The head of the high-class, high-priced prostitution ring which had among its clients New York’s former Governor pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court Thursday for running the ring and laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit proceeds.
Mark Brener entered a guilty plea to conspiracy charges linked to his participation in the Emperors Club VIP. The 62-year-old man of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, will most likely serve between two and two-and-a-half years behind bars. If he had lost after the trial, Brener would have faced 5 years in prison, his attorney Murray Richman said.
Brener was the promoter and the manager of Emperors Club VIP, a prostitution ring which charged as much as $5,500 an hour for a rendezvous and provided services in New York; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; London and Paris.
When police arrested Brener at his apartment, they found more than $1 million in cash inside the home.
The Poland-native U.S. citizen had been negotiating with prosecutors since March when he was placed under arrest. As part of his plea bargain Brener won’t have to collaborate with the continuing FBI investigation.
The other two defendants in the prostitution case are Tanya Hollander, 36, of Rhinebeck, N.Y. and Cecil Suwal, 23, who lives with Brener. Hollander, a nutritionist, apparently worked part-time for the ring, while Suwal ran the day-to-day operations, prosecutors said, according to the New York Times.
Investigators said the Emperors Club VIP made at least $1 million, with a three-diamond prostitute priced at $1,000 per hour, a seven-diamond prostitute priced at about $3,000 and the highest paid $5,500 an hour, authorities said.
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