wais p (from the ranjahz) arrested for pimpin
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Hip-Hop Artist Arraigned on Charge of Promoting Prostitution - WSJ
A hip-hop artist known as Wais P the Pimp has been charged with promoting prostitution, part of an ongoing investigation into sex-trafficking operations in Midtown Manhattan, authorities said.
Wais P, whose real name is Malcolm Byer, was arraigned Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, a day after police arrested him on a single count of promoting prostitution, authorities said.
The 41-year-old Teaneck, N.J., resident was ordered held without bail. His attorney, Theodore Goldbergh, reserved the right to ask for bail at a later date.
“The indictment is very terse and does not have very much detail,” Mr. Goldbergh said. “I am just digesting everything and trying to get a handle on it.”
Mr. Goldbergh said his client has worked with some “fairly well-known recording artists,” but declined to elaborate.
Authorities said Mr. Byer is the fourth man arrested since December 2013 as part of a continuing, long-term investigation, dubbed “Bright Lights…Big City,” targeting prostitution in Midtown.
The four men allegedly prostituted at least a dozen women, a law-enforcement official said.
In 2013, investigators with the New York Police Department and the Manhattan district attorney’s office began screening prostitution cases in Midtown Community Court, looking for evidence that could lead to larger sex-trafficking networks, officials said.
Evidence obtained through court-authorized wiretaps and financial records revealed a loose network of pimps trafficking women in the area, authorities said, and led to the four indictments.
Investigators were able to identify trafficking victims among those already arrested on prostitution charges and gather “intelligence about the most important targets: those who operate sex trafficking rings,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
Along with Mr. Byer, investigators have charged Karmik Grant-Byas, 31, Jamal Mobley, 31, and Christopher Rose, 40, on charges that range from sex trafficking to promoting prostitution. All three are awaiting trial.
Robert Walters, an attorney for Mr. Rose, declined to comment. Attorneys for the two other men couldn’t be reached for comment.
Authorities began investigating Mr. Byer in April 2013, and he was indicted last week by a Manhattan grand jury, officials said.
Police obtained search warrants and searched his home in Teaneck, a storage locker in Englewood, N.J., and three cars registered in his name, a 2010 Porsche Panamera, a 2010 Chevy Camaro and a 2008 Mercedes-Benz S55, a second law-enforcement official said.
On Wednesday, undercover investigators followed Mr. Byer and a woman from his home to a scheduled court appearance for an unrelated DWI arrest in July 2014, the official said. While in court, Mr. Byer was placed under arrest without incident a little before 11 a.m., the official said.
A few minutes later, the Teaneck Police Department, with help from the NYPD, searched Mr. Byer’s home and storage locker, seizing electronic equipment including computers, cellphones, tablets and media storage devices along with financial records, journals, and other evidence, the official said.
A hip-hop artist known as Wais P the Pimp has been charged with promoting prostitution, part of an ongoing investigation into sex-trafficking operations in Midtown Manhattan, authorities said.
Wais P, whose real name is Malcolm Byer, was arraigned Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, a day after police arrested him on a single count of promoting prostitution, authorities said.
The 41-year-old Teaneck, N.J., resident was ordered held without bail. His attorney, Theodore Goldbergh, reserved the right to ask for bail at a later date.
“The indictment is very terse and does not have very much detail,” Mr. Goldbergh said. “I am just digesting everything and trying to get a handle on it.”
Mr. Goldbergh said his client has worked with some “fairly well-known recording artists,” but declined to elaborate.
Authorities said Mr. Byer is the fourth man arrested since December 2013 as part of a continuing, long-term investigation, dubbed “Bright Lights…Big City,” targeting prostitution in Midtown.
The four men allegedly prostituted at least a dozen women, a law-enforcement official said.
In 2013, investigators with the New York Police Department and the Manhattan district attorney’s office began screening prostitution cases in Midtown Community Court, looking for evidence that could lead to larger sex-trafficking networks, officials said.
Evidence obtained through court-authorized wiretaps and financial records revealed a loose network of pimps trafficking women in the area, authorities said, and led to the four indictments.
Investigators were able to identify trafficking victims among those already arrested on prostitution charges and gather “intelligence about the most important targets: those who operate sex trafficking rings,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
Along with Mr. Byer, investigators have charged Karmik Grant-Byas, 31, Jamal Mobley, 31, and Christopher Rose, 40, on charges that range from sex trafficking to promoting prostitution. All three are awaiting trial.
Robert Walters, an attorney for Mr. Rose, declined to comment. Attorneys for the two other men couldn’t be reached for comment.
Authorities began investigating Mr. Byer in April 2013, and he was indicted last week by a Manhattan grand jury, officials said.
Police obtained search warrants and searched his home in Teaneck, a storage locker in Englewood, N.J., and three cars registered in his name, a 2010 Porsche Panamera, a 2010 Chevy Camaro and a 2008 Mercedes-Benz S55, a second law-enforcement official said.
On Wednesday, undercover investigators followed Mr. Byer and a woman from his home to a scheduled court appearance for an unrelated DWI arrest in July 2014, the official said. While in court, Mr. Byer was placed under arrest without incident a little before 11 a.m., the official said.
A few minutes later, the Teaneck Police Department, with help from the NYPD, searched Mr. Byer’s home and storage locker, seizing electronic equipment including computers, cellphones, tablets and media storage devices along with financial records, journals, and other evidence, the official said.