Police yesterday announced the arrest of a man accused of running a "high-volume" brothel, where immigrant prostitutes were forced to service as many as 40 johns a day. Jose Cruz "Chato" Romero-Flores, his girlfriend, and four male associates were arrested in a massive human trafficking sweep known as Operation No Boundaries, authorities announced. They're accused of luring women from Mexico and Latin America with promises of positions as cleaners or babysitters, then forcing them to be prostitutes in a New Jersey brothel instead, the Asbury Park Press reports.
The Lakewood brothel, part of a network that ran through New York and New Jersey, charged men $30 per session, with each woman serving around 100 in a single six-day week. "They endured a miserable life," the state attorney general says. Like many women caught in such human trafficking schemes, "they are fearful and they are vulnerable because of their illegal status." All six of the defendants are also here illegally, coming originally from Mexico. (More illegal immigration stories.)