At the same time, though, local police believe their multiple busts are leading
them further up the managerial ladder, and ultimately closer to what they
believe may be a centralized organization responsible for securing the women,
setting up the brothels and hiring managers and even armed security guards.
Metro Vice Squad Detective Joe Ladnier oversaw the weekend arrest of two
managers and two prostitutes working out of a small apartment near the
intersection of Old Hickory Boulevard and Nolensville Pike in Antioch.
Arrested and charged with prostitution were a 41-year-old and a 38-year-old
female, both from the Dominican Republic, police said.
Police also arrested two managers, Oscar Rolando Castillo-Gonzalez, 28, and
Juan Antonio Ruiz, 36, both of who listed the brothel as their home address.
Castillo-Gonzalez and Ruiz are both charged with felony counts of promoting
prostitution.
Ladnier said the preliminary investigation has shown that while
Castillo-Gonzalez and Ruiz are low-level managers, they are both part of the
same prostitution ring, the higher-ups of which are still at large, and likely
running as many as 10 additional brothels - all catering solely to Hispanics -
around Nashville.
"This one is definitely related to some of the others," Ladnier said. "Even
some of the ones we've taken down this year."
In March Metro Police raided a similar apartment-style brothel - where Hispanic
customers were paying $30 for sex, and where the women were seeing as many as
10 or more clients a day - located at 124 Welworth St. in Madison.
The two prostitutes and two managers found working inside the Welworth Street
apartment were identified as illegal immigrants.
The four individuals arrested over the weekend were identified as illegal
immigrants upon their booking into the Metro-Davidson County Jail, which now
has the ability to run instant immigration checks through a federal database.
All four defendants are being detained on immigration holds.
Castillo-Gonzalez and Ruiz are scheduled to have a preliminary hearing today in
General Sessions Court.
Police are hoping the two plead guilty and agree to provide information about
any larger prostitution operation they may be a part of.
Stephen Richardson, the FBI's Supervisory Special Agent in Nashville, said his
office could not comment on an ongoing investigation.
