Prison time for some Desert Divas workers

A Gilbert man who was an accountant for an Internet-based prostitution operation has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Peter Shifman also got seven years of probation and was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine when he was sentenced Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court.

The 57-year-old entered into a plea agreement in the case on April 15.

He pleaded guilty to money laundering, illegal control of an enterprise and the use of a wire or electronic communication in facilitating the crimes, for his involvement in the Desert Divas Escort Services probe investigated by the Phoenix police.

Authorities say more than 100 prostitutes were involved and the business generated $250,000 a month in revenue.

He is also listed as the "Executive Director "of the following website:
http://www.mantacorpusa.com/about_us.html

Recently: Head of Desert Divas prostitution ring pleads guilty

The County Attorney’s office announce that they head of the prostitution ring, Paul Nichta, has plead guilty to a variety of charges.

Police charge that Nichta was head of the umbrella organization that was providing prostitutes through numerous websites with titles such as “Desert Divas”, “Az Confidential”, “Hips Tours”, and “Escorts in Action”.

Nichta faces two-and-a-half years in prison when he is sentenced on June 25.

Five other people involved in the ring also plead guilty. Those include accountant Peter Shifman, Manager Scotts Eder, Manager Shelia Bucalo, Manager Sean Carter, part Owner and Photographer Adam Beech and Investor and VIP customer Dr. Ross Levatter.

VIP customers Louis Stirling and William Ferretti also plead guilty to attempted pandering.

The investigation is still underway and additional charges are possible.

According to the County Attorney’s office later developments in the case against Nichta led to the arrest of David Elms, the operator of the Erotic Review website. Elms is accused of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault in a case not related to the Desert Divas investigation. There is a warrant out for Elm’s arrest. He fled after posting $150,000 bond.

The prostitution ring was busted back in August of 2008.

A second phase of the Desert Diva’s criminal investigation has resulted in a 112-count indictment against 43 suspects

A second phase of the Desert Diva’s criminal investigation has resulted in a 112-count indictment against 43 suspects, the county attorney said late Friday.At least 19 new arrests have been made, County Attorney Andrew Thomas said at a news briefing.

he indictments came as the result of search warrants that had been served late last summer. Information from those warrants enabled police and prosecutors to identify the suspects indicted.

A grand jury handed up the indictment on April 23, 2009.

Charges include:

Conspiracy to commit illegal control of an enterprise, a class 3 felony.
Illegal participation in an enterprise, a class 3 felony.
Money laundering in the second degree, a class 3 felony.
Employment in prostitution, a class 1 misdemeanor/
Pandering, a class 5 felony.

Phoenix Police started the investigation in 2007 in cooperation with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Desert Divas' prostitution busts still going on

Dozens more suspects have been identified in a major Valley prostitution bust.

This is the second wave of arrests in the so-called 'Desert Divas' operation. Around a dozen women, ranging in age from 19 to 47 are part of this new wave of Desert Divas arrests. One of them was a county jail guard. (see a few articles below for her story)

In addition to these women facing money laundering and prostitution charges, Phoenix police also arrested others involved in the operation.

Four men called VIP customers have also been indicted for helping. Police say they had spent time with the prostitutes, evaluate their performance on the escort website.

The VIP customers' entries are too explicit to explain any further. Lt. John Collins explains, “They were rating them in the erotic review. Special customers getting special prices and helping promote and they were doing a good business.”

It is estimated they were raking in around $250,000 month. The ringleader lived in a Paradise Valley home.

Officers made a first round of arrests last August, followed up by the dozens more announced on Friday.

Police say they are still going through the Desert Divas computer records and more arrests could follow.

Detention officer arrested, charged with prostitution

One of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s detention officers was arrested and charged with prostitution.

A news release from MCSO indicates 23-year-old Jillian Lybarger was taken into custody on Wednesday night by Phoenix police officers and is charged with prostitution. She reportedly worked with the sheriff’s department for a little over a year.

Lybarger was part of a second round of arrests in connection with a prostitution ring referred to as “Desert Divas.” She was placed on administrative leave.

Lybarger was booked into jail but was later released

40,000 identities stolen from DES in burglary

Up to 40,000 children’s identities were stored on Department of Economic Security hard drives that were stolen from a storage unit in October.

Now all those families may be at risk of identity theft. This affects anyone who has applied for or been accepted to DES’s "Early Intervention Program" over the past several years. This has the parents of those 40,000 children seriously concerned about their well-being.

Chrissy Boyajian has her hands full with triplet 2-year old boys, two of whom have learning disabilities. She tells 3TV, “Tyler was diagnosed at 18 months with autism. Jacob is behind in speech.”

The two boys receive assistance from DES and are enrolled in their Early Education Intervention Program. All has been going well until this weekend when Chrissy received a letter in the mail that was notification of a break-in and possible identity theft.

The letter reads, “The hard drives contained info that might include name address insurance info child disability date of birth and social security number.”

That is the personal information of some 40,000 valley children that was stored on hard drives that are now in the hands of thieves.

DES spokesperson Liz Barker Alvarez says, “We don't have any reason to believe that DES and our computers were the target of theft.”

Still they were stolen from a public storage unit where DES keeps its back-up files. According to the police report, a man and woman broke in and left with five hard drives valued at $450.

The information on those hard drives is obviously much more valuable than that.

Boyaijian admits, “I worry about them so much…the both of them, especially Tyler and then to have this happen.”

DES says the hard drives are all password-protected and they have no reason to believe that any personal information has been accessed.

Nonetheless the families of 40,000 children have been warned and the two suspects remain at large.

According to police, the suspects were last seen leaving in a white extra cab pick-up truck. If you know anything about this crime you are urged to call police.

In the meantime DES is re-evaluating their storage procedures.

Large prostitution ring busted in Phoenix finds women, cars and guns

"Desert Divas", "Escorts in Action" and "AZ Confidential" are just a few of the titles police say were used to lure men into a Valley prostitution ring.

Detectives raided properties across the Valley, including one lavish home in Paradise Valley. At that home they found enough information to book at least 19 people into the Fourth Avenue Jail for their alleged involvement in what Phoenix police describe as the biggest prostitution investigation in Arizona history.

Lt. Schemers said it may take months to contact every name in the ledger that was discovered. County Attorney Andrew Thomas said if warranted, every john will be prosecuted.

This prostitution ring was allegedly operated in New Mexico and for a brief time in Pennsylvania. Detectives describe this as an upscale operation catering to mostly out of town visitors.

Late this afternoon police arrested Dr. Ross Levatar at the East Valley Hospital where he worked. Dr. Levatar is reportedly a client and helped run operations.

The following is a release from the Phoenix Police Department:

In August, 2007, the Phoenix Police Department received information of an organization involved in prostitution. It was soon determined that the umbrella organization run by Paul Nichta, called “Night Entertainment Partners”, was providing prostitutes through numerous web sites with titles such as “Desert Divas”, “AZ Confidential”, “Hips Tours”, and “Escorts in Action”.

This organization contains over 100 people, mostly prostitutes, but many in management roles. This organization served hundreds of customers, or “johns”. The organization filmed pornographic acts with the prostitutes which were available for viewing through the internet. Clients ordered service through their various internet web sites.

The investigation has connections to Philadelphia and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Philadelphia Police Department Vice detectives arrested one suspect in this case. Albuquerque Police Department Vice Unit detectives conducted a search warrant on the organization’s office (“Desert Divas New Mexico”) in Albuquerque yesterday, arresting several suspects. However, the vast majority of the organization’s activities were conducted right here in the valley.

The Phoenix Police Department worked this investigation in conjunction with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. We were assisted by the Scottsdale Police Department, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the Mesa Police Department, the Philadelphia Police Department’s Vice Unit, and the Albuquerque Police Department’s Vice unit.

The first arrest phase of the investigation began yesterday and is continuing today. Nine search warrants were conducted throughout the valley. Nine of the top members of the organization were arrested and are listed below. Three residences were seized. A least eight vehicles and one motorcycle were seized. Financial seizures were made. 6 rifles, 12 handguns, and 2 silencers were seized at Mr. Nichta’s Paradise Valley residence. Some of the prostitutes have also been arrested. More arrests are expected throughout the day today and in the weeks ahead.

The Phoenix Police Department will continue the investigation into this organization. Any future identified suspects will be submitted by Phoenix Police Department investigator to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office on all suspects, whether they are involved as organizers, prostitutes, or customers. No identified suspects will be exempt from investigation in this case.