A school teacher and veteran police officer repeatedly named “Cop of the Month” moonlighted as pimps in a Long Island prostitution ring that ran two brothels, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The duo — Steven Arey, 53, and George Trimigliozzi, 55 — worked as managers at a Holbrook brothel dubbed the American Girls Spa, collecting so-called “house fees” from sex workers, hiring prostitutes and posting ads to entice johns, according to an indictment unveiled in Suffolk County court.
Arey, a phys ed teacher, worked in Islip for 26 years, while Trimigliozzi served as a Suffolk County Police Department cop for 18 years, officials said.
Trimigliozzi once abandoned his police post in 2021 and jetted off at near-90 mph speeds to intervene at the Holbrook brothel when a customer had been robbed, prosecutors said.
“It is a sad day in law enforcement when a public servant is arrested,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney in a statement.
“The allegations in this indictment describe a long-term pattern of organized criminal activity and a shocking betrayal of public trust.”
A nearly five-year investigation found Arey and Trimigliozzi worked for the prostitution ring, which was run by Frank Saggio, 60, who allegedly had sex workers who couldn’t read or speak English sign “leases” requiring them to pay up to $12,000 at his various brothels, prosecutors said.
All of the suspects appeared Tuesday along with Saggio’s girlfriend, Dana Ciardullo, 32, in a Suffolk County courthouse to be arraigned on a slew of prostitution-related charges.
Prosecutors said Saggio ran several brothel suites in the American Girls Spa along the Sunrise Highway, as well as inside a location called the Tunnel of Love in West Babylon, which was managed by Ciadullo.
Saggio faces two counts of sex trafficking based on the accusations that he required sex workers pay him a minimum amount of money each month, prosecutors said.
Arey and Trimigliozzi pleaded not guilty to 28 and 17 counts, respectively, leveled against them in the indictment, Newsday first reported.
Trimigliozzi had been named “cop of the month” six times, his lawyer said in court, according to Newsday.