Eight isn’t enough for the NYPD in its ongoing crackdown on prostitution in Ridgewood.
The 104th Precinct went on another undercover sting operation in the area of Cypress Avenue and Starr Street late on Thursday night, Sept. 29, and arrested eight suspected “johns” who went looking for a good time and wound up leaving in handcuffs.
The men allegedly offered cash payments to undercover officers in the area posing as prostitutes in exchange for various sexual acts. Police sources said two guys offered as little as $5 for oral sex; the highest offer came from another customer who wanted $50 for traditional intercourse.
Police identified the eight johns as George Cabrera, 19, of Bushwick; Victor Youssef, 38, of Yonkers; Mauricio Landy, 18, of Ridgewood; Javier Meneses, 24, of Hollis; Omar C. Rivera, 35, of Bushwick; William Pena, 33, of Bushwick; Krzysztof Tarnowski, 47, of Glendale; and Hamilton Giler, 45, of Bayside. All were charged with patronizing a prostitute, a misdemeanor.
Thursday’s bust was the third sting of its kind at the Ridgewood hot spot dating back to early August; 16 other suspected johns were arrested in the other two operations. Including the Sept. 29 sting, the 104th Precinct has locked up a total of 41 alleged johns at the Ridgewood operation in periodic busts since May.
If history is any indication, there will no doubt be more johns in Ridgewood heading for the slammer very soon.
