Ten Southwest Florida suspects were arrested after authorities discovered eight brothels in various homes and businesses throughout Lee County.
Here is a look at what we know:
With six suspects from Cape Coral, the others were from Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres and Naples.
After two years investigating, local law enforcement said that the suspects were involved in prostitution and money laundering, among several other charges.
“Southwest Florida is not a friendly or permissive environment for organized commercial sex … and the properties and businesses used for these purposes will be identified and shut down,” Amira Fox, state attorney for the 20th Judicial Circuit, said at a press conference on Friday, April 18.
Fox said that the suspects were advertising sexual services online and providing such services “in plain sight.”
One of these brothels was “just feet away from a children’s daycare,” Fox said.
The State Attorney’s Office declined to release the addresses linked to the sting, saying that it can “not provide any addresses as there is not public record yet.”
And of the 10 arrested suspects, one of them is a partner for a popular Cape Coral Restaurant called Nevermind Awesome Bar & Eatery.
Michael Gavala, a partner who joined Nevermind two years ago, said that the crimes allegedly committed by partner Walter William Thomas had “nothing to do with Nevermind” and that he had no knowledge of any brothels.
10 suspects named in Lee County brothel sting
Here are the suspects:
Law enforcement served warrants on 4 businesses, 4 homes
The Office of the State Attorney, in partnership with several other local and federal law enforcement agencies, was able to simultaneously conduct multiple search warrants and four homes and four business locations in April to uncover the brothels.
“We have a very wide range of crimes that we investigate, but none are more important than the crimes that were committed during this case…human exploitation, potentially human trafficking, organized crime, racketeering, money laundering, everything that’s involved here,” said John Yancey, resident agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Fort Myers.
This investigation came as part of a child exploitation and persons trafficking task force called INTERCEPT. The arrests made in this investigation were the results of the task force’s longest investigation thus far, called Operation Red Light.
Several of the arrested suspects have registered businesses in Florida. However, the state attorney’s office has not yet confirmed which, if any, of these businesses are connected to the prostitution charges.
Two of the arrested suspects were found at a strip mall in Cape Coral. Another was arrested at the Edison Mall, court records indicate.
Operation Red Light started with tips
Operation Red Light commenced after law enforcement received information and tips about the existence of brothels operating in Lee County.
“This is a crime that’s hiding in plain sight. There are people raising their children in houses right next door to where this type of activity is happening,” Yancey said.
Tayeba Hussein is a breaking news reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her at thussein@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Several brothels exposed in Lee County. What we know
Reporting by Tayeba Hussein, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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