Photographer pleads guilty

Nearly a year and a half after he fled the country on drug charges, a well-known photographer in the Queens Hispanic community pleaded guilty to charges that could land him in jail for up to 70 years.
Michaelangelo Pinzon, better known to the community as ‘Michael Star,’ recently pleaded guilty to one count of having sex with a minor as well as importing more than 100 grams of heroin from outside of the U.S.
Pinzon, who awaits sentencing on October 10, was charged with 74 counts of child pornography production - including multiple counts of having sexual intercourse with minors - back in December of 2006, after he jumped bail and fled to Colombia where he stayed for nearly 14 months.
Authorities here in the U.S. negotiated with Colombian authorities to have Pinzon extradited so he could face charges in Brooklyn Federal Court. Pinzon originally pleaded not guilty to the charges in April of this year, but pled guilty to the two charges only months later.
His attorney Michael Pollok did not return calls for comment.
Pinzon owned his own photography studio in Jackson Heights and was a fixture at a number of community events including serving as the Director of the Colombian Civic Center’s beauty pageant in 2006.
City Councilmember Hiram Monserrate also presented Pinzon with a Council citation in 2006.
Prior to his arrest in 2006, Pinzon pleaded guilty to three separate incidents in 1998, 2001 and 2005, respectively, including pleading guilty to third degree sexual abuse of a child in 2001.