New details have emerged shedding light on how a respected former NYPD detective came to be the suspected ringleader in a massive gambling and prostitution ring after a bitter divorce.
Ludwig Paz, 51, and his second wife Arelis Peralta, 43, from Queens, New York, were both indicted on Thursday along with seven active duty NYPD officers and 40 other individuals.
Prosecutors say they ran a prostitution ring which consisted of brothels across Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, and illegal gambling rooms hidden in beauty salons - using the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle full of expensive cars and South American vacations.
It was a far cry from Paz's days as a fresh-faced patrolman on the force, which he joined in 1990 as a beat cop working the 84th Precinct in Brooklyn Heights.
Ludwig Paz, 51, and his second wife Arelis Peralta from Queens, New York, were both indicted on Thursday for allegedly running and gambling and prostitution ring
The couple are said to have made $2million from the scheme over a year. They are pictured on a tropical vacation
Paz, a native of Ecuador, was often teased over his height as an NYPD rookie.
'He got picked on because he was short, and he didn't look like other Latinos from Puerto Rico or Dominican Republic,' a former supervisor told the New York Post.
'They'd say, 'What, did you work in a pizzeria before this?' So he developed a quick wit. He gave it right back to them. And on the job he was a quick learner.'
After his promotion to detective on the Vice Squad, Paz had ample opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the seedy world of illegal gambling and prostitution.
He had at least one child with his wife Sonia when in 2007, she sued him for divorce, court records show.
Paz contested the filing and the divorce got ugly, until a judge ordered him to pay 'medical child support' in a 2008 order finalizing the split.
The city takes automatic deductions for alimony and child support out of paychecks for employees who get divorced, and soon Paz would have seen a big bite out of his income.
Paz (above) went through a divorce in 2008 and a former supervisor says he struggled to make ends meet after alimony and child support were deducted from his paychecks
Paz's second wife Arelis Peralta is seen posing with a Range Rover in this photo taken in Brooklyn just blocks from the police precinct where Paz started his career in 1990
Paz struggled to make ends meet, searching for side gigs with little luck. 'He was strapped,' the ex-boss said.
He filed for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in 2009, but ultimately didn't get relief when he missed a deadline to file additional paperwork.
Paz retired from the NYPD in 2010, and it's not clear when he remarried Arelis Peralta.
Police were first tipped off to the criminal enterprise in 2015, when someone on the force alerted investigators they suspected that someone involved in illegal activities was in conversations with an insider in the Vice Enforcement Division.
The investigation moved slowly due to the need for absolute secrecy, to prevent corrupt cops from finding out that the operation was under scrutiny.
Prosecutors said that Paz used his inside connections to get a heads up prior to raids on any of the seven brothels he allegedly ran - one of them a filthy apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant furnished with just a mattress and a red light-bulb overhead.
He also subjected potential johns to a screening process he knew would weed out undercovers, making them drop their trousers and be subjected to genital fondling before allowing any transaction, prosecutors said.
Peralta is seen earlier this year on her 43rd birthday on a tropical vacation in Columbia
Peralta frequently jetted off on vacation, according to photos from her social media
Investigators say that Paz gave active duty cops a steep discount at his brothels, in exchange for protection from investigation.
The brothels charged patrons $40 for 15 minutes of sexual activity and $160 an hour.
Arisbel (above) is charged with conspiracy and felony enterprise corruption
Prosecutors say that Paz and Peralta raked in $2 million over the course of 13 months from August 2016 to September 2017.
Proceeds from the enterprise allegedly went to fund a lavish lifestyle for Paz and his wife Peralta over the last several years.
Social media photographs show them on South American vacations and in nightclubs surrounded by bottles of champagne.
Prosecutors say Peralta was in on the scheme, and she faces a charge of enterprise corruption and dozens of felony counts of promoting gambling.
Her two adult daughters, who live with the couple in Ozone Park, were also arrested in the probe.
The daughters, Jarelis Guzman, 22 and Arisbel Guzman, 20, were released without bail.
Court records show Arisbel has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and felony enterprise corruption. It is unclear whether Jarelis has been charged.
Peralta (center) is seen with her two adult daughters, Jarelis and Arisbel, who were also arrested in the police sting on Thursday.
Neighbors say that Peralta and her daughters always had designer clothes and carried designer handbags.
'They had these expensive cars — SUVs and Mercedes — the kids were parking all over the place, blocking driveways,' one neighbor told The Post.
The luxury cars grew so numerous that neighbors complained there was nowhere left to part on the block.
Along with Paz and his wife, seven active duty cops were charged in the ring: Rene Samaniego, 43, Sergeant Carlos Cruz, 41, Giovanny Rojas Acosta, 40, Sergeant Cliff Nieves, 37, Steven Nieves, 32, Giancarlo Raspanti and Sergeant Louis Failla.
In total, however, 49 people were charged.
According to police, Peralta (above) and her husband also operated illegal lottery betting services out of beauty salons
In a statement, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill assured the public the officers involved would be dealt with quickly and severely.
'These NYPD officers, who swore an oath to uphold ideals greater than themselves, have ruined their own careers and reputations,' O'Neill said.
'More importantly, they have diminished the great work of tens of thousands of other honest and ethical cops.'
Paz faces felony charges of enterprise corruption, promoting prostitution, rewarding official misconduct, bribery of a public servant, hindering prosecution, promoting gambling and misdemeanor counts of conspiracy.
He has pleaded not guilty and is being held on Rikers Island pending bond of $250,000 or $150,000 cash bail.
Paz is next due in court on October 30.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/16/how-respected-nypd-detective-became-prime-suspect-in-brothel-ring/
Main photo article New details have emerged shedding light on how a respected former NYPD detective came to be the suspected ringleader in a massive gambling and prostitution ring after a bitter divorce.
Ludwig Paz, 51, and his second wife Arelis Peralta, 43, from Queens, New York, were both indicted on Thursday...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/16/05/502431C500000578-0-image-m-20_1537071463839.jpg
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