POLICE BUST HUGE PROSTITUTE RING.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer Following raids on 18 locations, including several in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , five Russian immigrants have been arrested on suspicion of running one of the largest prostitution rings in Los Angeles County history, officials said Friday. District Attorney Steve Cooley and Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton announced the arrests following a 24-month investigation, dubbed ``Operation White Lace.'' The suspects pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of conspiracy, pimping pimping Academia See Pimp. Cf Pumping. , pandering and money laundering The process of taking the proceeds of criminal activity and making them appear legal. Laundering allows criminals to transform illegally obtained gain into seemingly legitimate funds. , following county grand jury indictments on Oct. 24. The ringleaders allegedly employed female Russian nationals and raked in $5 million to $8 million during 22 months of illegal activities in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. They allegedly advertised in the Yellow Pages, in newspapers and on the Internet, doing business as ``Exclusive Girls Escort'' and ``Russian Fortuna Web Tours,'' according to the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. . The LAPD's Organized Crime and Vice Division began the investigation in November 2000. ``It's one thing to advertise an escort, it's another thing to be actually sending out prostitutes,'' Deputy District Attorney Marcia Daniel said. Posing as a travel agency that provided limousine and escort services, the business allegedly functioned only as a prostitution agency, Cooley said. Police served search warrants at 18 locations, including some in Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Valley Village, Los Angeles, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Marina del Rey and Beverly Hills. Cooley's newly created Organized Crime Division presented the case to the grand jury. Those indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. include Rimma Fetissova, 42, and Elena Fetissova, 22, both from the Ukraine; Lev lev-, pref See levo-. Levas, 55, and his 38-year-old son, Mark Levas, both naturalized nat·u·ral·ize v. nat·u·ral·ized, nat·u·ral·iz·ing, nat·u·ral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To grant full citizenship to (one of foreign birth). 2. To adopt (something foreign) into general use. U.S. citizens from Latvia; Elena Piyanzina, 24, from Magnitagorsk, Russia; and Iryna Kovalenko, 37, from the Ukraine. The co-defendants allegedly helped Rimma Fetissova in the daily operations of the business as either dispatchers or drivers who also provided security. |
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