Based on documents from the Department of Homeland Security, investigators knew that the tan and brown building housed recent Chinese immigrants. They believed that Lotto was shuttling some of the immigrants β all women β to another quiet neighborhood in Monterey Park. The operation was nearly flawless.
Neither local law enforcement nor neighbors had any clue about what was taking place. Jerry Faulkner said. Neighbors were similarly surprised. The first time Kim Wong heard there were suspected hookers living on her street came via the newspaper. We all look out for each other. While Lotto faces prostitution charges, Fu, 47, is accused of arranging sham marriages.
Both were placed in home confinement until they can prove any bond money they post comes from legitimate sources, officials said. He is accused of using the documents to bring people into the United States. Zhang is accused of acting as an enforcer and part-time manager of the Monterey Park brothel, according to a criminal complaint that charges Lotto and Zhang with conspiracy to import and harbor aliens for prostitution. Fleetwood said in a written statement. A woman eating lunch in a barren room at the Alhambra apartment complex also declined to comment.
Generally, they want to be in a community that is that same ethnic community. If they are operating discreetly enough they can go undetected. Although johns and prostitutes were constantly shuttled into the Monterey Park apartment, surveillance teams observed most of them parking in an attached garage and entering the location that way, court documents indicate. First-time customers were asked to make several phone calls prior to their arrival β and often were sent in several directions by brothel operators before gaining access.
The level varies. But this operation had some connection to higher-level organized crime. Because organizations dealing in prostitutes share information about their successes and failures, Arnold suspects there are dozens of similar operations nestled in residential neighborhoods throughout the San Gabriel Valley.
