He pleaded guilty on May 28 to second-degree conspiracy to facilitate human trafficking. Felix Rios-Martinez , 48, of Lakewood, was sentenced to five years in state prison. Raul Romero-Castillo , 31, of Lakewood, was sentenced to five years in state prison. He pleaded guilty on May 28 to third-degree promoting prostitution. At the time the defendants were arrested in July , he was operating a single brothel at Brook Road in Lakewood.
The joint investigation revealed that Romero-Flores and other brothel owners in New Jersey, New York and additional surrounding states worked together as a loose network to bring women into the U. Many women were tricked into believing they were going to the U. In other cases, they were coerced into going to the U. We are proud to stand next to our law enforcement partners with the State of New Jersey to announce a great success against this despicable crime.
Multiple victims were rescued in this investigation. The four male associates assisted Romero-Flores by watching the brothels, driving women and clients to and from the brothels, and carrying out other tasks. All of the defendants are Mexican nationals who were in the U. They have been held in jail in lieu of bail since their arrests, and all also are the subject of federal detainers. The women, in many instances, were pressured to repay those who paid for them to be smuggled into the U.
Romero-Flores ordered the women who worked for him to meet quotas. It is believed that several dozen women worked in the brothels run by Romero-Flores over the course of the investigation. Romero-Flores wired money derived from his brothels to Mexico, where he owns properties. The women returned at the end of the week to other residences, usually in the Queens, N.
Romero-Flores routinely drove to Queens, N. Morales of U. Homeland Security Investigations were the lead investigators. Lisa Shea, Sgt. Noelle Holl, Sgt. News Index Page I top. For Immediate Release:. For Further Information:. Hoffman announced that a Lakewood man and four male associates were sentenced today to state prison for operating brothels in Lakewood that were part of a network of brothels in New Jersey, New York and other states that trafficked women from Mexico to the United States to work as prostitutes.
