A well known agency was busted. Miami Companions. They went down hard. 5 people arrested so far. From the looks if it they got the owners, the office manager, the bookkeeper and what looks like may be the recruiter. Many government agencies are involved including immigration and the IRS. This is bad news.
I’m a well known independent sex worker and i have very little love for agencies in general for several reasons.
A. Most tend to be shady operations that are thinly veiled pimps where greedy men (and sometimes women) are making large bucks on the backs of hard working sex workers. They overwork them and take most of the money (in Vegas the girls work on tips, the agencies take all of the show up fee)
B. Agencies are the big fish to law enforcement agencies. When an agency goes down they are charged with all kinds of felonies and in some cases RICO can be enacted. Its not a misdemeanor solicitation charge. It’s money laundering, pimping, pandering running a house of prostitution and even human trafficking. Its a big flashy score for the law and it makes a tasty news story. Not only can they get a big collar but they get to show the national media how well they are doing their jobs, earning their keep and justifying their budgets.
Even though i don’t have a lot of love for agencies Miami Companions was a reputable one. One of the more respected agencies around. I would accept a reference from them. They were often very nice about giving refs to independents, as not all agencies are. My dealings with them were always professional and above board.
Which brings me to my point, why do clients use agencies such as Miami Companions? I think there are several reasons. But i think many of those reasons are misnomers and should be reexamined.
1. The convenience factor.
They like to be able to call up and just get whoever is available. Its easy, they don’t have to do a lot of homework and research to make sure a girl isn’t a rip of. It’s the lazy mans approach to whore mongering. Plus agencies are well know for recruiting strippers and turning them out, so if you like that stripper look you can often find that style of hooker working for a big name agency.
2. They believe their personal information is safer with an agency then an independent.
This is probably where they make the biggest mistake of all. Now i cant blame a guy for being lazy but i can blame him for being shortsighted. An reputable agency will screen you like a independent will screen you. You need to tell them who you are. An agency will keep your info so they can know who you are next time you call and an independent will keep your info so she can reference you to another provider. Since the reference system is how we all play safe. Some will tell you they don’t keep your info, but that’s a big fat lie. You know it and we know it. So a client is lulled into a false sense of security and feels comfortable giving his info to a agency IE business because it feels more secure. “the business wont blackmail me and tell my wife” “the agency isn’t shady, its a known entity” they feel that some indie girl is more likely to use their info against them.
The reality is that anyone who you give your info to can try to use that info to harm you, which is why you choose carefully who you share it with and do your research. With an agency you run the all to familiar risk of your name being on a client list when there’s a bust and the story hits the national media. It happened in Arizona a while back and that client list DID make it to the press. (i knew people on it) Because agencies are such a juicy target the odds are higher they will become the focus of an investigation, where the worse thing an independent can get busted for is solicitation and that is generally a misdemeanor. Not exactly what a multi agency federal investigation points their resources at. Indies who get arrested are usually caught up in a general sting operation. Smart indies who screen will have a very low risk of getting busted at all.
So with all that taken into account why would anyone use an agency. This is a risky business and the risk isn’t just for the escorts, the clients all have risk and need to take steps to minimize it. EVERYONE has something to lose, and that is often forgotten when you get all caught up in your little subculture and its easy to lose sight that this isn’t legal what we do. That people can and do go to jail, lives can get destroyed because it’s found out that someone is an escort, or that someone frequents them
No one knows how the whole Miami Companions bust will affect the business. Will it scare off clients, will it bring a flood of new indies on the market who were agency girls and the pie will get smaller? Only time will tell. So be smart, use your critical thinking skills, don’t be lazy, do your homework and you can have a lot of fun nailing the hot sexy girl of you choice for a little pay for play action. When a client does this its a win/win when he doesn’t… well ask the guys in Arizona how well that went when their names were released to the media as whore mongers
I’m sure it didn’t go over real well at home.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jenny DeMilo, Jenny DeMilo. Jenny DeMilo said: New blog post about the recent escort agency bust http://bit.ly/c0OKjt ReExamine who you give your info to GO READ! […]
Thank you Jenny!
Great subject,not because it’s fun or sexy,it’s not.However,the reality is that in most states pay for play is illegal,not my idea,but none the less it is,and therefore it is subject to enforcement by local,state,and federal authorities and enforce it they do.
We are in an election year which makes pay for play activities much more scrutinized and as Jenny said it gives them justification for their (ever growing budgets).They use all tactics,especially scare & shame to draw attention to their ridiculous use(& waste)of time,resources, and money and justify these allocations by publicly parading the apprehended in the news papers,blogs,and TV news.It’s heavy handed and it unjustly upsets and even ruins lives just for vice to get some notoriety and possible budget increase.
Never give out personal information,no matter how enticing and sincere the agency or independent look,you never know who keeps information intentionally or otherwise. I recommend using a well know verification service such as Date-Check.
Be safe,selective,and thorough and remember,there are no absolute guarantee’s if it doesn’t feel right and your spidy senses are tingling,get the hell out of there and under no circumstances talk to the police.No matter what they say,it will be used against you or the provider.
I seriously recommend viewing “Talking to the police” by professor James Duane. It is available on YouTube and is around 47 minutes long but it is very informative and well worth your time.
Be safe and have Phun………… ;-}
mdrider
Great post Jenny! I’ve noticed that DC has become absolutely flooded with agencies lately, and the agencies that were already there have doubled in size. With lower prices than most independents in a down economy, things can’t be going very well. And this right before an election. Talk about dumb.