Admitted Human Traffickers Got Federal Aid

Picture from KGMB News

From KITV News:

Nonprofit Aloun Foundation Got $2 Million Fed Loan
Keoki Kerr

The owners Kapolei's Aloun Farms -- who've already pleaded guilty to human trafficking some of their farm workers -- received a multimillion dollar federal loan to buy an apartment in which to house their farm employees.

Brothers Mike and Alec Sou have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking for mistreating workers brought in from Thailand to work on one of Oahu's largest fruit and vegetable operations, Aloun Farms. They await sentencing in September.

Now, KITV4 News has learned a nonprofit corporation set up by the Sou brothers, the Aloun Foundation, received $2.1 million in low-interest loans from the U.S. Agriculture Department to buy a four-story Wahiawa apartment complex to house low-income farm workers.

The mortgage for 104 Lakeview Circle shows the loan deal was signed in July 2008, just before the FBI began its federal human trafficking investigation.

Tax returns filed by the nonprofit Aloun Foundation list Alec Sou as president, and his brother Mike and their mother and father as directors. The nonprofit “supports cultural and historic agricultural activities in Hawaii through providing low cost living assistance to employees working in those organizations,” according to its 2008 tax return.

"It's a real straight up deal, and it really is serving a public purpose," said Craig Watase of Mark Development, property manager for the apartment house.

All of the rental units house at least one resident who works at Aloun Farms, he said. Residents at the complex confirmed that to a reporter Monday and said most of them were Micronesian, with two families from Hawaii.

Watase said the residents here must meet federal low-income levels to qualify for subsidized rentals, paying 30 percent of their income in rent and the U.S. Department of Agriculture picking up the rest. “It’s a good thing, and it’s on the up and up. It’s federally audited and monitored,” he said.

The Sous pursued the federal loan through their nonprofit instead of their for-profit farm because non-profits have a "better chance" of winning help from the federal government, Watase said.

He said in the nearly two years he has managed the property, only employees from Aloun Farms have been tenants there, but they’ve “tried to reach out to employees of other farms.”

"I think it's interesting and a little troubling how the Sou brothers know how to work the system," said Clare Hanusz, the attorney representing 27 former Aloun Farm workers who are trafficking victims in the federal criminal case and did not live at the Wahiawa apartment complex.

"Why this would fall under the guise of a nonprofit foundation as opposed to their for-profit enterprise is potentially concerning," she said. "I don't know hy Aloun Farms wouldn't just pay a living wage so that its workers wouldn't have to use subsidized, basically federal government subsidized housing."

Sources told KITV4 News the state attorney general's office is investigating to determine whether the Sous are using the apartment owned by their nonprofit organization as an extension of their for-profit farm.

We've covered parts of this story out of Hawaii, that actually operated all over the US, in the past. The sentencing in this trial started in June, however is set to continue in September after an agreement could not be reached. I find this particular finding interesting because I think it highlights that although traffickers make efforts to prevent their abusive practices from being discovered and punished, they can also operate in general quite publicly. Traffickers can be active community members, producing goods for major grocery chains, or, in this case, federal grantees. We can never assume that just because an agricultural employer is providing goods or services to major companies or works with grant monitors of the federal government, they are not capable of being traffickers.

Former Western New York Judge Receives Sentence

From the Buffalo News:

Ex-Justice Tills given prison term in sex case
Federal judge calls women real victims

By Phil Fairbanks and Dan Herbeck

NEWS STAFF REPORTERS

Updated: August 08, 2009, 6:36 AM

Phrases like “human trafficking” and “sex trade” bring to mind tough, brutal images that are hard to believe about anyone.

When the accused is a well-respected judge, a jurist known for tough sentences, it becomes what his own attorney acknowledged Friday is a long fall from grace.

Ronald H. Tills, 74, a retired State Supreme Court Justice, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday, becoming the first person given jail time in connection with the continuing federal probe of the Royal Order of Jesters.

“I will never forgive myself for the possible harm I’ve caused to the victims in this case,” Tills told a packed courtroom. “I’m embarrassed, and I feel terrible about the shame I’ve brought to the bench and the bar.”

In sentencing Tills, U. S. District Judge William M. Skretny referred numerous times to victims in the case and at least twice mentioned one young woman by name.

“Coco is a real victim in this case, and regrettably, she’s not the only one,” the judge said at one point.

Skretny described Coco as an illegal immigrant who barely spoke English and was sold into sexual slavery as a young woman. Coco, he added, was transported by Tills across state lines to serve as a prostitute at a Jesters convention in Kentucky.

The judge admonished Tills for victimizing a member of what he described as the most vulnerable subset of illegal aliens, “the undocumented women involved in the sex trade.”

The judge also chastised Tills for engaging in a sexual relationship with a woman who had appeared before him when he was still a judge and then recruiting her to work as a prostitute at a Jesters convention.

“I view, and I think society views, this as particularly disgraceful,” Skretny said.

He referred to Tills as a “real Jekyll and Hyde” and suggested the former judge and state assemblyman had not shown the level of remorse Skretny would have liked to have seen from him.

Tills pleaded guilty last September to a felony charge of transporting prostitutes across state lines.

He also admitted that, while still serving as a state judge, he recruited prostitutes for a number of Jesters weekend outings, known as “books.”

“He knows what he did was reprehensible,” said Terrence M. Connors, one of Tills’ lawyers. “He knows he’s disgraced that robe.”

Tills’ legal problems began in late 2007 when federal agents found out that a judge and a police captain were among the customers of a Niagara County massage parlor that hired illegal aliens to work as prostitutes.

The massage parlor probe— conducted by the Western New York Human Trafficking Task Force — led to an investigation into the Buffalo Jesters chapter and its use of prostitutes.

In urging the judge to give Tills 18 months, federal prosecutor John Rogowski told the judge his ruling would affect the public’s view of the judiciary.

Rogowski also urged the judge not to be blinded by the emotional aspects of the case and to remember that what Tills did was a serious crime.

Tills will begin his 18-month jail term on Oct. 1 at a federal prison yet to be determined.

Two other Jesters — John Trowbridge, 62, a former Lockport police captain, and Michael Stebick, 61, Tills’ former law clerk — were previously sentenced by Skretny.

Trowbridge was put on probation for two years. Stebick was given four months of home confinement and had to forfeit his motor home, which was used to transport prostitutes over state lines, to the government.

Connors, in seeking leniency from Skretny, stressed that Tills had helped federal agents with information about prostitution activities involving several other Jesters chapters in other cities.

So far, no charges have been filed against anyone outside the Buffalo chapter.

“He’s given them inner workings,” Connors said. “This group of sordid individuals, which has done what it’s done for years, has stopped. They’re out of business.”

In May, a national spokesman for the Jesters told The Buffalo News that the presence of prostitutes at Jesters gatherings is something that only the Buffalo chapter engaged in, adding that such conduct is never condoned by the national leadership.

The all-male organization — which is a division of the Freemasons— has 191 chapters with 22,000 members, mostly in the United States. The fraternal group’s members have included two U. S. presidents, politicians, entertainment figures and prominent businessmen.

Some former Jesters told The News that many Jesters chapters have engaged in wild parties with prostitutes for decades.

Tills, who previously served as a member of the State Assembly, was known by colleagues and defense attorneys as one of the region’s toughest sentencing judges before he retired from his job as a state judge in 2005.

The human trafficking task force includes investigators from the FBI, U. S. Border Patrol, U. S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, and the Erie and Niagara County sheriff’s offices.

pfairbanks@buffnews.com and dherbeck@buffnews.com

Another case that demonstrates traffickers can come from any part of society. This is a case that I feel surprisingly few people in Western New York know about; most people seemed shocked to find out that a judge had been involved in a sex trafficking case right in our community. Shock is a natural reaction to almost any trafficking case, I suppose, but at this point, I think we really need to accept the fact that traffickers and victims can have any background. Human trafficking is defined by the exploitation of the victim and the profit gained by the trafficker; not the personal identity or background of the people involved. The sooner this realization is accepted, the sooner we will be able to help more victims and put away more traffickers.

Author Charged in Sex Trafficking Case

From the Journal News:

Author accused of keeping sex slave
Terence Corcoran and Sean Gorman
tcorcora@lohud.com

POUND RIDGE - A 65-year-old restaurant-guide writer is accused of bringing young women from abroad to his northern Westchester County home under the guise that they would work for him, then forcing at least one of them into sexual slavery.

Joseph Yannai is the author of "The International Who's Who of Chefs 2004-2005," was charged with one count of first-degree sex abuse and two counts of second-degree labor trafficking, both felonies, according to the county District Attorney's Office.

Police say Yannai lured the primary victim, a 21-year-old from Hungary, to work at his home as his personal assistant. But after she arrived Feb. 18, she learned the real rules of the house: that her e-mails and personal phone calls would be limited and that she would get no spending money or access to transportation, police said.

Then there was that other expectation, that Yannai "threatened and coerced the victims to perform sexual favors," District Attorney Janet DiFiore said.

The woman also came across photos of Yannai with other women in his bedroom and learned that there had been six or seven other young women from various countries who worked at his home, police said.

A second victim, a woman from Brazil, also was working there at the time, police said.

Before leaving Hungary, the primary victim had made e-mail contact with another Hungarian who lives in Pound Ridge, police said, and on March 11, the 21-year-old victim contacted that person, who helped her escape.

The woman then went to Pound Ridge police, who launched an investigation before turning the case over to state police.

Yannai, who lives with his wife and has no children, surrendered yesterday at the state police barracks in Somers, Investigator Cornelius Merritt said.

Yannai, who was arraigned in Pound Ridge before Town Justice Edward Hand, posted $100,000 bail and is due back in Town Court on June 22.

Authorities say the victim learned of Yannai's job offer through a Web site for au pairs. In e-mail exchanges that began in December, Yannai posed as a young woman who was his former employee, the prosecutor's office said.

The woman was told that she would work as a personal assistant to a 64-year-old businessman and had the option of being paid $2,000 a month to work for him but live elsewhere, or live in his home, all expenses paid, and receive $20,000 at the end of the year, authorities said.

She chose the latter, officials said.

Both the Brazilian and Hungarian women are now staying in a shelter, officials said.

Yannai faces a maximum of seven years in state prison if convicted of the top count.

Yesterday, Yannai appeared friendly and hospitable when approached by The Journal News at his home. Although he declined to discuss the case, he invited a reporter and photographer inside the home, offering them drinks, introducing them to his dog, Sadie, and giving them a tour of the spacious living room, which was adorned with leather furniture, and offered a view of the many lily pads floating in a pond out back.

"You're giving me the opportunity to say something I've wanted to say for the last who knows how many years: No comment," he said, referring questions on the case to his lawyer.

His lawyer, John Pappalardo, said Yannai denies the allegations against him.

"There certainly was no sexual abuse or sexual slavery in this case," Pappalardo said.

Several news crews were parked outside Yannai's home on Route 124 yesterday.

Neighbors said they were stunned by the allegations.

"I can't really imagine he's done anything wrong," neighbor Ellen Abisch said, adding that Yannai had told her he had au pairs living and working at his home.

Another neighbor, Katherine Biagiarelli, who lives next-door to Yannai, said that when she came home from work a couple of weeks ago, she saw police taking items out of his home.

"They took some computers out, some hard drives," Biagiarelli said, adding that she did not know Yannai personally.

Another neighbor, Nancy Mutino, who described Yannai as "very rich," said she's friends with his wife, Elena. Mutino said the allegations were surprising.

"That blows my mind because he has a lovely young wife - a really lovely, young wife," she said.

Two things that are really important about this case:

1.) This adds to what people in the counter-trafficking movement try every day to convey through awareness campaigns: there is no one face of a trafficker; no one profession; no one age group or ethnicity. Just because someone in your neighborhood is a respected member of the community with a family, does not mean this person is incapable of being a trafficker. This is not the only case where neighbors in a suburban setting were shocked to find someone they knew in their immediate area was exploiting people in his/her home.

2.) This case shows that labor and sex trafficking can happen at the same time or at the least, that sex abuse can happen while being trafficked for labor exploitation. Creating hard differences between the two types of trafficking can sometimes seem purposeless when we're confronted with cases like this. It's also important to understand that women are trafficked for labor exploitation, which is often overlooked or underreported.

Nigerian trafficker arrested

From allAfrica.com:

Nigeria: Human Trafficking - 80yr Old Woman, 13 Ladies Arrested

The police have arrested an 80 year old woman and 13 young girls over their alleged involvement in human and child trafficking in Abia State.

The arrest of the suspects is coming barely one week after the police apprehended some youths said to be students of higher education institutions of learning over their roles in the kidnap of persons for ransom.

Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro who briefed newsmen on the arrest of the suspected human traffickers, said the octogenarian...was arrested in her private hostel where she harbours young preganant ladies, particularly teenagers who fled from home and school to escape the scorn and stigma of unwanted pregnancy...

Investigations revealed that the teenage mothers were usually kept within the walls of the hostel throughout the period of their pregnancy until they delivered their babies. However, all the suspects have denied the allegations.

According to Okiro, babies delivered in the hostel under the supervision of Mrs. Erondu were usually sold out to some unnamed clients of the hostel who are said to be either childless couples in search of children to adopt or influential persons in society who procure the babies for rituals believed to give them political victory and wealth.

The Police boss expressed appreciation to the informants who exposed the illegal trade perpertrated...adding that such cooperation was a clear confirmation that a strong police-public partnership was necessary in the task of safeguarding the security of lives and property in Nigeria.

This, to me, was a strange article and a strange case that confused me as to who the police felt were victims and who were the criminals. Obviously, the children who had no voice in the matter and were sold to families or wealthy couples are victims.  The rest is unclear. Nonetheless, it adds another layer to the complexity of this already complex crime.

Kidnappings Cross Border into U.S. Cities

Drug traffickers and human smugglers (no explicit mention of trafficking) are being kidnapped and held for ransom by fellow criminals.

From MSNBC:

PHOENIX, USA - A woman leaving an eyeglass store is grabbed in the parking lot by four men who force her, kicking and screaming, into a pickup. The kidnappers demand a $900,000 ransom.

But police soon realize her family is holding something back and isn't fully cooperating with them. Later, investigators find out that relatives have arranged the woman's release on their own. And they discover that members of the family are heavy into marijuana trafficking.The case illustrates how a terrifyingly common crime in Latin America has moved across the border into the United States: Criminals and their family members are being kidnapped by fellow criminals and held for six-figure ransoms.

The abductions are occurring in the Phoenix area at the rate of practically one per day, and police suspect they have led to killings in which bound and bullet-riddled bodies have been found dumped in the desert.

The kidnap victims are typically drug or immigrant-smugglers, who are seen as inviting targets because they have a lot of money, they can raise large sums of cash on short notice, and they are unlikely to go to the police, for fear their own shady dealings will come to light.

"We have never had a victim that we have investigated that has been as clean as the new driven snow," said Sgt. Phil Roberts, who investigates the kidnappings. "There has always been some type of criminal element to it. Either they are criminals, drug dealers or human smugglers — or a close family member is."The kidnappers themselves are fellow traffickers who are doing it for the money or to punish their rivals.

Rise in violence, kidnappings
Phoenix had more than 340 such kidnappings reported last year, but police said the real number is much higher because many cases go unreported.The San Diego area has also seen a rise in kidnappings over the past year, with two or three reported during busy weeks, and some victims were mixed up in drug smuggling. But the hostage-taking appears to be most prevalent in Phoenix, the nation's biggest base of operations for immigrant smugglers.Kidnappings are common in Mexico, and the victims often include criminals as well as legitimate businessmen, such as bankers. Phoenix police said they believe the kidnappers here are not going after legitimate businessmen for fear their families will go to the police.The kidnappings first came to light in Phoenix three years ago but are rising as overall violence associated with immigrant smuggling intensifies in Arizona.

Drop houses and torture
Immigrant smuggling is a lucrative line of work: A ring that moves a load of 30 illegal immigrants through Arizona can gross $45,000 to $75,000.And smugglers can quickly get their hands on large sums of money — sometimes in the middle of the night. In one case, someone who turned to authorities about a kidnapping brought more than $300,000 in ransom money to the police department in cereal boxes.

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