What to Know
- An alleged drug-involved motel at the center of a sex trafficking conspiracy was ordered to be sold, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of New York announced Tuesday.
- Tuesday's sale of the Sayville Motor Lodge is for $2 million. The proceeds from the sale will go to the prior lenders of the property and the remaining proceeds will be used to compensate the victims of the alleged crime.
- According to the court filings, the co-owners and an employee of the motel who also lived there facilitated the criminal activity there and profited from the prostitution and narcotics activity that took place on site.
An alleged drug-involved Long Island motel at the center of a sex trafficking conspiracy was ordered to be sold, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of New York announced Tuesday.
Tuesday's sale of the Sayville Motor Lodge is for $2 million. The proceeds from the sale will go to the prior lenders of the property and the remaining proceeds will be used to compensate the victims of the alleged crime.
According to the court filings, the co-owners and an employee of the motel who also lived at the motel facilitated the criminal activity there and profited from the prostitution and narcotics activity that took place on site.
Allegedly, the group was aware of at least one minor trafficking victim. They also allegedly warned traffickers and women engaging in prostitution when law enforcement were on the premises.
From about 2014 until 2018, two men allegedly operated their sex trafficking rings out of the motel in coordination with the co-owners and the worker.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
The co-owners and the motel employee profited from the drug trafficking that was conducted openly at the motel, the attorney general's office said.
News
"The defendants allowed customers to freely use drugs, including heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine, in plain view and in motel rooms," the district attorney's office said. "Much like the traffickers, drug dealers paid the Sayville defendants for the privilege of selling drugs at the Sayville Motor Lodge."
In total, six people were arrested in connection to the investigation, among them two people in their 70s who were co-owners of the motel. Attorney information for the accused was not immediately known.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Vincent DeMarco, United States Marshal for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sale of the property.
“As a result of this sale, the Sayville Motor Lodge is no longer ground zero of an insidious money-maker for prostitution and narcotics trafficking, and a blight on the surrounding community,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Instead, the property will be repurposed by its new owner for the benefit of the residents of Long Island.”
