal Justice and Jersey City Police
Department.”
“I
would like to commend all of the individuals
involved in taking down this dangerous man
who preyed on women,” said Jersey
City Police Chief Thomas Comey. “Allen
Brown, aka ‘Prince,’ was a leader
in a human trafficking enterprise that law
enforcement was able to infiltrate and dismantle.
Mr. Brown will no longer be a predator on
our streets.”
The
investigation was conducted for the Division
of Criminal Justice by Detective Noelle
Holl, Deputy Attorney General Taggart, Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Lauren Scarpa Yfantis,
and the Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau
North Squad. They worked cooperatively with
the Jersey City Police Department. The investigation
was conducted for the Jersey City Police
Department by Capt. Gary Lallo and the Special
Investigation Unit. Detective Mike Kurinzi
of the Elizabeth Police Department provided
critical assistance.
The
investigation revealed that for nearly two
decades, Brown ran prostitution rings in
Jersey City, coercing scores of women to
prostitute for him. Through the years, Brown
had residences that served as “stables”
in a number of locations in Jersey City,
where he would hold women brought from other
cities. He brought women from cities including
Camden, Atlantic City, Elizabeth, Newark
and Philadelphia. His last location was
18 Lyon Court in Jersey City, an upscale
condo development on Newark Bay in the Society
Hill section of the city.
Once
the women went with Brown, he would take
away their cell phones and any form of identification
they possessed. A number of the locations
where they were housed had reverse locks
on them that could not be unlocked from
the inside without a key. Only a select
few had a key. The others would be locked
in until it was time to work again. None
of the women were allowed to go anywhere
alone or without permission.
The
women forced to prostitute for Brown were
given heroin and cocaine so Brown could
control them and exploit their addiction.
They were driven to “tracks”
– motels or streets in Jersey City
and sometimes locations in other cities
– where they were expected to make
a certain amount of money each night turning
tricks to cover their daily drug debt and
provide a profit for Brown. If they did
not make the daily quota, ranging from $500
to $1,000, they were refused drugs, beaten
or denied entry into the house until the
money was made.
Brown
collected all money and ordered subordinates
to secure and control the women. On July
28, 2009, the woman who acted as boss over
the women for Brown, Annie Cooper, a.k.a.
“China,” 41, of Jersey City,
pleaded guilty to first-degree racketeering.
She is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge
Callahan this Friday, May 21. The state
will recommend that she be sentenced to
five to 10 years in prison.
The
enterprise included subordinates responsible
for transporting the women to work as prostitutes,
obtaining drugs for the women, maintaining
the household and vehicles, and securing
the women. Three men were indicted for those
activities: Anthony Evans, 52, of Jersey
City; Brown’s nephew, Arthur Brown,
38, of Jersey City; and Jerome Robinson,
31, of Newark. All three men have pleaded
guilty to third-degree promoting prostitution.
Evans
is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Callahan
this Friday, May 21. The state will recommend
that he be sentenced to four years in prison.
The state will recommend a five-year prison
sentence for Arthur Brown, and a sentence
of probation for Robinson, conditioned on
him serving 364 days in the county jail.
Arthur Brown is scheduled to be sentenced
by Judge Callahan on May 27, and Robinson
is scheduled to be sentenced on June 4.
Over
the years, Allen Brown made hundreds of
thousands of dollars, which he used to furnish
his home, purchase jewelry, buy vehicles,
and purchase drugs. The ring also included
individuals who laundered the criminal proceeds
through various financial transactions.
Frequently Brown used family members and
friends to act as the legitimate holder
of vehicle titles, real property leases,
cash and other property that he paid for
with criminal proceeds. Those people included
his mother, Tecora P. Brown, 73, of Bayonne,
his niece, Tecora L. Brown, 36, of Jersey
City, and Marlo Taylor, 40, of Newark.
Tecora
P. Brown pleaded guilty to third-degree
promoting prostitution, and Tecora L. Brown
pleaded guilty to third-degree money laundering.
The state will recommend that both women
receive sentences of probation. Marlo Taylor
pleaded guilty to third-degree money laundering,
and the state will recommend that she be
sentenced to 364 days in the county jail
as a condition of a term of probation. Tecora
P. Brown and Taylor are scheduled to be
sentenced on June 4, and Tecora L. Brown
is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9.
Allen
Brown, Cooper and Evans were arrested on
Sept. 12, 2008, when detectives from the
Division of Criminal Justice and Jersey
City Police executed a search warrant at
18 Lyon Court. Arthur Brown was also charged
that day.
Director
Taylor noted that the Division of Criminal
Justice has established a toll-free
Human Trafficking Hotline 1-877-986-7534
for the public and law enforcement
that is open 24/7 to receive reports of
suspected human trafficking. All information
received through the hotline will remain
confidential. More
information is available at: www.njhumantrafficking.gov
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