Naugatuck Police used craigslist to make a slew of prostitution arrests, and one of the men they nabbed is the director of the Derby Parking authority, police said.
Officers posted an ad on the well-known Internet classified, and waited for people to respond.
Those who responded with phone numbers were contacted and an undercover officer made arrangements to meet the suspects, according to police. The undercover officer waited for the men to solicit a sexual act, then placed them under arrest, police said.
Police charged 18 people with criminal attempt at patronizing and prostitute, including Leo Moscato, 46, who leads Derby's parking authority. He was charged with criminal attempt at patrionizing a prostitute,
The craigslist posting was reviewed by the Waterbury State's Attorney's Office to make sure there were no issues of entrapment, according to police.
In a reverse sting, undercover cops responded to craigslist ads they suspected were posted to solicit sex for money. They arrested two women and charged them with prostitution.
The arrests come as Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued a new subpoena to craigslist, Inc. regarding its policing policies.
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Blumenthal wants to know if the company is fulfilling a promise to keep posts promoting prostitution off the website.
"The craigslist brothel business seems booming", Blumenthal said. "The best evidence is thousands of ads that remain on craigslist, skimpily and slickly disguised with code words."
He's asking the company for specific answers about what it's doing to screen and stop sex-for-money offers on the website.