Jovitalk - Bon Jovi Fan Community

Jovitalk - Bon Jovi Fan Community (https://drycounty.com/jovitalk/index.php)
-   NBJ - Everything Else (https://drycounty.com/jovitalk/forumdisplay.php?f=10)
-   -   Football Team-Owning Buddy of Jon Busted for Prostitution (https://drycounty.com/jovitalk/showthread.php?t=70515)

rocknation 02-22-2019 07:39 PM

Football Team-Owning Buddy of Jon Busted for Prostitution
 
Quote:

TcPalm.com: (2019 Super Bowl champion) New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution in connection with a Florida spa tied to an international human trafficking ring...

The owner of (the) spa...was arrested and charged with deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution, keeping and frequenting a house of prostitution and 26 counts of procuring for prostitution.

The spa was among 10 shut down...after a several-month investigation revealed women there were in "sexual servitude..."
Quote:

TMZ:...(77-year-old) Kraft is accused of soliciting a prostitute on at least 2 separate occasions at (the) massage parlor...Cops say they have obtained evidence from body cam video and surveillance...(T)hey've identified more than 100 men suspected of being "Johns."

A spokesperson for Kraft (says) "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity."
He's been a widower since 2011, and dated a now 39-year-old whose two-year-old she claims is not the father. It isn't as though he was caught picking up someone on the street, but if they've got video evidence, it's best that he quietly pay his fine and go home. And why didn't Mr. Kraft himself issue the categorical denial -- because it could be held against him in court of law?

rocknation 02-23-2019 05:08 PM

Quote:

TCPalm.com: Billionaire equity firm owner John Childs is one of several men accused of soliciting prostitution in connection with a Florida spa tied to an international human trafficking ring...Childs owns...a private equity firm based in Massachusetts (and is) a prominent donor to several Republican politicians and groups...
Two New England-based billionaires who can't afford high-end prostitutes patronizing the same spa? There has to be more to this than meets the eye.
Quote:

TCPalm.com: Kenneth Wessel...(t)he president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indian River County and the John's Island Foundation, is one of 173 people arrested or wanted in Indian River County on prostitution charges connected to a human trafficking sting.
What's with this fancy-schmancy customer base?
Quote:

TCPalm.com: (The) owner/manager of (a neighboring business), said he had suspicions about activities at the spa from the beginning... “We never saw the contractor; they had a single guy just working and building out the place...I was positive they were sleeping in there.”

He said he thought the spa opened around Thanksgiving, and the clientele was almost all men. “Anything from a lot of pickup trucks to some high-end cars that were coming in here, too...There were like $90,000 cars that were pulling up.”

(He also) said traffic picked up as the night went on and the windows of the spa were dark...“It just didn’t seem like it was an up-and-up situation...”
Well, that's a relief -- at least they weren't snobs about it.

rocknation 02-26-2019 04:39 AM

A very, uh, detailed police report has been released, and all I can say is that his defense of having done nothing illegal seems to be based on, uh, no female naughty bits actually being involved:

https://www.scribd.com/document/4004...t-Robert-Kraft

JackieBlue 02-27-2019 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocknation (Post 1251203)
A very, uh, detailed police report has been released, and all I can say is that his defense of having done nothing illegal seems to be based on, uh, no female naughty bits actually being involved:

https://www.scribd.com/document/4004...t-Robert-Kraft

You'd think an attorney could cite the highest office in US government, and call it the Clinton defense. Unfortunately for Kraft, the Florida Statute is more specific in defining "sexual activity" and eliminates that as an option.

What confuses me is, according to this, he's being charged with (2)(e) offering to commit prostitution... not soliciting, as reported in the press, which means the worst that he's facing is a max 60-day and/or a max $$500 fine, which is the same for (2)(e) and (f). The mandatory educational program and 100 hours of community service, plus a $5000 civil penalty is only considered for (2)(f) Soliciting.


(I guess they figure the pros don't need to know about the negative effects of prostitution and human trafficking; and if the johns can afford to pay for sex, they can afford to support drug programs and safe houses.) :roll:

rocknation 02-27-2019 06:33 PM

According to the Charge section of pages 1 and 3 of the report, the charge is 796.07(5)(a)1, "soliciting another to commit prostitution", a misdemeanor with the penalty being up to 1 year in jail, 1 year on probation, and a $1,000 fine.

Also, keep in mind that he went back there a second time, so if he didn't know what was going on, he should have. I don't believe his two counts makes him a second offender (a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison, 5 years on probation, and a $5,000 fine). But the judge could decide to sentence Kraft consecutively instead of concurrently, which is why OJ Simpson had to serve a minimum of 9 years instead as little as four.

JackieBlue 02-27-2019 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocknation (Post 1251230)
According to the Charge section of pages 1 and 3 of the report, the charge is 796.07(5)(a), "soliciting another to commit prostitution", with the penalty being up to 1 year in jail, 1 year on probation, and a $1,000 fine.

....

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I've never seen a police report and I didn't pay attention to all the little boxes because I thought that was just demographic information. The narratives ended with the officer's notes about probable cause, so I was going by that.

I wondered why the reporters kept consistently saying soliciting; and now I know. I still don't understand why the officer said there was probable cause for the offer to commit prostitution, instead of soliciting; but that's not important now.

Thanks, ma'am!

rocknation 03-03-2019 12:27 AM

Kraft has formally entered a plea of not guilty, and a request for a non-jury trial: only the judge will hear any testimony.

And speaking of embarrassing situations for major league sports executives, the CEO of a baseball team was filmed strong-arming his wife, causing the chair she was in to tip over -- which he, then she, blamed on her recently injured foot.

rocknation 03-21-2019 06:22 AM

Patriots owner Kraft offered plea deal in prostitution case
Quote:

...Kraft and 24 other men charged with soliciting prostitution...(have been) offered the standard diversion program offered to first-time offenders. The men must concede they would be found guilty, perform 100 hours community service and attend a class on prostitution’s dangers and how it perpetuates human trafficking...They must also be tested for sexually transmitted diseases and pay a court fee of $5,000 per count...Kraft, 77, was charged with two counts...

In return, the charges of misdemeanor soliciting prostitution would be dropped...(Kraft) has pleaded not guilty...If (he) refuses the deal, he would be put on trial and, if found guilty, face a possible year in jail, although that would be unlikely...

(No one has) accepted so far...
And it's not hard to figure out why -- it's NOT a plea deal.

A plea deal is when you're "rewarded" with less punishment in exchange for pleading guilty to either lesser charges ("We'll let you plead guilty to loitering instead of soliciting prostitution") or fewer charges ("We'll let you plead guilty to one count of soliciting prostitution instead of two"). Removing the possibility of jail and/or probation -- or deleting the charges from their criminal records -- AFTER successful completion the diversion program would be legitimate plea deal offers. But even they would require a plea to some degree of guilt, not a "concession" to it.

If this is the prosecution's idea of a plea deal, they must WANT to take everyone to trial.

rocknation 04-05-2019 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocknation (Post 1251302)
Quote:

TMZ (2/22/2019): A spokesperson for Kraft (says) "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity."
...( 2/28 ): Kraft has formally entered a plea of not guilty, and a request for a non-jury trial: only the judge will hear any testimony.

Quote:

WCVB (March 23): ...Kraft released a...statement about the case..."I am truly sorry...I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard."

He's sorry? I thought he said he hadn't done anything illegal. Nonetheless, it sounds like Team Crafty have finalized their legal game plan:
Quote:

WCVB (3/26):
Lawyers for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft on Tuesday filed a document reaffirming his plea of not guilty and asking the judge to schedule a jury trial for the case...
Quote:

ESPN (4/3): Attorneys for Robert Kraft...attacked a Florida police investigation that led to the New England Patriots owner being charged with paying for sex at a massage parlor...argu(ing) that using the cameras to prosecute misdemeanor crimes violated constitutional privacy protections and prohibitions against unreasonable searches. In addition, a Florida law says police can only make secret recordings when investigating certain serious felonies. Kraft is charged with solicitation, which is not a felony.

The attorneys want all evidence collected against Kraft thrown out. If they're successful, the case against Kraft...and the other 24 men who have been similarly charged...could be dismissed...
They're going "The OJ Way" -- trying to put the investigation on trial? But the investigation was national, not state-level in origin, and for the "serious felony" of international human trafficking, which just happens consist of state-level acts of prostitution.

Since this was released two days too late to be considered an attempt at an April Fools' Day joke, Kraft's lawyers might have to settle for a Big LOL Award, LOL!


rocknation 04-18-2019 01:57 AM

Well, the world will be a safer place -- for the rest of the month, at least:
Quote:

CNN: A judge...temporarily blocked the release of video that allegedly shows New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft receiving sexual services at a Florida day spa...

Kraft's lawyers had filed an emergency motion...after Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office said in court documents it would release video showing Kraft and 24 other men charged after a months-long, multi-jurisdictional sting...

Kraft's lawyers have maintained that releasing the video would violate their client's constitutional rights and hamper his chance for a fair trial...A hearing is scheduled for April 29...
Well, duh dot com: the closest it should to come to being publicly broadcast is in the courtroom during the trial if cameras are allowed.

Quote:

Kraft's attorneys have (also) asked the judge to keep the video out of the trial...A hearing on the matter is scheduled for April 26...

(H)is attorneys allege that investigators provided false information in the affidavit to obtain a warrant for the sting, thus making the video inadmissible...(and) argued the video is "basically pornography..."
Except for the part with him in it, of course...
:roll:


All times are GMT +2. The time now is 04:57 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11.
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.