Alleged Craigslist Prostitution Ring Busted in New York

May 20, 2009— -- Seven alleged members of a prostitution ring operating exclusively through classified ads placed on Craigslist were arrested in New York early Wednesday morning on charges of enterprise corruption, conspiracy and money laundering, New York State's Attorney General said.

The crackdown is the latest in a series of law enforcement efforts to curb the alleged use of the site by drug dealers, prostitutes and other criminals. The most recent came after the April 14th murder of an erotic masseuse Julissa Brisman. Medical student Philip Markoff has been charged in the case.

According to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, "Room Service Entertainment" used the online service to run its regional prostitution ring both before and after a "so-called" reforms Craigslst instituted last fall.

Following another set of modifications to Craigslist advertising practices that the company had announced following the Brisman slaying, Cuomo blasted those reforms as "half baked" and said that Craigslist had unilaterally instituted them in the middle of the night instead of cooperating with his office.

He repeated those criticisms today.

"Until Craigslist gets serious about putting real protections in place, it will continue to be an environment where criminal operations thrive with impunity," said Cuomo.

"Even after so-called reform of the website last fall, this prostitution ring easily gamed the system and allegedly used Craigslist to spread its illegal operation throughout all five boroughs and beyond. Today's arrests underscore the inherent risks posed by Craigslist and, most importantly, the need for protections that are full-fledged, not half-baked."

Craigslist released a statement saying that the company has since eliminated the posting of erotic services ads and has been screening all other ads.

"Misuse of Craigslist in connection with illicit activity is unacceptable,and we work closely with law enforcement to address it," the statement said. "It's worth noting that the enforcement effort Attorney General Cuomo describes took place in 2008, well before Craigslist eliminated erotic services and commenced manual screening of all ads posted to adult services. These new measures have driven illicit ads to other services like Village Voice Media, whichAG Cuomo also mentions, that have yet to adopt strict standards. We look forward to continued cooperation with law enforcement, including Attorney General Cuomo's office."