Detroit – from www.freep.com – A lawyer. An accountant. And a salesman.
Talk about the ideal prostitution ring operators — so suggests the federal government in making its latest sex ring bust in metro Detroit.
Federal agents arrested three men [last week] week on charges of running an online prostitution ring that threw meet-and-greet parties across metro Detroit and offered customers goodie bags filled with chocolates, panties and coupons good for sexual favors.
The lawyer, Mark LeBlanc, 55, [pictured] of West Bloomfield, was arrested Thursday at his office and was released on bond.
The accountant, Steven Thompson, 50, was arrested at work, too. He is free on bond.
The salesman, David Kilvington, 47, of Sterling Heights, who runs a database business, was initially ordered jailed, but was released Friday.
The FBI learned about the operation after a concerned mother e-mailed authorities in 2007, alerting them that her teenage daughter became involved in the scheme.
“I know that prostitution is against the law, but it’s the juveniles we’re worried about,” said FBI Special Agent Sandra Berchtold, who added that the prostitution ring recruited thousands of members.
The last sex ring operation to get busted in metro Detroit was Miami Companions, once considered one of the largest escort services in the country, with more than 30,000 clients. The case ended with all the players pleading guilty this year, and co-owner Gregory Carr sentenced to 14 months in prison.
Attorney Paul DeCailly, who represented Carr, said he believes this latest case is small potatoes.
“It looks more like a swingers operation,” DeCailly said. “This isn’t Miami Companions.”
Court records say confidential informants, an electronic paper trail and PayPal records led the FBI to Kilvington, Thompson and LeBlanc. None could be reached for comment Friday.
According to the charging document, the three defendants ran Web sites that allowed johns and call girls to chat and meet on various escort boards, where they also learned about scheduled meet-and-greets — parties where they would actually meet. The parties were held in public places across the state and in Windsor, drawing crowds of at least 100 people who came to meet and arrange for sex afterward, the complaint said.
The operators charged cover at the door, and required both the customers and prostitutes to give donations ranging from $100 to $200 to attend, the complaint said.
Such parties were held at the Shark Club in Canton, Royal Lanes in Warren and at Fairlane Bowl in Madison Heights, the complaint said.
At the Fairlane Bowl party on June 22, there was a $20 cover charge at the door, the complaint said. Inside, an escort named Wicked Kittie handed out gift bags for $10 each with chocolates, sex coupons or a prostitute’s set of underwear, the complaint said.
To elude authorities, the operators used code words on their Web sites, such as “hobby” for sex and “service provider” for prostitute, documents charge.