When do I hire the lawyer???

[Guest Rusty_McMann]

Someone I know () recently got arrested for "soliciting prostitution" here in glamorous Las Vegas. He got busted as part of a sting in one of the strip hotels. (nasty as the police were, they didn't just go after men: there were 3 women and 2 men arrested.)

 

Anyway, the escort in question has a court date in mid-February. The attorney who was recommended as being savvy in these matters and gay-friendly is $1500, which the escort does not have. If he were to borrow it, he would totally max out all his credit cards and have absolutely no cushion (please no unhelpful comments about he should have been saving for a rainy day; too late for that now).

 

The other man who was arrested plans to go to the first court date by himself and see what happens before he spends any money. The well-seasoned women who were arrested at the same time strongly recommended getting a lawyer and *not* a court-apported attorney (as they're more or less in cahoots).

 

My friend (ahem) would be very grateful for any practical advice on this matter, either in general or specific to Clark County Nevada.

 

Thanks ever so.

[+ FreshFluff]

The women are right; court appointed attorneys are usually too overburdened to fight for your friend. But your friend may also want to research other lawyers rather than just taking their word for it. In an area like LV, there must be many lawyers who specialize in defending escort.

 

As far as getting help without money, some law schools have legal "clinics" staffed by students. The only other thing I can think of is Lambda Legal. http://www.lambdalegal.org/ I know they advise men who get arrested for public sex.

 

But if your friend's first priority is to keep his record as clean as possible, there may be no alternative but to max out the cards and pay.

[bigvalboy]

Someone I know () recently got arrested for "soliciting prostitution" here in glamorous Las Vegas. He got busted as part of a sting in one of the strip hotels. (nasty as the police were, they didn't just go after men: there were 3 women and 2 men arrested.)

 

Anyway, the escort in question has a court date in mid-February. The attorney who was recommended as being savvy in these matters and gay-friendly is $1500, which the escort does not have. If he were to borrow it, he would totally max out all his credit cards and have absolutely no cushion (please no unhelpful comments about he should have been saving for a rainy day; too late for that now).

 

The other man who was arrested plans to go to the first court date by himself and see what happens before he spends any money. The well-seasoned women who were arrested at the same time strongly recommended getting a lawyer and *not* a court-apported attorney (as they're more or less in cahoots).

 

My friend (ahem) would be very grateful for any practical advice on this matter, either in general or specific to Clark County Nevada.

 

Thanks ever so.

 

If you don't know it already, Clark County is NOT the place to play games...anyone who goes to court there without a lawyer is a fool. Had a few run ins with the authorities there when I was very young. It didn't go well. Tell your friend to max his card if he has to..this is serious stuff.. This is a fire that he needs to put out. It is only money, he will recover from the financial loss. And saving for a 'rainy day' is easier said than done, especially when you are young..don't beat yourself up over that. It isn't worth it.

[+ FreshFluff]

Again, before picking a lawyer, make sure he has an excellent, winning track record. I think that's more important than specializing in gay escort cases, unless there's some legal issue that separates gay vs. straight cases.

[josephga]

What is the normal fine if charged with prostitution? just curious I've always wondered.

[maxwellissmart]

Someone I know () recently got arrested for "soliciting prostitution" here in glamorous Las Vegas. He got busted as part of a sting in one of the strip hotels. (nasty as the police were, they didn't just go after men: there were 3 women and 2 men arrested.)

 

Anyway, the escort in question has a court date in mid-February. The attorney who was recommended as being savvy in these matters and gay-friendly is $1500, which the escort does not have. If he were to borrow it, he would totally max out all his credit cards and have absolutely no cushion (please no unhelpful comments about he should have been saving for a rainy day; too late for that now).

 

The other man who was arrested plans to go to the first court date by himself and see what happens before he spends any money. The well-seasoned women who were arrested at the same time strongly recommended getting a lawyer and *not* a court-apported attorney (as they're more or less in cahoots).

 

My friend (ahem) would be very grateful for any practical advice on this matter, either in general or specific to Clark County Nevada.

 

Thanks ever so.

 

Hey Rusty—I have some personal and passed-along information from associates and clients for your "friend." (this is why it can be a good thing to ask your clients, "so, what do YOU do?)

 

I don't know what type of escort this person is, so here's my advice if it were someone like me (an escort who advertises on M4RN or its equivalent).

 

First, this is a misdemeanor, but you can still get an 11:29 for it (11 months, 29 days—or just short of a year). What will most likely happen is that the judge will ask you how you plead, and either put it over for trial on "not-guilty" or process you then and there for "guilty." Your legal rep will likely stress to you that it's in your best interest to get this over with and put it behind you. That's pretty much true. If you plead guilty you'll likely get a suspended sentence and be put on probation for anywhere from 6 months to 3 years, with the promise that if you stay out of trouble you'll stay out of jail. If you get caught escorting again, you'll serve out the rest of your sentence in the pokey. You'll have to see a probation office, and you'll likely have a fine, a class, or community service that you have to do within a specific time, or you'll face contempt charges or again—jail. After all terms are met, you'll be eligible for having your record expunged. It's going to cost more than $1500, because you'll have to pay court costs, a fine (if applicable), probationary costs, expungement costs and so on. It's expensive, granted—but it's not the end of the world. Keep in mind that this is a middle of the road scenario—so you could have more or less added to your experience here.

 

In the meantime, what you MUST do is:

1) Pull your ads immediately—that persona is done. If it's discovered that you're still working before, during or after your court date—you're in for a HEAP of trouble.

 

2) Create a new email through Gmail. It's not traceable to your computer's IP address.

 

3) Contact your clients and tell them you're going to take a break for a while because of a new job/school/whatever, but tell them you're still available for seeing them. That way you still have money coming in.

 

4) Get a credit card immediately and charge your court expenses to it. Personally, I'd go with a public defender and try to save some money—because unless you aren't an escort and were somehow hit on the head and dressed in escort's clothing, you'll end up potentially doing more damage to yourself trying to say this isn't how it looks than if you were to walk in undefended. That said, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES go into court without a lawyer. They will think you aren't taking the matter seriously, and they will throw the maximum punishment at you. (This came straight from a judge who was a client).

 

5) Dress nicely, and maintain that you are naive and a newbie. Put the blame on yourself and say how sorry you are, that you didn't think about the consequences, and that you understand the gravity of the situation. If you are unemployed the judge may ask you how you plan to pay your bills and whether you plan to do something like this again. You may have to go find a temporary job to show your intent—if that's the case, do it. Then quit after court.

 

6) Depending on how you were caught, you may be able to advertise online again. Use new pics. You don't want any sort of connection between that escort and this new escort. If your clients contact you again under the new profile, tell them it's you and that you had someone stalking you and you had to change your profile to get rid of them. Hopefully things will settle down and you can go back to your normal life with no problems.

 

One thing you can do to protect yourself from this is to regularly check the court clerk site for Vegas and see if the cops are currently busting large numbers of people, particularly men. You can also swear off hotels and meet people only in residences, or do a very thorough check of your client before meeting (an out of state area code is always a good sign, get them to talk to you to see if they appear gay, and see if you can find info about them on FB or on the net). This isn't always possible, and you're going to be taking a risk. If you aren't comfortable with meeting with someone—cancel or don't take the appointment. You can also try seeing clients in nearby cities as well.

 

Lastly, set aside some money in case you need it. This is like any other job—and you should always have an emergency fund.

 

Hope that helps, dude.

[Epigonos]

A very well know escort, who no longer lives in Las Vegas, had the same thing happen to him a number of years ago. He was advised to go out and get a lawyer who was well connected to the Las Vegas legal establishment. The judicial system in Las Vegas is one of the most corrupt in the U.S. A few years ago the Los Angeles Times ran a series of very damning articles about judges in Las Vegas and just how corrupt they were. The lawyer he hired was well connected and was able to get him off with a minimum of trouble and yes it was expensive. DO NOT have your friend attempt to represent himself. He might want to consider contacting some other local escorts and seek their advise.

[+ Ace]

Rusty.

Contact me privately.

[instudiocity]

Get in touch with Ace.

 

Maybe get in touch with PeterHung85, too. Look at his posts here: http://www.companyofmen.org/showthread.php?76086-STING-OPERATIONS-BY-VICE...-What-they-do-not-want-you-to-know!&highlight=prostitution

[Guest Merlin]

We also would like to hear the details of the sting, if you can tell us.

[maxwellissmart]

Keep in mind that this is a cattle call sort of activity for the police and legal system in Las Vegas—and misdemeanor prosecution is big business for the state of Nevada. If you're looking to "expose corruption" in the system, I think you're going to find a lot of "pot calling the kettle black" seeing how a crime was committed by the "friend" as well. If you want to simply get this over with and behind you—play nice, act contrite, pay your fees and get back to work.

[maxwellissmart]

Keep in mind that this is a cattle call sort of activity for the police and legal system in Las Vegas—and misdemeanor prosecution is big business for the state of Nevada. If you're looking to "expose corruption" in the system, I think you're going to find a lot of "pot calling the kettle black" seeing how a crime was committed by the "friend" as well. If you want to simply get this over with and behind you—play nice, act contrite, pay your fees and get back to work.

 

According to this site—Nevada doesn't allow expungement of records. They DO, however—allow for records to be sealed on a case-by-case basis. It sounds like you will definitely need an attorney to petition for that process, as it's neither automatic nor guaranteed upon request.

 

http://www.shouselaw.com/nevada/sealrecord.html

[Guest Rusty_McMann]

the police and hotel security more or less bragged to us about how they were working together to keep free-lancers out.

 

so the only corruption I'd be interested in exposing -- and trust me, I'm not willing to risk my own livlihood to do it -- is how this hotel runs national commercials about how they have "just the right amount of wrong" and then arrests pros. I would love to run my own little sting where I ask one of their concierges to recommend some "company" and then find out what happens. I bet they have their own stable...

 

anyway, not even *thinking* about this until I'm based somewhere else.

[cany10011]

Sorry to hear about this predicament. I'm always nervous when hiring in hotels for getting caught in a "name and shame" operation. Besides, I have work colleagues who travel with me and I'd be stinging with embarassment if anything happened.

 

In this "sting" operation, where any johns caught as well? I was once in a hotel in vegas and the concierge who my friend and I got friendly with offered us access to other forms of evening entertainment (wink wink, nudge nudge). I didn't pursue it with him so I don't know if it was gay or straight entertainment At that time, i had already hired Christopher Daniels and was totally sated.

 

 

 

 

 

the police and hotel security more or less bragged to us about how they were working together to keep free-lancers out.

 

so the only corruption I'd be interested in exposing -- and trust me, I'm not willing to risk my own livlihood to do it -- is how this hotel runs national commercials about how they have "just the right amount of wrong" and then arrests pros. I would love to run my own little sting where I ask one of their concierges to recommend some "company" and then find out what happens. I bet they have their own stable...

 

anyway, not even *thinking* about this until I'm based somewhere else.

[Guest Rusty_McMann]

no clients were arrested because the "clients" were undercover police. to my mind, that's what made it a sting.

 

they pretended, we nodded in agreement, they took us up to the suite and arrested us.

 

and btw: they used rope, not handcuffs. I kid you not.

[maxwellissmart]

no clients were arrested because the "clients" were undercover police. to my mind, that's what made it a sting.

 

they pretended, we nodded in agreement, they took us up to the suite and arrested us.

 

and btw: they used rope, not handcuffs. I kid you not.

 

Ouch. I like your site, BTW. (especially Mr. D and the Boys)

[+ Travis69]

no clients were arrested because the "clients" were undercover police. to my mind, that's what made it a sting.

 

they pretended, we nodded in agreement, they took us up to the suite and arrested us.

 

and btw: they used rope, not handcuffs. I kid you not.

 

Is this a case where they called an ad and someone came over or the escorts were "working" the bar/lobby looking for clients? My impression is some hotels know and don't mind clients seeing escorts discreetly in their rooms but don't like escorts roaming the bar/lobby looking for clients. Just wondering.

[maxwellissmart]

Ouch. I like your site, BTW. (especially Mr. D and the Boys)

 

WHADDYA MEAN "JULIA ROBERTS CAN'T ACT????!!!!!"

 

You deserve everything you get, Rusty. I'm going to download all your movies for free now.

[Guest Rusty_McMann]

Is this a case where they called an ad and someone came over or the escorts were "working" the bar/lobby looking for clients? My impression is some hotels know and don't mind clients seeing escorts discreetly in their rooms but don't like escorts roaming the bar/lobby looking for clients. Just wondering.

 

holy cow. why are these details so important. trust me it was all bad enough the first time.

 

so this is what happened: The officer answered an ad on backpage for an erotic massage. we met in the casino, because it's one of those hotels where you need to show a room key to go up in the elevators. as I played slots, the officer (who was very convincing as a guy from Kansas who was looking for a first time with another man) listed a few things we might want to do after his massage. I said ok. asked "is this all included in the price of the massage?" I said yes. We went up to the room. he handed me some dough. he asked me to wait while he took a shower. I sat down to wait. the other cops came in and arrested me. to my mind, this is the classic definition of a sting.

 

They got 5 of us that night, two of whom were girls who had previously been arrested at the same place; they were arrested for trespassing.

 

I was wearing black jeans, a gap shirt, and tassel loafers. no socks, no underwear.

 

any more questions?

[zeyfur]

;)Next question

 

Do you swallow ?

[Kevin Slater]

btw: they used rope, not handcuffs. I kid you not.

 

I think you mean I kid you knot.

 

Kevin Slater

[instudiocity]

2) Create a new email through Gmail. It's not traceable to your computer's IP address.

Google knows everything about the computer(s) you use to setup and run a gmail account. All they need is a subpoena and they'll report all the details they have on an email account include the alternate account you gave them when you signed up. With the Internet - someone always knows who and where you are.

[maxwellissmart]

I think you mean I kid you knot.

 

Kevin Slater

 

All kidding aside—I hope you're able to get this worked out. If you decide to stay in the area and continue escorting you're going to have to be extremely careful, or you could end up doing some jail time. Obviously your situation is a complex one since you have a website, etc. Good luck.

[maxwellissmart]

Google knows everything about the computer(s) you use to setup and run a gmail account. All they need is a subpoena and they'll report all the details they have on an email account include the alternate account you gave them when you signed up. With the Internet - someone always knows who and where you are.

 

Yes, of course that's true—however you have to ask whether or not the LV police are going to go through that sort of time/energy for a midemeanor. My guess is no. The point of using a Gmail account was going to be for Rusty to create a new escorting identity that would not be immediately associable with his current one. He could continue to see clients and correspond with them online—the things he would really need to watch out for would be similarities in contact info and pics/body type. Personally, I'd move, if it were a realistic option.

 

And it sounds like this is a C-list-type bust anyway.

[adriano46]

Rusty, hope you take up Ace's shout out and contact him. I learned on my furst trip to LV how bad things are there with vice and escorts. My response was BYOB (Bring Your Own Boy) and forego such a risk.