Gangs & Prostitution: Part Two

Once upon a time in America, the old Mafia controlled the prostitution rings and enjoyed the cash that flowed from flesh peddling. In current day Queens, it is the “New Mafia” - or the gangs that are dealing in prostitution - using young girls and imported illegal aliens as sex slaves.
According to lawmakers, social workers, teachers and counselors, gangs are running their lucrative pay-for-sex operations using children who are recruited from middle and high schools or smuggled into the country from around the world to serve in their brothels and as hookers on the streets of the borough.
The flesh-peddling gangs, including the vicious Mara Salvatrucha or MS13; the Latin Kings; the Russian mob; various Asian gangs, and Mexican gangs - including “Los Padrotes de Tenancingo,” - are using imaginative ways to hide their illegal sex-for-sale operations.
“The gangs are renting trucks and are using them as mobile brothels. The neighbors complain the gangs are taking these trucks near construction sites, where the girls are turning tricks inside them and the male gang members keep tabs on them and collect the money,” said Councilman Hiram Monserrate.
“One Salvatrucha [member of MS13] pays fifty dollars for every schoolgirl you bring to him. The only thing the girl has to do is dance in the Roosevelt Avenue bars,” said Andrea, a 12-year-old girl, whose mother is sending her to Colombia because last year she became a member of a gang. “I never thought that she could be a gang member in the sixth grade,” the mother said.
Male members of the street gangs often woo the teenagers, promise them love, and even offer to marry them some day - only to force them to have sex with the members of the gang if they refuse to become prostitutes, according to Dr. Nayibe Nunez-Berger, a psychologist with a private practice.
According to a Catholic priest, “these boys are looking for girls between 12 years old to 14 years old. I’m horrified with the kind of sins I’m hearing they are doing to these girls.”
Dr. Nunez-Berger agrees with him. “By the age of 13 this beautiful little girl is working as a prostitute. She has no parents, and lives with the grandmother, who is trying to save her. But the girl says that her chulo (pimp) is trying to help,” she said.
“In the last few months, at my school, we have found several girls who are working as prostitutes for the gangs,” said a social worker at a Queens high school, who talked to The Queens Courier only under the condition of anonymity. “The Mara Salvatrucha call these teenagers, ‘the home girls.’ They are forced to sell themselves and must give the money they earn to the gang leader or to his girlfriend, who very often is the leader of the ‘home girls,’” the social worker said.
“The ‘home girls’ must be ready to do everything and anything the male members ask for. They are asked to do the cooking, clean the gang house or apartment, work as dancers in the bars along Roosevelt Avenue, or turn tricks for cash. The girls can not refuse to work as prostitutes or they would be beaten or killed,” the social worker explained.
“We were able to rescue just one girl so far. Her parents moved the whole family to another state to save her from the gang - because they are members for life. In another case, we suspect a girl is acting as a recruiter for the gang, getting other girls to participate in the prostitution ring. In two other cases, we have tried to get in touch with the girls’ parents, but their mothers are drug addicts and fathers are long gone. The girls are working as prostitutes to support their families. We sent these cases to Family Court, and we are waiting for an answer,” the social worker said.
Police and school officials say they have no information on these crimes. “We have no records of prostitution and gangs,” said inspector Michael Coan of the Queens North precincts. The Department of Education denies there is any problem with prostitution in the schools.
“We need the public’s help to fight against gangs. I’m asking to every person with information related to gang activity to call to my office at 718-205-3881, and tell Louis Castro what is going on,” Monserrate said.
NY Senator John Sabini and Assemblyman Jos/ Peralta have announced new legislation package to fight the growing gang epidemic we are facing. They presented five “gang bills” designed to empower police and school districts to fight gangs.
“Our parents rely on schools and neighborhoods where they can raise their children without the threat of gangs,” said Sabini. “But for some in our neighborhoods, a trip to school or the corner store is one marred by fear,” Sabini added.
“The proliferation of gang activity has been a problem in our community for the past few years,” Peralta said. “We must join forces to combat this increasing crisis before it’s is too late,” Peralta said.