Veteran teacher and cop part of crew accused of running Long Island brothels

A veteran police officer and a veteran teacher are part of a team arrested and accused of running brothels and managing sex workers on Long Island, New York, in what authorities described Tuesday as a ” shocking betrayal of public trust.”

A years-long investigation resulted in the indictments of Suffolk County Police Officer George Trimiliozzi, 55, who spent 18 years on the force, and Steven Arey, 53, a teacher for 26 years, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.

Along with Frank Saggio, 60, and his girlfriend, Dana Ciardullo, they are accused of, among other things, corporate corruption and promoting prostitution.

“It is a sad day for law enforcement when a public official is arrested,” Suffolk County Prosecutor Raymond A. Tierney said in a statement. “The allegations contained in this indictment describe a pattern of long-term organized criminal activity. »

The prosecutor’s office alleges that between October 2019 and June 2024, Saggio led a group that “profited from the systematic promotion of prostitution in two locations in Suffolk County.”

The four are accused of collecting “accommodation fees” from sex workers and advertising their services. Specifically, Trimigliozzi and Arey allegedly worked as managers of a building in Holbrook known as American Girls Spa “Suite 3”, and two other alleged brothels known as “Suite 4” and Reiki for Healing “Suite 5”.

The criminal investigation revealed that a client was allegedly robbed at American Girls Spa in March 2021. Trimigliozzi, according to authorities, received a call from a sex worker to warn him that the client had called 911 and that the police were on their way.

Trimigliozi was on duty at the time and the indictment alleges he abandoned his assigned post in the Third Precinct and drove to the brothel at nearly 90 mph in his marked police car.

He is accused of then falsifying police documents that did not mention his unauthorized visit to American Girls Spa.

Saggio is charged with two counts of sex trafficking and is accused of forcing sex workers — some of whom could not read or speak English — to sign leases requiring them to pay him between $6,000 and $12,000 a month . He is also charged with 51 counts of promoting prostitution. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges and is being held on $500,000 bail.

Trimigliozzi is charged with 18 separate offenses, including 13 counts of promoting prostitution; Arey faces 28 separate charges, while Ciardullo is charged with 18 counts.

Each of the four could be sentenced to between 8 and 25 years in prison if convicted. NBC News has contacted attorneys representing the four defendants for comment.