From The New York Post:
August 11, 2002 -- A Manhattan penthouse used by a nationwide hooker service called "The Circuit" that was busted by cops last week boasted three king-size beds, mirrored walls, a four-person whirlpool bath, a sauna and two terraces with expansive views of the city.
The brothel, which cops say catered only to big-money clients who paid up to $8,000 to spend the night there, also had two safes allegedly filled with cash and drugs.
One hooker who cooperated with the probe said she made $11,000 in her first week at the penthouse, at 230 E. 30th St., "which represented her 50 percent share of her prostitution earnings," documents state.
The feds last week filed charges against 13 people they say were involved in running the elaborate prostitution ring that was based in Miami but had clients and premises in a string of cities including New York.
Among those charged were Scott Carlton, 43, and Anna Yeung, 54, who prosecutors say ran the operation's New York satellite office out of the Murray Hill penthouse.
Carlton paid $6,500-a-month rent for the digs - but easily met his monthly obligations by charging cashed-up johns $400 an hour and keeping half for himself.
Yeung was charged with cocaine trafficking and laundering sex and drug money through phony businesses named Carnival Computers, Palace Athena and Access Films, the feds charged.
About 40 members of the FBI/NYPD Joint Organized Crime Task Force, and two undercover officers, raided the penthouse on May 14 in a bust that led to last week's sweeping indictments.
Feds say the ring was headed by Judy Kreuger, 58, and Eli Tish, 70, who worked out of suites in Miami with views of Biscayne Bay. Wiretaps on telephones in the suites during 60 days last January and February revealed 90 percent of 14,000 calls monitored were prostitution-related, court documents show.
Feds say a regular customer was Coral Gables attorney Michael Murphy, who allegedly spent $111,000 on prostitutes provided by The Circuit. Murphy was charged last week with fraud for allegedly billing his clients for the services under the guise of "surveillance work."
The feds discovered The Circuit when Louisiana surgeon Dr. Howard Lippton, facing health-care-fraud charges, admitted spending $300,000 over four years at the ring's New Orleans brothel. In a plea deal, he copped an 18-month prison term for telling all he knew about the prostitution ring.
--$300,000 divided by $400 an hour equals 750 sessions over a 4year period. Now that's a player!!
August 11, 2002 -- A Manhattan penthouse used by a nationwide hooker service called "The Circuit" that was busted by cops last week boasted three king-size beds, mirrored walls, a four-person whirlpool bath, a sauna and two terraces with expansive views of the city.
The brothel, which cops say catered only to big-money clients who paid up to $8,000 to spend the night there, also had two safes allegedly filled with cash and drugs.
One hooker who cooperated with the probe said she made $11,000 in her first week at the penthouse, at 230 E. 30th St., "which represented her 50 percent share of her prostitution earnings," documents state.
The feds last week filed charges against 13 people they say were involved in running the elaborate prostitution ring that was based in Miami but had clients and premises in a string of cities including New York.
Among those charged were Scott Carlton, 43, and Anna Yeung, 54, who prosecutors say ran the operation's New York satellite office out of the Murray Hill penthouse.
Carlton paid $6,500-a-month rent for the digs - but easily met his monthly obligations by charging cashed-up johns $400 an hour and keeping half for himself.
Yeung was charged with cocaine trafficking and laundering sex and drug money through phony businesses named Carnival Computers, Palace Athena and Access Films, the feds charged.
About 40 members of the FBI/NYPD Joint Organized Crime Task Force, and two undercover officers, raided the penthouse on May 14 in a bust that led to last week's sweeping indictments.
Feds say the ring was headed by Judy Kreuger, 58, and Eli Tish, 70, who worked out of suites in Miami with views of Biscayne Bay. Wiretaps on telephones in the suites during 60 days last January and February revealed 90 percent of 14,000 calls monitored were prostitution-related, court documents show.
Feds say a regular customer was Coral Gables attorney Michael Murphy, who allegedly spent $111,000 on prostitutes provided by The Circuit. Murphy was charged last week with fraud for allegedly billing his clients for the services under the guise of "surveillance work."
The feds discovered The Circuit when Louisiana surgeon Dr. Howard Lippton, facing health-care-fraud charges, admitted spending $300,000 over four years at the ring's New Orleans brothel. In a plea deal, he copped an 18-month prison term for telling all he knew about the prostitution ring.
--$300,000 divided by $400 an hour equals 750 sessions over a 4year period. Now that's a player!!
