Eduardo Cornejo, a former NYPD officer, is accused of moonlighting as a pimp by federal prosecutors, allegedly running a prostitution ring across the tri-state area.
The 11-year veteran, fired in January, is accused of employing at least 10 young women in the far-reaching ring, according to authorities. Prosecutors are alleging that Cornejo transported women to and from motels in New Jersey, New York (including Long Island) and Connecticut, and often did so shortly after leaving his duties “to protect and serve.”
The 33-year-old veteran was caught after police used an authorized, court-approved wiretap to capture the ex-cop’s “business” plan. The wiretap revealed Cornejo’s well-thought scheme to divy up profits among the women.
Robert L. Capers, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, didn’t mince words as he lambasted Cornejo, “[R]ather than seeking to eradicate crime from the streets of the city, the defendant promoted prostitution and profited from his exploitation of women,” he said in a press release.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton praised prosecutors and poignantly remarked on the hyprocisy of “those who violate the very laws that they have sworn to enforce.”
Cornejo was arrested at Citi Field in May 2012 for resisting NYPD officers. After moving to a new seat that he did not have a ticket for, Cornejo refused the pleas of security who tried to remove him. He was arraigned on criminal trespass charges, but was later released.
The veteran was scheduled for arraignment in federal Brooklyn court Tuesday afternoon in connection with the prostitution ring.
[h/t NBCNewYork/NYDailyNews]
[Screengrab via NYDailyNews]
