A veteran cop and an experienced teacher are part of a crew arrested and charged with 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 indictment of Suffolk County Police officer George Trimiliozzi, 55, who has spent 18 years on the force, and Steven Arey, 53, a teacher of 26 years’ standing, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.
Along with Frank Saggio, 60, and his girlfriend, Dana Ciardullo, they are accused of enterprise corruption and promoting prostitution, among other charges.
“It is a sad day in law enforcement when a public servant is arrested,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a statement. “The allegations in this indictment describe a long-term pattern of organized criminal activity.”
The DA’s office alleges that between October 2019 and June 2024, Saggio was the leader of a group that “profited from the systematic promotion of prostitution at two locations in Suffolk County.”
The four are accused of collecting “house fees” from sex workers and advertising their services. Specifically, Trimigliozzi and Arey allegedly worked as managers at a building in Holbrook known as the American Girls Spa “Suite 3,” and two additional alleged brothels known as “Suite 4” and Reiki for Healing “Suite 5.”
The criminal investigation found that a customer was allegedly robbed at American Girls Spa in March 2021. Trimigliozzi, authorities say, received a call from a sex worker to warn him that the customer had called 911 and that the police were on their way
Trimigliozi was on duty at the time and the indictment alleges that he abandoned his assigned post in the Third Precinct and drove to the brothel at almost 90 mph in his marked police car.
He is accused of then falsifying police paperwork which did not mention his unauthorized visit to American Girls Spa.
Saggio is charged with two counts of sex trafficking and is accused of making sex workers — some of whom could allegedly not read or speak English — 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 if convicted on the most serious charges and is held on a $500,00 bond.
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 face between 8 and 25 years if successfully convicted. NBC News contacted attorneys representing all four defendants to request comment.