Three suspects accused of operating a prostitution ring in Northwest Arkansas and Missouri face life in prison for enticing at least one minor to engage in sex acts with clients.
The suspects were indicted in July in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
James B. Mitchell, 66, Jason M. Fedele, 38, and his wife, Tiffney R. Fedele, 38, are set for trial Oct. 25 in Fayetteville. Mitchell and Tiffney Fedele have pleaded innocent, while Jason Fedele has yet to enter a plea.
Federal prosecutors would not comment on how many prostitutes were employed by the ring or how much money it made, but assistantU.S. attorney Chris Plumlee did describe the operation as “relatively big.”
According to the indictment, the suspects operated three businesses, Winners Ltd. Enterprises, World Class Entertainment, and Executive Services, and placed listings like “Hot Girls,” “College Coeds” and “World Class Escorts” in phone books in Northwest Arkansas, FortSmith, Springfield, Mo., and Branson to solicit clients.
At least four listings were placed in the December 2009 edition of the AT&T Fayetteville-Springdale telephone directory.
The ring used phones and the Internet to book appointments, according to the indictment. Prostitutes accepted cash, checks and credit cards, and proceedswere deposited in accounts controlled by the ring, the indictment said. Prostitutes were equipped with credit card machines so they could manually swipe cards and then relay the purchase information by phone.
The Fedeles, who are from Pennsylvania, and Mitchell “would frequently drive or direct prostitutes to variouslocations in Arkansas and Missouri to engage in acts of prostitution with customers,” according to the indictment. At least one of the unnamed prostitutes was a minor and worked for the ring for eight months in 2009.
The ring operated from as early as January 2009 to as late as May, according to the indictment.
Mitchell of Fayetteville is being held in the Benton County jail without bond and is charged with conspiracy to launder money, two counts of coercion, use of an interstate facility for illegal activity and two counts of money laundering. He was arrested earlier this month in the Hot Springs area and brought to Benton County.
Plumlee said it was difficult for investigators to find Mitchell because he was “living out of a suitcase.”
Mitchell is represented by Fayetteville attorney Erwin Davis, who could not be reached for comment.
Jason Fedele was charged with conspiracy to launder money, two counts of coercion and use of an interstate facility for illegal activity. He was in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, but Plumlee said he doesn’t know exactlywhere Fedele is being held. Plumlee expected him to be brought to Arkansas, but Fedele also has charges against him in West Virginia and Missouri in unrelated cases.
Tiffney Fedele was being held in the Benton County jail without bond and charged with conspiracy to launder money, coercion, use of an interstate facility for illegal activity and money laundering. She was arrested in Pennsylvania in late July and brought to Arkansas. She is represented by Fayetteville attorney Kenneth Osborne, who could not be reached for comment.
The government is seeking forfeiture of all money and property derived from the enterprise.
A second unnamed prostitute came to Arkansas from Missouri to perform acts of prostitution in September, according to the indictment. The indictment says the suspects “knowingly persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced [the prostitute]” to engage in sex acts with clients.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 08/27/2010