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Five Men Face Charges Of Human Trafficking In Ocean County

The arrests mark the first time that charges have been filed in New Jersey under new human trafficking legislation

Five men face charges of human trafficking for allegedly operating brothels in Lakewood that were part of a large prostitution network in New Jersey, New York and other states.

Four Lakewood men and one Union City resident are charged with trafficking women from Mexico to the United States to work as prostitutes, according to a release from the state Attorney General's Office. The alleged ringleader’s girlfriend also was also arrested for assisting them in operating the brothels.

The arrests mark the first time that charges have been filed in New Jersey under new human trafficking legislation that was signed by Governor Christie in May, and took effect on July 1.

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The law created new crimes of human trafficking, including the offense of first-degree conspiracy to commit human trafficking, as well as enhanced penalties for such crimes.

The charges are the result of an ongoing investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Investigations that began in early 2012 called “Operation No Boundaries,” according to Acting Attorney General Hoffman, who made the announcement at the Hughes Justice  Complex in Trenton on Thursday. 

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The alleged “owner” of the Lakewood brothels, Jose Cruz Romero-Flores, 38, a.k.a. “Chato,” was arrested on Thursday, July 11, at his apartment on River Avenue in Lakewood on charges of first-degree human trafficking, second-degree promoting organized street crime, and third-degree promoting prostitution.

Also arrested on July 11 were: 

  1. Felix Rios-Martinez, 47, of Lakewood, who was charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit human trafficking, second-degree promoting organized street crime and third-degree promoting prostitution;
  2. Raul Romero-Castillo, 30, of Lakewood, who was charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit human trafficking, second-degree promoting organized street crime and third-degree promoting prostitution.
  3. Santos Lazaero Flores-Cruz, 58, of Union City, who was charged with second-degree conspiracy to commit human trafficking, second-degree promoting organized street crime and third-degree promoting prostitution.  
  4. Haliro Bueno, 21, of Lakewood, who was charged with second-degree conspiracy to commit human trafficking, second-degree promoting organized street crime and third-degree promoting prostitution.

Romero-Flores’s girlfriend, Odulia Bedran Trejo, 22, was arrested on Sunday, July 14, at Romero-Flores’s apartment on charges of second-degree promoting organized street crime and third-degree promoting prostitution.

The six defendants are being held in the Ocean County Jail with bail set at $1 million for Romero-Flores and $100,000 for each of the other defendants.

The girlfriend and four others allegedly assisted Romero-Flores by watching the brothels, driving women and clients to-and-from the brothels and carrying out other tasks. The girlfriend also allegedly helped to find women for the brothels, according to the Attorney General's Office.

The first-degree human trafficking charge carries a sentence of 20 years to life in state prison.

Romero-Flores allegedly operated several Lakewood brothels, including ones on Bellinger Street and Chestnut Street. But only one, at 1093 Brook Road, was operating at the time of the arrests, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Romero-Flores and other brothel owners in New Jersey, New York and additional surrounding states allegedly worked together as a loose network to bring women into the United States illegally.  Many women were tricked into believing they are going to this country to work as house cleaners or babysitters, according to the Attorney General's Office. 

In other cases, they are coerced into going to the U.S. to work the circuitof brothels and ordered to send any money they earn back to Mexico. 

“We have taken down a major human trafficking and prostitution ring involving brothels in Lakewood,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman.

On July 11, detectives and agents executed search warrants for the brothel on Brook Road and Romero-Flores’s home, as well as several vehicles, seizing about $5,800 in cash, identification documents including Mexican passports and driver’s licenses, cell phones, laptops, and ledgers that listed the names of women who worked in the brothels and dates they were scheduled to work.

The investigation revealed that the brothel owners in the network pay “coyotes” to smuggle women into the U.S. from Mexico, according to the Attorney General's Office. 

The women, in many instances, are pressured to repay those who paid for them to be smuggled into the U.S.  Once women are brought into the “circuit,” they are moved from brothel to brothel, so clients of each brothel have greater variety, according to the Attorney General's Office. 

Romero-Flores allegedly ordered the women who worked for him to meet quotas.  It was not uncommon for women who worked for him to allegedly service over 100 clients or “johns” in a six-day week, from Monday through Saturday, and sometimes they serviced as many as 40 or more johns in a single day, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Clients paid $30 for each sexual encounter.Clients came to the brothels or were serviced in “outcalls” in which prostitutes were driven to the client’s location. 

Romero-Flores allegedly wired money derived from his brothels to Mexico, where he owns properties. The women returned at the end of the week to other residences, usually in the Queens, N.Y., area or the Union City area of New Jersey.

Romero-Flores allegedly routinely drove to Queens, N.Y., to pick up women to work in his brothels, according to the Attorney General's Office. Elie Honig, director of the Division of Criminal Justice, said the state continues to target and investigate large-scale human trafficking networks operating in New Jersey and beyond.

“We urge any victims or others with information about these human trafficking rings to contact us confidentially,” he said.

Acting Attorney General Hoffman noted that the Division of Criminal Justice maintains a 24-hour NJ Human Trafficking Hotline, 877-986-7534, for victims and others to report information confidentially.

The charge of first-degree human trafficking carries a sentence of 20 years to life in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $200,000.  The charge of first-degree conspiracy to commit human trafficking carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $200,000. 

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.


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