The following story is particularly near and dear to me because Rte. 73 in Mt. Laurel, NJ was the home of some of the best pick up joints I've ever been to in my life- The Woodbine Inn, Billy Dukes, The Charles Lounge, and the greatest of them all, The Mallard Inn, to name a few. In fact Rte 38 off of 73 wasn't so bad, either.
NJ- A Maple Shade woman on Monday admitted that she ran a sex-for-hire operation out of motels on Route 73 in Maple Shade and Mount Laurel.
Michelle Plaza, 29, pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution.
Plaza, who will be sentenced March 31, faces up to four years in prison under terms of a plea agreement. She would have faced up to 20 years in prison had she been convicted at trial.
Plaza was charged with using two to three dozen women, including a 16-year-old runaway from Camden County, in a prostitution ring that operated from 2002 through 2005.
She also was charged with using a juvenile in a criminal enterprise.
Plaza answered "yes" to a series of questions in court posed by defense attorney Jay Keesler.
Through her responses, she acknowledged she advertised her business in local newspapers as an escort service and charged $125 to $150 per customer. In reality, the business was a prostitution service, she acknowledged.
Plaza gave the teenage runaway refuge in October 2004 and then forced her to work as a prostitute, Assistant Burlington County Prosecutor Stephen Bodnar said.
Authorities learned of the ring after the teenager left the operation and returned to her home.
Authorities arrested Plaza on Aug. 4, 2005, at a Maple Shade motel. She has been in Burlington County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail since then.
