Human Trafficking Vs Murder: What Are the Feds Really After?

The questions often raised by factual accounts of criminal investigations are many and multi-faceted. For example, Saturday's Palm Beach Post carried a front page article on the sex trade in P. B. County headlined, "Sisters' tale of being forced to work Palm Beach County nightclubs sheds light on human trafficking." The information provided appeared straight forward and, while not shocking, certainly horrific on a human level.

According to staff reporter, Michal LaForgia, two Honduran sisters referred to only by initials (L.M. and E.M.) were promised safe transit to the United States, where they would work off their debt by performing domestic labor. When they arrived, however, they were given into the "custody" of one Veronica Martinez, who sold them as sex slaves to various clubs in the area. The women were expected to dance for the male customers and perform sex acts, payment for which was turned over to Martinez.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/sisters-tale-of-being-forced-to-work-palm-885266.html

Although there is no actual proof, these clubs are thought to be owned by men with varying degrees of well-documented criminal history. One of them, Anthony Genovese, is a reputed mobster who has spent time in federal prison on fraud and conspiracy charges.

Mr. LaForgia reported that L.M. was unhappy with her circumstances and asked "to earn money some other way," but was refused by Martinez. I'm assuming that E.M., who arrived in the United States after her sister, was equally unhappy. Time passed and E.M. became pregnant. Martinez, no longer having use for E.M.'s services, "fired" her, at which time E.M. "fled to Miami" with her boyfriend.

A month after E.M. left the club, the FBI arrested Martinez on human trafficking charges. No mention of L.M.

The use of the word "fired" infers that the circumstances surrounding E.M.'s employment were not completely involuntary. "Fled to Miami" infers that she went in haste and fear. Contradictory, at best.

Yesterday's Palm Beach Post carries the remainder of LaForgia's article entitled, "Felon opened club under radar."

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/felon-opened-club-accused-in-sex-slavery-ring-886721.html

The entire article, with the exception of one sentence, focuses on Genovese and the ABT's (Division of Alcohol, Beverage and Tobacco) failure to discern his connection to family members who applied for and received liquor licenses. L.M. and E.M. seem to have been forgotten. LaForgia reports that mountains of documents contain, if nothing else, clear hints that Genovese was involved in the ownership and management of the aforementioned clubs.

Toward the end, mention is made of three murders, which occurred at El Toro Loco, allegedly owned by Genovese and his brother, between January 2009 and June 2010. The victims, two males and a female, were 17, 20 and 17 respectively. The deaths remain unsolved.

LaForgia concludes his report by stating that, if regulators had been more vigilant in reviewing liquor permit applications, these clubs would never have been allowed to open. At no time does he ask why the Feds did not know about the sex trafficking. Did they turn a blind eye because they had bigger fish to fry? Neither does LaForgia question whether the Feds are using E.M. and L.M. for purposes of the murder investigation or why Veronica Martinez has been offered a plea deal.

Anyone with knowledge of the Military Trail (West Palm Beach) corridor and similar geographic regions around the country knows that the potential for human trafficking in these establishments is high. If law enforcement truly did not know, as they claim, then the public should be questioning who is being hired to secure our safety.

On the criminal justice scale, saving women and children from abuse pales by comparison to catching big time mobsters. Of course, a murder conviction carries stiffer penalties and almost always guarantees putting career criminals away for life.

How long do women and children sold into the sex trade have to wait for a murder to be committed before the Feds care enough to set them free? Free, that is, provided they aren't the ones being murdered.