63°
Birmania “Nancy” Rincon, 62, a Colombian national living in Teaneck, was among the ringleaders of a crew that forced dozens of women into prostitution, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
She was in the wind, however, when authorities seized 21 defendants during a series of early-morning raids at 19 homes and other locations in Bergen and Hudson counties exactly two weeks ago.
Rincon, who was originally was believed to be in Colombia at the time, tried re-entering the country at Newark Airport on Tuesday, Feb. 15, the prosecutor confirmed Wednesday. She was nabbed by members of his staff, Port Authority police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, Musella said.
She's remained held in the Bergen County Jail since then, charged with human trafficking, promoting prostitution, racketeering and accomplice liability, among other offenses.
Rincon, two other Teaneck women and two men from Lodi ran the large-scale international human-trafficking ring forcing more than 50 women into prostitution, the prosecutor said.
A massive investigation found that Rincon and her confederates brought the victims from Mexico “to be victimized and preyed upon by men” here, Musella said at the time.
Over the past five or so years, the ringleaders fielded calls “for up to 12 or more hours a day from men soliciting women for sex,” the prosecutor said.
Several drivers were paid to shuttle the victims back and forth to motels and other locations throughout Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Passaic counties, as well as in Rockland County and in Queens, he said.
Each victim was forced to work 12 or more hours a day, servicing anywhere from 20 to 40 men per shift, Musella said.
On average, they charged $35 to $40 for sessions of 10 to 15 minutes, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal profits each month, he said.
Rincon and her associates – including Luz “Amy” Rincon, 59, and Catherine Echevaria, 28, both of Teaneck, and Fernando Hernandez, 28, and Bernardino Hernandez-Palacios, 39, both of Lodi – broke down the cash and deposited it into various bank accounts, the prosecutor said.
Although the organization split the proceeds 50/50 with the victims, the money was “often used to satisfy a trafficking debt and/or wired to sex traffickers in the Puebla and Tenancingo regions of Mexico,” Musella said.
As a result, he said, much of the money went to paying mortgages and maintenance expenses on various properties that the Rincons own in both New Jersey and Florida.
Dubbed “Operation Hope in Darkness,” the law enforcement initiative centered on a partnership among Musella’s office, victim assistance specialists with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Covenant House.
Together, they are “undertaking efforts to connect the victims with all available services to help them obtain a life free from sexual servitude and abuse,” the prosecutor said.
Musella’s staff has been solidifying cases against Birmania Rincon and the 21 people who were arrested as dawn broke on Feb. 2.
Early that morning, more than 100 detectives from his office and elsewhere fanned out with 19 search warrants in two counties.
Targeted locations included Lodi, Teaneck, Englewood, Elmwood Park and Bergenfield.
Facing the heaviest charges, including racketeering, human trafficking, money laundering and promoting organized street crime and prostitution are Birmania and Luz Rincon, Hernandez and Hernandez-Palacios.
Charges against the rest include promoting prostitution and money laundering, among other offenses. CONTINUED HERE….
https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/hackensack/news/authorities-smash-international-sex-trafficking-ring-in-nj-ny-rescue-dozens-of-victims/802784/
Click here to follow Daily Voice Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights and receive free news updates.
