A U.S. postal carrier once honored as "Pimp of the Year" today admitted running a cross-country network that shuttled underage prostitutes between New York, Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
Matthew Thompkins, 37, of New York, faces between 10 and 24 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court in Trenton to charges of money laundering and the interstate transportation of minors for prostitution.
U.S.
District Judge Freda Wolfson scheduled his sentencing for March 2.
Thompkins, a postal employee in New York since 1994, was arrested last December after an extensive investigation by the FBI, New Jersey State Police and Atlantic City authorities.
Agents said that Thompkins, using the nickname "Knowledge," oversaw a sprawling and lucrative prostitution network that included girls as young as 13.
They seized three properties, including one in Galloway Township, Atlantic County, more than $700,000 in cash and a fleet of luxury cars.
The ring earned millions of dollars, investigators said, but Thompkins hid the proceeds in the names of his prostitutes or under the name of his upstart studio, Hoodlum Records. At one of the homes, agents found a trophy that Thompkins apparently won in a 2003 contest.
"International Pimp of the Year," it said.
Contributed by John P.
News RSS