Da Ridge Revolutions

[Jeffrey]

Part 02 US Federal Attorney's Office for public release

United States Attorney Garcia stated, “This case is a reminder that large?scale human trafficking occurs every day, right in our own cities and neighborhoods. The United States government is dedicated to putting an end to this type of trafficking, and to punishing those who seek to profit from the sexual exploitation of others.”

“We will continue to employ all available resources to investigate and prosecute those who would exploit vulnerable women for personal profit,” stated United States Attorney Mauskopf.

“This law enforcement operation successfully shut down an organization that cashed in human dignity for profit and greed,” said Assistant Secretary Myers. “ICE will continue to aggressively target the means, money and infrastructure of organizations that exploit individuals.”

FBI Assistant Director Mershon stated: "The prostitution business was multi?state and very lucrative. And the actions of these defendants, particularly with regard to the handling of the proceeds, show a clear effort to avoid detection. But the FBI and our partners in this investigation were far more coordinated and unified in our pursuit of the criminals."

If convicted, the defendants face maximum sentences of five years’ imprisonment for the conspiracy charges, and up to ten years’ imprisonment for interstate transportation of women for the purpose of prostitution.

Mr. Garcia and Ms. Mauskopf praised the work of ICE and the FBI, as well as the NYPD, and thanked the United States Attorney’s Offices for the District of Rhode Island, the District of Connecticut, the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, the District of Delaware, the District of Maryland, the District of Washington, D.C., the Eastern District of Virginia, the Middle District of North Carolina, the Northern District of Georgia, the District of Kansas, the District of Colorado, and the Central District of California. Mr. Garcia and Ms. Mauskopf added that the investigation is continuing.

Assistant United States Attorneys Elie Honig and Jason P.W. Halperin are in charge of the prosecution in Manhattan. Assistant United States Attorney Pamela Chen and Trial Attorney Solette Magnelli of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division are in charge of the prosecution in Brooklyn.

The Defendants:

Brothel Owners/Managers

Kyo Hwa Adler
DOB: 3/21/1953

Sun Im An
DOB: 1/15/1962

Ji Hyun Bang
DOB: 6/2/1976

Aeok Boydston, a/k/a “Big Sister Lillie”
DOB: 5/8/1957

Un Sun Brown
DOB: 6/27/1950

Eun Sook Chim
DOB: 5/14/55

Kim Chong, a/k/a “Big Sister Lora”
DOB: 5/20/1960 or 5/1/1960

Yong Chong, a/k/a “Ra Ra”
DOB: 12/16/1968

Sun Daneman
DOB: 10/15/1945

Chong Girouard
DOB: 8/28/1949

Chun Grandt, a/k/a “Texas Imo”
DOB: 2/5/1952

Mi Sun Hayes,
DOB: 9/27/1953

An Soon Kim
DOB: 8/2/1957

Hyang Ran Kim, a/k/a “Tina”
DOB: 6/7/1975

Hyea Kim, a/k/a “Patty Kim”
DOB: 1/15/1969 or 1/21/1969

Kyung Hwa Kim
DOB: 11/1/1971

Yong Hui Kim
DOB: Unknown

Jung Lim, a/k/a “Big Sister Miko”
DOB: Unknown

Kum Ok Lowery
DOB: 4/23/1953 or 4/28/1953

Myong Moon, a/k/a “Debbie”
DOB: 2/19/1960

Tae Young Oh
DOB: Unknown

Eun Ja Park
DOB: 10/6/1967

Mi Ja Park
DOB: 4/19/1965

Sung Su Plourde
DOB: 1/22/1952

Seng Hee Ryan
DOB: 6/30/1973

Myong Sa
DOB: 3/20/1942

Jae Shim
DOB: 2/27/1966, 2/27/1968 or 12/13/1960

Hyo Won Smith, a/k/a “Niko”
DOB: 12/20/1967

Tae Nam Thompson
DOB: 3/26/1950

Chong Weishaupt
DOB: 9/30/1953

Tae Young Oh
DOB: Unknown

Kyong Polachek, a/k/a “Ji-yeon Kim,” “Jennifer” and “Hana”
DOB: 3/29/1952

Middlemen/Transporters

Tae Hoon Kim, a/k/a “Tae Won”
DOB: 2/15/1967

Lim, Sung Chul, a/k/a “Sung Chul Il,” “Seong-cheol” and “Cheol-I”
DOB: 2/11/1967

Lee, Sung Ho, a/k/a “Seong Ho”
DOB: 10/10/1972

Tae Ho Choi, a/k/a “Tae Jun Park”
DOB: 12/20/1974

Do Hyup Bae, a/k/a “Do Hyeop”
DOB: 6/2/1969

Money Transmitters

Byoung Il Son, a/k/a “Mr. Son”
DOB: 9/15/1964

Jin Sook Kim Lee
DOB: 6/9/1975

Miae Choi-Son
DOB: 9/5/1964

Jong Tae Park
DOB: 2/7/1975

 

[Jeffrey]

These Amp Raids Are Very Different from the Past

In the past, raids typically arrested owners/managers and working girls
on STATE prostitution charges and sometimes the girls on Immigration matters
if papers were not in order. They soon put up bail and incorporated a "new"
spa at the same address or close by under a different name and different ss# or tax id and restarted business.

The mamasan was same or she went to another state to work.

The girls got moved to another Amp. Business continued as usual.

The curent raids are for FEDERAL rather than STATE violations.

They deal with MANAGERS/OWNERS, RECRUITERS/TRANSPORTERS and
those who MOVE and TRANFER AMP MONEY. Thus far they are not charging
ANY of the girls of any FEDERAL charges. They also have established how many customers the manages say they get per day and how much the girls
can expect to earn in a month and how many girls work in the establishments
via the numerous cell phone taps between owners and transporters and
between girls and transporters.

They want the girls to provide more incriminating evidence in terms of names,
phone numbers, etc., thus they are being very nice to them. They want them to sing. Some will as some of the recruiters already have provided many
additional phone numbers to Federal authorities to initiate further phone taps.

Unless there were illegal phone taps, these Federal charges will be most difficult to beat, certainly much more serious than STATE prostitution charges. They will not look good to a jury with some women on it.

The phone conversations reveal money greed and knowledge that the
activities are illegal among the 3 groups of participants, owners/managers,
recruiters/transporters and money movers.

Unfortunately, these 3 groups are likely to face significant jail time, deportation or both.

If anyone escapes conviction, the Feds have customer volumes, working girl volumes, spedific Amps and thus can project Annual Income and successfully go after massive income tax evasion.

An average Amp with 5 to 7 girls grosses between $900,000 to 2 million dollars annually; some of the DC Amps do better.

Be carefull out there.

They could not get Osama, so they changed to easier targets for this
key congressional election year.

 

[peter12]

?

jeff- you obviously have an inside track here...
mind sharing in general terms ?
also, are you aware of where the famous "debbie" might be held at this time ?

maybe some of the old guard could chip in and send her a gift anonymously for her help throughout the years .....

 

[Jeffrey]

Debbie

Debbie is likely out on bail.

Over the past 12 months she has collected over $900,000 in gifts from us all.

She probably got to keep a good portion of that.

She will need it for the legal team; perhaps the K-gang will assist in some
financing, since they have much to lose in this depending on the outcomes.

I don't have inside information, just what I read and hear.

Much of it is public info on the internet.

I'm just a detail person who has a good memory and figures out the missing pieces.

 

[nabbeun]

ok, i have some 'experience' in this area.

debbie will only be out on bail if she could prove she is not a substantial flight risk. she must have family and long ties to the US. if she is a korean citizen without these ties and has obviously the cash and connections to run, bail will be denied. many girls even after they get their green card don't go on to get citizenship (they think 'i am korean after all'); that is a big mistake. you get involved in a felony (some which can be fairly minor things - writing a bad check, etc) and not only do you serve your jail time, but they will revoke your green card and ICE will be there to deport you when you get out. and note that while deportation nominally lasts 5 or 10 years, it is effectively for a lifetime since they will never grant you a visa again. every girl i meet who has her gc alone, i tell her she better get her citizenship as soon as she can. most or all i am sure i just scare but they never do it.

when it comes to cooperation, there is only so much the girls can give up. my understanding is mama and the brokers are the ones that have real knowledge on who's who and such. so they will be going after each of them to cough up as much as they can right away. it is the classic prisoners dilemma. and they better...federal sentencing guidelines are pretty harsh and inflexible, unless you qualify for 'downward departures' based on your cooperation. if you stonewall or lie at all in the beginning you destroy your credibility and hose yourself. debbie should be singing as sweetly as she can. of course, just the fact that you are captured and everyone knows it, you will not be trusted by any of your former associates until you can prove you havent been compromised.

for debbie, i think her actual sentence might be light at first blush. she was not involved in the transportation across state lines, which carries the harshest penalty of up to 10 years. on the conspiracy charge, they say max of 5 years. so say the sentencing guideline is 5yrs, if she has no prior record it gets revised down...no firearms, revised down...for cooperation she can get some substantial downward revisions...she may be looking at a year or two max. anyone who actually moved the girls or caused them to be moved are more SOL, but starting with 10yrs they can still get those downward revisions to 4-5yrs...maybe less if they have something decent to offer the feds.

now, the problem is anything they can tag to the proceeds of illegal activity, can be forfeited. so if she's smart she has someone she can trust holding the money for her bail and legal defense in korea somewhere. or buried in her back yard. the feds can seize quite a lot...sell it off at police auction and have a party.

now, notice the feds were very interested in the volume of customers documented by phone conversations. for those that they have this on, it can really hose them, because the IRS can use it to calculate what should have been reported but was not. the civil penalties for tax evasion can easily wipe out any gains they can get their hands on (ie, bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, property/assets) and the criminal penalties...well, you know what happened to Al Capone. and now Richard Hatch. At least richard might enjoy it...

 

[nabbeun]

If you choose to phone an Amp now or in the future, be carefull!

Homeland Security is tapping CELL PHONES, not just wired phones.

Do not use a traceable cell phone; not many options here other than
pay phones.

They are so happy with themselves that they accomplished this, that they
are likely tapping all other Amps, and as key people start talking to reduce their jail sentances, they will likely divulge more cell phone numbers of Amp owners and Amp transporters/recruiters. There are of course many more out there since the Amps raided are relatively few, the others just closed for safety.

Homeland Security, having not caught Osama, is now using their latest
gadgets to capture Korean "terrorists", hey they need to catch someone
with all this billion dollar equipment.

yes this was the first thing that caught my eye about this whole mess. intercepting cell phone conversations is a big deal.

damn most of the girl i know won't pick up the phone unless they recognize your number. calling the amp, no problem to use a pau phone althose these are getting fewer and fewer. but to call mama's cell, that sounds dangerous now. usually they will pick up but if they don't recognize you number too are very wary about divulging anything over the phone, even simple stuff like if they are open and who is working.

a lot of these women use prepaid cells that must be recharged. i gather from the complaint the same is true for the mamas and others. not to mention that many girls, and i am sure most mamas and such, have multiple phones. that is why the phone number the girl gave you is often disconnected shortly after she leaves her place of work. you had her client no. those her friends have is often different. for instance, if she tells you she's from LA, but you have a 917 or 718 number...you got her client no. but even that is no guarantee. she might have simply setup a 2nd line on her same acct.

 

[henry d]

Debbie's not out on bail I can assure you that...

She is definitely facing jail time and is clearly a flight risk. She in fact was and has been charged with the interstate issues, she's harboring some "illegal aliens" and clearly has money laundering issues, probably ones that reach back internationally getting cash to Korea.

She will get some enormous fines based on how long she was doing this, and she's probably facing 5-20 years in a federal prison. Very sobering prospects indeed, you don't want to wind up in a federal prison.

 

[fiend111]

Go to The Federal Prison web site. Clilck on "Locate Inmate". Type in Myong Moon, asian, female and it will tell you that she is at The Federal Detention Center on Arch Street in Philadelphia. She is NOT out on bail.

 

[nabbeun]

...Korean Taxis are unmarked, give great service, clean, respectful and very
reasonably priced, they only taxi to choose in NYC, but, you likely need
to know Korean...

...They prefer American caucasians; we have the reputation of being
the world's best husbands. They do not want the typical Korean
husband who is there the first year of marriage and is absent
thereafter, drunk several times a week, and who gets physical
periodically and repeatedly with his wife and who does not help out
with any housework and then goes out to Korean massage parlors in
Korea for the rest of his life. That is why so many young Korean
women in Korea today are choosing to work at a low paying job and
stay single.

...They prefer American men who do not drink much or none at
all

...If you want to pick a Kgirl, your best chances are with one who is
young and has not done this work for a long time

...And don't expect frequent Amp service at home after marriage, they
have had enough.

Jeffrey, thanks for your well-considered responses.

from my own experiences:

i have used k-taxis a lot, and i agree with you. they are great. and they are cheaper than the spanish or even the chinese ones. go figure. imagine a car service ride from flushing to anywhere in manhattan, a mere $25 all in. the taxi man may not speak much english, but usually they have someone in the dispatch office that speaks it well enough. I always have to laugh though, the driver looks so surprised when he sees a non-korean is his fare. i had one pick me up at the sheraton once, and the chinese bellhop waved me off saying it wasn't for me. humpf...

on prefering americans...i've heard 2 sides to this. like some chinese, in families there is still that brainwashing for some to marry within their race. you are right though some explicitly look for non-koreans for those very reasons. so it cuts both ways, one extreme or another imho.

funny, whenever i'm meeting a kgirl who is sizing me up for potential, i have been asked like 10 of 10 times, about my drinking propensity...

don't expect amp service at home. its funny, after what these girls do hundreds of times, i just see them grimace when they think they might have to do it for their future husbands. usual answer is 'you are so selfish!'. from what i gather, unless she really loves you, you can kiss massages and bjs goodbye once the knot is tied.

finding a beautiful young one just starting is really the trick now isn't it? really really hard. i found one once and she was amazing. but i was an ass and with the pride on these girls, there are no second chances. but i was happy about everything about her, from the tip of her nose to the tips of her toes, while it lasted. she was fantastic and a memory i'll always keep.

 

[nabbeun]

She is definitely facing jail time and is clearly a flight risk. She in fact was and has been charged with the interstate issues, she's harboring some "illegal aliens" and clearly has money laundering issues, probably ones that reach back internationally getting cash to Korea.

She will get some enormous fines based on how long she was doing this, and she's probably facing 5-20 years in a federal prison. Very sobering prospects indeed, you don't want to wind up in a federal prison.

there is no way she's facing 20 in a realistic sense. just look at the charges, pick a few that will stick, then check the sentencing guidelines. if they say she faces 10-15, she'll be out within 5 if she cooperates. on initial charge, they charge everyone in the conspiracy with everything. on the plea bargain, they are all the bogus ones are dropped and then some, except the one they want to make stick to get you to the fair amount of time they think you should serve in the district atty's office. if you are coorperative and a nice pretty young girl...you'll be treated lightly.

federal prison comes in many forms too. and the women's versions are much easier than the men's. if she can be sentenced to a 'camp' - the lowest security level - the time is especially easy. she might not be allowed that if she is not a citizen. in which case the next level, minimum, is harder, but not too bad either. and she'll have a few korean gfs to keep her company i can assure you of that.

yes go to the bureau of prisons dot com and use the inmate locator. once she is sentenced, you can even see her expected release date. you can also follow the progress of her case via PACER.

 

[hurls]

Debbie

Debbie was denied bail today .Her number to look her up it is 60683-066 .She Will be going to N.Y. next week or the end of this week.It Looked like she was going to get bail but at the last minn the judge said let her wait untile she gets to N.Y. and let New York worry about it.Deb Didn't look all that good .I also think 2 girls ,kitchen mom and that little guy who was there are being helded there too .IDon't know the name of the girls but i think they just got there .Another day in CH2's old life

 

[peter12]

thanks

hurls- so you have an inside track ......
anything else you can share ?

 

[hurls]

Debbie

She is and was very good to me .Trying to return the favor if I can . Anything else well . If Debbie was not there they would have to lock up the front desk person.The cell phone I think will be big.They will have to prove it was hers or she was te one using it when the calls were made .Any one know who the 2 girls that were there were???would help..

 

[Jeffrey]

To Nabbeun

Korean Taxis in NYC

I have always felt the reason the price is so low and their sport coats so
expensive is that they are K-gang income supplemented.

They don't even have the tell-tale radios dash mounted, just a portable
CB of some type that works very well clipped to their visor.

Likely, they escape taxi licensing.

They transport Korean families in NYC who go shopping, restaurants, etc.,
but they also transport Korean escorts through-out the night, wait for them
for the hour or so. They also transport Amp girls from Flushing to Amps and
back again; thus they are a key part of the Amp/Escort business world and fill in and gain respectability in transporting ordinary Korean citizens also.

So there is some money laundering and money support available while they perform "filler" work so as not to get too bored.

Nabbeun, how can we discuss more, there is no PM permitted on this board.

 

[Jeffrey]

Lily of CH2

Sure sounds like Lily knew when to sell CH2 and escape, though Debbie might sing about her.

Is the "Big Sister Lillie" who was arrested in NYC as Amp manager/owner "our"
Lily or a different Lily?

Aeok Boydston, a/k/a “Big Sister Lillie”
DOB: 5/8/1957


Toy supposed still owns Nirvana in CT; did she get caught at all?

 

[peter12]

hurls

ditto on debbie. i was interested in visiting her to cheer her up but based on the web site for the prison, i cant.
if you know where she ends up in NY can you please post and see if they will allow visitors.....

thanks. i come from a CJ background and would like to help if i can even if it is just for 5 minutes for her to see a familiar face that is not a lawyer.

thanks

 

[nabbeun]

ditto on debbie. i was interested in visiting her to cheer her up but based on the web site for the prison, i cant.
if you know where she ends up in NY can you please post and see if they will allow visitors.....

thanks. i come from a CJ background and would like to help if i can even if it is just for 5 minutes for her to see a familiar face that is not a lawyer.

thanks

there are no visitors to inmates in federal prison unless you are a member of the family or close friend. then she has to fill out a form requesting you to be a permitted visitor on the list...this means, a background check will be run on you. it can take 2-3 weeks to accomplish, and she will notify you when you are setup.

fyi, if she is being xfred to nyc because of ties here...the closest FCI (federal correctional facility) is FCI Danbury, a 2 1/2 hr rides from nyc. She may end up anywhere but they will usually place one close to family if space permits. sometimes you can get the judge to direct it; then the bop has to listen.

 

[henry d]

The Patriot Act changed many things, Nabbeun

I'm not a little involved in this area, it's my living and has been for the last 20 years.

The Patriot Act clamped down heavily on transfers of illegal monies (particularly overseas, both in and out of the country), and harboring of illegal aliens. The federal sentencing guidelines on these issues are harsh to say the least. These charges will be held back at present as the feds build their case, and use them to further gather information from the defendants.

One case I was involved in recently put a green-card carrying Vietnamese man behind bars for 15 years, as he was arranging the transfer of funds back to Vietnam, outside of the banking system. No "terrorist" type conduct was ever discussed, just the banking issues and the Patriot Act implications. The sentencing guidelines are up to 20 years on these types of acts.

Harboring illegal aliens (which i'm not sure she did, but is probably the case) also carries with it stiff sentencing guidelines, post 9-11, I believe up to 20 years.

The feds don't take the same kind of plea bargains as do the state/local courts. They're the feds for gods sake, and have the power and $ of the federal government behind them.

In the end she'll probably plead guilty, pay a huge fine (total disgorgement of illegal proceeds), and be facing up to 5- 50 years based on federal sentencing guidelines, and what they can tack on her. Thus my view, that she'll face 5-20 years behind bars, and while it was a "nonviolent" crime, the "human trafficking" aspects of the case will ensure she's not baking cookies with Martha Stewart at the fed "Camp Cupcake."

 

[henry d]

And to prove my point, I just did a Search on San Francisco

on this board,(hoping to do some mongering there tomorrow night) and came across this posting! This is some of the fallout from last years federal bust on some West Coast Amp's that occurred last summer. Check out the fines and sentencing guidelines. I do agree that the guidelines are guidelines, but she's got at least a minimum of 5 years behind bars if she's convicted.

July 7, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal prosecutors announced Friday that two owners of San Francisco brothels who were indicted following an investigation of prostitution of young Korean women have pleaded guilty to alien harboring charges.

U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan said that Yon Suk Pang, 56, of San Francisco, and Min Sung Kim, 50, of Cupertino, entered the pleas before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco on July 5.

Ryan said the two woman also agreed to forfeit $1,270,000 in criminal proceeds.

Pang, owner of the Suk Hee Oriental Massage Parlor at 483 Broadway, will forfeit $1.2 million in profits from the brothel she operated at the parlor between 2003 and 2005. Kim, owner of the Golden Dragon Spa at 136 Mason St., will forfeit $70,000.

Pan pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to harbor aliens and conspiring to launder money. She will be sentenced by Breyer on Oct. 18. Kim pleaded guilty to a charge of harboring aliens and will be sentenced on Sept. 6.

The two women are among 29 people who were indicted last year on charges of participating in a large human trafficking ring that allegedly transported young women from Korea to San Francisco for coerced prostitution.

Ryan said that eight other defendants have pleaded guilty thus far.

The U.S. attorney said that Pang admitted in a written plea that she employed women from other countries, most of whom were Korean, as prostitutes.

Pang said in the plea document that she obtained some of the women through brokers and paid the brokers for the debts the women incurred, which usually ranged from $10,000 to $15,000.

She held the women's passports until they paid their debts and required them to live in a concealed apartment adjacent to the brothel, according to plea agreement.

Ryan said that Kim admitted to employing Korean women to work as prostitutes at the Golden Dragon Spa. She would conceal the women by ringing an alarm to signal them to hide from authorities in an adjacent apartment that she had rented, according to Kim's plea agreement.

Pang faces a theoretical maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and Kim faces up to five years, but the actual penalty will be determined after consideration of federal sentencing guidelines.

Charles DeMore, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations in San Francisco, said, "This investigation has graphically demonstrated the callous disregard that those who harbor aliens have for their victims."

DeMore said, "The criminal enterprise uncovered in this case was hugely lucrative for the defendants involved and it is entirely appropriate that they pay a high price for their illegal activities."

 

[nabbeun]

i hear where you are coming from henryd. but if she cooperates, i find it hard to believe they will throw the book at her.

when it comes down to it, the feds can do anything, and if they want to give her 50 years they could with trumped up charges. worse injustices are done everyday. but they wont. my guess is she'll end up with about a 5yr sentence, maybe get off early for good behavior - 2mo credit/yr. and then she'll be immediately deported if not a citizen.

much to my dismay, i've seen drug dealers caught with 5 kg of coke and 2 pounds of ice facing 20 years get enough downward departures to bring them to 5yrs, and get out with a little less for good behavior. i cant imagine the guidelines for AML, what may be considered a white collar crime, would be harsher then those for drug dealing.

yes they will seek disgourgement of all profits they can reach. hence why i said most of it should have been relocated to korea in someone else's name. and if she could have made herself appear to have a gambling habit...i know mama's who have lost more than a few MM in AC. then she can just go with a public defender...a 'good' lawyer is not going to be able to do much better for her.