Author Topic: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges  (Read 151845 times)

Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #15 on: September 14, 2011, 05:59:45 am »
i'm a white liberal, and i don't embrace it. my family and most of my
friends are white liberals, and i'm certain they don't embrace this either.

it would be more fair to say there is no limit to the bogus or trivial issues
that greedy little hands will embrace. where there's a good chunk of money
to be made, greedy little hands will embrace pretty much anything.
press the little black on silver arrow Music, 1) Bob Pietkivitch Buddha Feet http://www.4shared.com/file/114179563/3697e436/BuddhaFeet.html

Offline nemesis

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Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #16 on: September 14, 2011, 07:48:41 am »
The tantra community just busted him too!
Tantric teacher calls out Goddess Temple founder

http://www.kpho.com/story/15446582/tantric-teacher-calls-out-goddess-temple-founder


I checked out this woman's website and she runs various women's spirchul "tantra" retreats that don't look much different to the retreats and intensives run by traffickers.

Just for example she claims to have undertaken and to be able to teach White Tigress training. 

A number of abusive pseudo-tantric / pseudo-Taoist cults train women in White Tigress training and I will leave a reviewer on Amazon to tell you how it is.

This is a review of the book "The Sexual Teachings of the White Tigress: Secrets of the Female Taoist Masters"

Quote
"Inspiring, positive and daring. This book gives insight in a not-so-well-known path for women, to Enlightenment and Immortality.
Based on a healthy diet, excercise, and spiritual practices, a woman can restore her vitality. Complimented with sexual techniques, she can reach Enlightenment and Immortality.

For every woman who likes the idea of taking good care of her own body, this book will give you guidelines on how to do so. It's yoga and massage schedule is a true gem.

The book's view on sex and Enlightenment is completely different to intercourse-based Tantra and mainstream taoistic lovemaking. Hsi Lai advocates women to refrain from those and choose an alternative sexual path;

A White Tigress will only engage in intercourse if she works together with a male spiritual practitioner (a Jade Dragon). Her most common habits are oral sex with multiple partners, her Green Dragons.

This book states that for men immortality can be achieved by, increasing their "yin" through meditation and through stealing "yin" by penetration with women. While for a woman, not intercourse but performing and receiving oral sex is her way to more yang. Subsequently, a women is warned that she will loose her vitality if she involves in "ordinary" penetration, and a man will loose his if he "wastes" sperm by coming outside a vagina.

Between all the questionable things in this book, I found this vampire like view the most daring. Men and women preying on eachothers "qi". What kind of Enlightenment could come from that?"


So, to conclude, regarding this woman who claims to be the real deal, and says that she does not advocate the cheap sexualisation of tantra, promotes a model of sexual training that advocates women to fellate multiple men without barrier protection.  OKaaaay.  I think the lady doth complain too much.

I despair about the state of journalism that so many hacks just take the word of any old pseudo-tantric who pops out of the woodwork as something worth reporting without checking her credentials first.   The situation is not unlike that of the James Arthur Ray sweatlodge deaths where TV reporters criticised Ray's amateurism and invited yet another fraud to  show how a real sweatlodge was done. 


Offline nemesis

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Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #17 on: September 14, 2011, 08:40:01 am »
Ah, I stand corrected on the topic of exploiting Christianity:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2011-02-17/news/feature/2/
Quote
There are two floors and eight rooms called "transformation chambers," each decorated in a different theme, including the "Judeo-Christian room" (all white with paintings of Jesus), the "Egyptian room" (black and gold), and a blue "water chamber" featuring a big bathtub. Every room includes a massage table (which they call an "altar of light"), as well as a bed (called the "grand altar").

Though, "Judeo-Christian" with pictures of Jesus is pretty vague. Then again, their whole pseudo-religious front is purposely vague. Wonder what the saner Christians think of butt massage with Jesus.

Trafficking networks are not fussy about what type of spiritual beliefs they adopt in order to camouflage their nefarious activities.

A former member of the pseudo-tantric cult / criminal THB network MISA who managed to infiltrate their latest "yoga convention" has reported back that MISA is launching an evangelical Christian wing of its trafficking network.

In fact MISA in its various territories internationally represents itself as a Christian organisation and even campaigns against "Satanism".  On Halloween they dress up as angels, complete with long white robes and wings, and go onto the streets to offer people free hugs and thus thwart demonic powers.  They also like to hang about outside hospices and hospitals, dressed in their angelic garb, again offering free hugs.  In the latter locations they can help seriously ill people to understand that "ayervedic" and herbal remedies are better than conventional medicine and that leaving worldly goods to your relatives is futile when you can leave them to a spiritual guru. Anyway, I digress.....

There is a long history of Christian missionaries either facilitating genocide and sexual abuse amongst tribal people by others or even committing it themselves. 

The excellent documentary, which a dear friend showed me recently, Prisoners of a White God viewable here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c5Xa5EOfuk

demonstrates how paedophiles and people traffickers started Christian orphanages and schools in Thailand and stole children from their families, put them in orphanages, ostensibly to teach them Thai language and to help them find Jesus.  In the schools and orphanages the children were taught that their tribal identities and cultures were primitive and ignorant.  The children were forbidden to speak in their own language and were trafficked, used as a slave labour force and sexually abused, all by Christian missionaries.

In such cases it does not really matter whether the traffickers and abusers consider themselves to be real Christians.  Children are trafficked and abused and that is the important issue, religion is just a distraction.

In this case of the Phoenix and Sedona Temples it does not matter to me whether people consider themselves to be authentic tantric educators or sex workers.

It seems to me that there is very likely to be a significant differences between people arrested in the brothel raids.  Some may be predatory, in receipt of significant revenue streams and be knowledgeable about criminal issues unknown to others, some may simply be sex workers keen to work safely and learn diverse skills, some may be people who have been coerced or tricked by a cult (often believing that they are burning bad karma or personifying a goddess by doing sex work), some may give all or most of their earnings to a pimp / guru some may keep all of their earnings after paying the "house".

I feel upset and disturbed by the "perp walk" as most of the people shown are probably just sex workers trying to put food on the table and there is a real possibility that some may have been trafficked and coerced.  Pseudo-tantric cults, by their nature specialise in pimping out women who have no idea they have been trafficked and who believe that they are enlightened or saving the planet by doing sex work. 

I just think that this is a complex situation and that putting everyone in the brothel together for a perp walk demonstrated either a lack of understanding of that complexity (and of the THB issues) or a lack or concern for the rights of THB victims on the part of law enforcement. 

Some of the "tantric" retreats and intensive training courses offered at the Sedona Temple and by the ISTA are fronts for recruitment into enslavement. 

I do not know the personal or professional histories of the sex workers arrested at the Phoenix Temple but I think it is entirely possible that one or more of them have been trafficked.

I wonder how much the LEOs investigating this really know about the trafficking links? I suspect that they are not fully aware or they may have treated potential victims with more care and respect and not subjected them to the perp walk.

This is the thing that really concerns me about the arrests and charges so far and also the fact that it was local LE and not the FBI (at least to my knowledge) that planned and executed the raid.

The cops would have my support more fully had they not subjected possible THB victims to a perp walk and had this been a bigger operation. 

As I said earlier I do not feel it is my place to condemn a group of adults who, without coercion or guile or force decide to work as sex workers in a brothel.

I feel concerned that the cops have gone for the angle that this was a church disguised as a brothel but seem blithely unaware (as shown by the perp walk) of the THB angle. 
« Last Edit: February 13, 2014, 01:13:33 am by Kathryn »

Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #18 on: September 14, 2011, 04:52:03 pm »
Thinking about all this Nemesis.. and thinking that if you have clear documentation
that shows a link between them and human trafficking, then maybe you should put
it together and mail it to the officers on the case. Give them a reason to dig deeper..
press the little black on silver arrow Music, 1) Bob Pietkivitch Buddha Feet http://www.4shared.com/file/114179563/3697e436/BuddhaFeet.html

Offline nemesis

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Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #19 on: September 14, 2011, 07:15:11 pm »
If they have been investigating this for 6 months I can't believe that they will not have noticed the workshops by Master Chekes and Master Perun.

How could they not have noticed this post on one of Dez Nichols' blogs?

Quote
AUG 30, 2010
World Tour - ep.9 - Romania


Costinesti Romania, the New Jersey of Europe....

Baba Dez Nichols - "We visited the Summer Camp for the MISA School. It is a very large school with over 10,000 members around the world. There is a lot of politics and controversy surrounding this and other large schools..... it just happens with size. There are always "bad apples" in every group as well as those that are in fear and competition or have been hurt by ex-lovers that are ex members of the school.

What I know is that the individuals that I have personally met with MISA, are good people that are helping themselves and others to be free and healthy. There are allegations of wrong doings including human trafficking. It is up to those that are making the accusations to prove them.

Although I am not a part of MISA and ISTA is not affiliated with MISA, I will speak to ANY group that wants to know about the Temple Arts and living in Love. ISTA also invites individuals to speak about the Temple Arts at their Conferences worldwide. ISTA does not condone or support any criminal activities or behavior. To my knowledge, no one i have met at MISA has been convicted of anything...
so, to anyone that is anti-MISA, please get some proof and substance behind your allegations.... then i will stand with you to hold anyone accountable for wrong doing."

source:
http://myjtl.blogspot.com/2010_08_30_archive.html

The fact is that lots of people warned him to not have anything to do with MISA and sent him info about the THB that he refused to look at.

The fact is that he went to Romania with his son Ryan.  He saw how MISA works.  He will have seen the notorious Miss Shakti contest.  He saw that all the MISA promotional material was semi-pornographic or even just porn.  His astonishing conclusion was that the pornographic material did not reflect the MISA people he knew and that there must have been a mix up with their graphic designer.

Incredible.

Even if there have not yet been any convictions, the MISA school is at the centre of a massive human trafficking trial in Romania.  It is a huge trial with over 40 defendants.   You would have imagined that, with so many people contacting him to warn him, he would have taken a few minutes to check out some of the exmisa websites and find out what is actually going on.  

He claims that ISTA is not affiliated with MISA and yet, even after all the warnings and all the material available online, easy to find, Mr Nichols organised and hosted an ISTA event in the Netherlands where several MISA VIPs, including the notorious pimp and trafficker Mihai Stoian were given time, space and an audience to promote their odious organisation.  

So Dez Nichols attends a huge, depraved, event in Romania as a special guest of MISA (he even gets to meet the great guru / pimp Bivolaru himself), he has numerous MISA VIPS on his facebook friends list and he organises events where MISA VIPs promote their thing.

All of this does not prove that Nichols is actively involved in trafficking but his associations with such a serious criminal network are cause for extreme concern and hopefully this has been investigated, at least to some degree.

I find it hard to believe that the LEOs would have failed to notice all of this if they were investigating the brothels for 6 months.
« Last Edit: September 14, 2011, 07:18:03 pm by nemesis »

Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #20 on: September 14, 2011, 07:32:36 pm »
They may not be aware of the links if they are local cops they may not know to look
for MISA or whatever is there. Sometimes, totally focused on one aspect they may miss
what is obvious to those who know what is what.. ? 

Anyway, just thought if they haven't notices, pointing it out to them may be useful. :)
press the little black on silver arrow Music, 1) Bob Pietkivitch Buddha Feet http://www.4shared.com/file/114179563/3697e436/BuddhaFeet.html

Offline nemesis

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Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #21 on: September 14, 2011, 09:15:41 pm »
Recent video interviews with former MISA "shaktis". 

These are important videos for LEOs to see. They are in Romanian language with subtitles.

http://www.trilulilu.ro/secte/00e3532661f3ce

http://www.trilulilu.ro/secte/e98031810cc36e


Offline SouthwestSkeptic

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Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #22 on: September 15, 2011, 03:53:50 am »
I had no idea there was such a dark underside to the tantric community.  All the "goddesses" interviewed on the local news were pretty defiant.  They all seemed to be very much in control of the interviews and keen business women.  What struck me lately, is that all the supporters who claim not to be associated with the temple have that same glassy-eyed look. I've been watching a lot of interviews and looking closely at the eyes of the people sticking up for the temple and their eyes all have that indoctrinated look. 

There is growing strong support for this group in the Phoenix progressive community.  It looks like a sure thing for jury nullification if it ever goes to trial in Phoenix.  Supporters of the group are doing everything they can to convince the public that this is an religious freedom issue and the temple has Native American support.  I've heard dozens of nons in Tucson talking about the "Native Americans" who's rights are being taken away by Arpaio.  The temple has completely re-framed the issue to suit their purposes.

This is Mooney’s response to a bunch of people who called him out 2 years ago on not being able to prove he’s NDN on Desert News.

(It’s some other Rose commenting, not me)

“A federal ID number for a lot of folks is simply a prison number. Federal authorities informed me of my authentic American Native blood through DNA testing.

A race of people do not own nor does the U.S. government have the ability under the constitution to legally set the ideology of any church, let alone the First Nations Spirituality religion known as the Native American Church.

I personally, nor does my friend and Co-Founder of Oklevueha Native American Church Richard 'He Who Has the Foundation' Swallow a Federally Recognized Lakota Sioux man, have a problem with other bona fide Native American Churches who choose to close their doors to races.

The Great Spirit and our Seminole and Lakota Sioux Elders have told us in no uncertain terms we are to take these ceremonies to all people.

Oklevueha NAC simple wants to worship our beliefs in the manner the Great Spirit directs us to do and with that we let other NAC do what prompts them to do.”

http://www.deseretnews.com/user/comments/700246682/Native-American-churchs-items-are-returned.html

No surprises here.
Sounds like the standard twinkie defense to me.
It’s like there’s a handbook they all read on how to answer charges of wannabeism.


Also, there’s this online about a James W Mooney receiving a court-martial for weed & LSD. (Sounds like his work)

http://www.armfor.uscourts.gov/newcaaf/opinions/1997Term/97-0703.htm

I wonder if this is the same guy? He’s around 67 now, so he’d have been kind of old to be in the air force in ’97 unless he was a career officer.



Rose
I'm not a bird, I'm not a plane, I'm super NDN skeptic -
Debunking non-NDN bunk, one nut at a time!

Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #23 on: September 15, 2011, 05:48:27 am »
It's appalling. Do you know the name of the progressive group? It doesn't make sense,
unless people in Phoenix are thinking this group was only about how they wish to practice
their beliefs as adults, rather than knowing the trafficking angle and the misappropriation
of NA ways.
press the little black on silver arrow Music, 1) Bob Pietkivitch Buddha Feet http://www.4shared.com/file/114179563/3697e436/BuddhaFeet.html

Offline nemesis

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Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #24 on: September 15, 2011, 08:13:50 am »
Maybe the progressive people in Phoenix should see these videos before they decide to support the Phoenix and Sedona brothels

MISA - The Dark Side of a Tantric Cult (Finnish documentary with English subtitles after the intro)
http://www.trilulilu.ro/bl00ser/fea89d3d0a6859

The video is from a Finnish perspective as Natha, the Scandinavian subsidiary of MISA, is recruiting victims from Finland, but it is important to remember that MISA recruits victims (male and female - they are involved in labour trafficking in factories, printing presses and construction sites) from all of the countries in which they operate, including the US.

Once you have seen that video then the next video by Dez Nichols is a must see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cln8PfaUzeg

It gets especially interesting 5 minutes in, so if you are pushed for time just start it 5 minutes in
The video is all about what happened when Dez Nichols and his son Ryan went to stay in Costinesti, Romania as VIP guests of Gregorian Bivolaru

at 10.06 into the video you can see a brief clip of Dez Nichols with 2 MISA agents who are highly active in the US

They are

Ileana Stefanescu
FB page here
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=524332339&ref=ts

and Ramona Onisor
FB page here
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001232531891

at 10.18 minutes in you see a clip of the beach in Costinesti that includes the abandoned, rusting ship that was the location for at least one MISA porn film

At the end of the video there is a clip of Nichols in conversation with one of the most senior members of MISA, the pimp Mihai Stoian

Other MISA VIPS who are facebook friends of Dez Nichols

Arthur Lederer
MISA VIP, former Israeli army officer, now takes care of PR for MISA.  Also appears in MISA promotional material as a poster boy for men doing Karma Yoga (unpaid labour).  In fact here's an example on the blog of MISA VIP the photographer Pierre Crie
http://pierrecrie.blogspot.com/2007/04/arthur.html
The text reads:
Quote
Arthur is always smiling... could be from his intense yoga practice... 8 hrs a day 365 days no matter what happens...
5 days / week he does 10 hrs of karma yoga...voluntary work mostly in construction building for the yoga school.
I admire his courage and dedication to spiritual evolution... he told me stories from his time as an israeli officer on the egyptian and palestinian borders but you would have to meet him to hear them.....
  Like other Jewish MISA members, Arthur is also wheeled out to dismiss the charges of anti-Semitism against MISA.  The scary thing is that in some ways the MISA PR machine is similar to that of the Nazis, inasmuch as they show photos that relate the idea of a Jewish man working away happily whereas in fact the reality is that the conditions on the "ashrams" are very varied.  Arthur is in the VIP section.  Conditions elsewhere are cramped, dangerous, unsanitary, cold, rat infested work camps.

another VIP on Nichol's FB friend list
Dhumavati Ananda
FB page here
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002367570158
A Romanian citizen very close to Gregorian Bivolaru, she resides mostly in Sweden but travels regularly to various Eastern European territories to recruit young woman and girls for exploitation in the sex industry via the "Shakti" groups and "Tantra for Women" groups.  Her real name is Georgiana Danet

Irina Childs
UK based MISA honey trap agent and recruiter

Joe Ira
US based MISA member who lists "pimping" among his FB "likes"

Mariah Nielsen
MISA agent, recruiter, sex worker.  Last time I looked was based in Denmark

Swami Mahalayananda  aka Swami Mahalayananda Saraswati aka Bogdan Kadziola (the latter I think is his real name)
Senior MISA VIP active in Finland and Portugal

There are a lot of other people who are mutual facebook friends of Dez Nichols and the MISA people.  I only picked the few that I know best to list here. 
« Last Edit: September 15, 2011, 09:17:08 am by nemesis »

Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #25 on: September 15, 2011, 04:06:32 pm »
Right, I'm thinking the progressive groups are jumping on the bandwagon
without really knowing what's up here.. if it were truly a religious belief not
a misappropriation, and were truly just adults engaging in sex, paid for or
not, I too wouldn't have a problem with it. But it's NOT. 

I think the progressive groups have no clue.

I don't get much news here since I only get local channels, and the search I did
on the net didn't really bring back much in results.. so I'm wondering, is/are there
any NA's protesting this Mooney guy and him calling this a NAC? 
press the little black on silver arrow Music, 1) Bob Pietkivitch Buddha Feet http://www.4shared.com/file/114179563/3697e436/BuddhaFeet.html

Offline Defend the Sacred

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Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #26 on: September 15, 2011, 04:27:19 pm »
Supporters of the group are doing everything they can to convince the public that this is an religious freedom issue and the temple has Native American support.  I've heard dozens of nons in Tucson talking about the "Native Americans" who's rights are being taken away by Arpaio.  The temple has completely re-framed the issue to suit their purposes.

This is really dreadful and upsetting.

I had no idea there was such a dark underside to the tantric community.

Well, again, these are people doing a Newage bastardization of East Indian Tantra. They really have no more to do with traditional, real temples in India than Harley Reagan has to do with the Cherokee.

And I am sickened at all the white liberals and so-called progressives who are supporting this racism and human trafficking. They have bought so many lies I don't even know where to start when trying to talk to them. They have kneejerk responses of telling us we're "anti-sex" when some of us tell them we're opposed to people being prostituted, and they scream "religious persecution" when we point out they're defending racist, cultural appropriators. The sad thing is so many people (and yes, the overwhelming majority of them are white liberals) are so unclear on the issues that they don't even realize what they are defending.

Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #27 on: September 15, 2011, 05:11:59 pm »
I have been trying to find the names of the progressive groups
supporting this. The info I pull up on the web doesn't even cover
the human trafficking or appropriation issues, all that comes up
is the issue of it being what people believe in their religion and
that it's consenting adults. I haven't seen any thing where the
real issues are being presented. Even the police don't bring up
the trafficking issues.

It's hard to condemn people who have no clue..
I don't support ignorance, but there seems to be a lot of it here
due to a lack of education on the matters here.

Has anyone from the East India Trantra groups stepped in to
denounce this as part of their teachings? Has any one stepped in
to denounce the NAC angle?

I also like to think that liberals and progressives are of every color,
but perhaps it is only white people who believe the issue is of
religious freedom?
« Last Edit: September 15, 2011, 05:17:20 pm by critter - a white non-ndn person »
press the little black on silver arrow Music, 1) Bob Pietkivitch Buddha Feet http://www.4shared.com/file/114179563/3697e436/BuddhaFeet.html

Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #28 on: September 15, 2011, 08:52:56 pm »
possibility that the police are aware of the links to trafficking but
the evidence is too small to act, and perhaps trying to get one of
the victims to confirm it. just a thought..



press the little black on silver arrow Music, 1) Bob Pietkivitch Buddha Feet http://www.4shared.com/file/114179563/3697e436/BuddhaFeet.html

Offline nemesis

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Re: "Goddess" temples busted in prostitution sting - many arrests & charges
« Reply #29 on: September 16, 2011, 10:14:02 am »
hmmm

I feel very concerned about the alleged infiltration of some Arizona based LEOs by Mexican dug and human trafficking cartels, as detailed in this news story from May 2011.


Quote
3 in MCSO accused of cartel ties
Authorities: Officers helped smuggle drugs, immigrants
by JJ Hensley - May. 25, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Three Maricopa County sheriff's employees, including a deputy in the human-smuggling unit, were arrested Tuesday by authorities who say they were involved in a drug- and human-trafficking ring and used Sheriff's Office intelligence to guide smugglers through the Valley.

Deputy Alfredo Navarrette, 37, has worked with the Sheriff's Office for nearly a decade, serving in a special unit designed to target human smugglers moving through Maricopa County. But investigators believe Navarrette was himself involved in human smuggling. Investigators found two undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's home when he was arrested early Tuesday morning in a sweep that concluded a yearlong investigation.

"The fight against drugs, illegal immigration and human trafficking is important not only to me but the citizens of Arizona," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. "That a deputy sheriff would provide information and associate with these drug and human traffickers is despicable."

Investigators from a multijurisdiction drug task force also arrested two sheriff's detention officers, Sylvia Najera, 25, and Marcella Hernandez, 28. They are accused of laundering money and moving drugs for a Valley-based drug-trafficking organization with ties to Mexico.

Arpaio said Hernandez is eight months' pregnant with the child of another suspect arrested Tuesday, Francisco "Lorenzo" Arce-Torres, who is described in court records as a member of the Sinaloa drug cartel and the leader of the Phoenix-based drug-trafficking organization at the heart of the probe.

Court records indicate Hernandez had $20,000 cash on her when she and Najera were arrested Tuesday morning on their way to work at the Lower Buckeye Jail.

12 suspects held
The sheriff's employees were among 12 suspects arrested Tuesday during a series of early-morning raids at 16 locations throughout the Valley where investigators had targeted members of the organization.

The group mostly moved heroin, according to investigators, and officials suspect each of the arrested sheriff's employees played a crucial role in moving the drugs and hiding the illicit profits. Authorities say the ring moved about $56,000 worth of heroin a week through the Valley.

Arce-Torres, who authorities say was the ringleader, arranged for heroin to be brought into the Valley after his brothers produced the drug on the family's ranch in Mexico, according to Superior Court and Justice Court documents filed Tuesday.

Once the drugs arrived in Arizona, they were shipped to two houses in the West Valley, where the heroin was diluted to create more product, investigators said in the court documents.

Hernandez's brother, Duran Joseph Alcantar, who was also among those arrested, is suspected of operating one of the stash houses, and investigators believe Hernandez coordinated the pickup and delivery of heroin from the drug houses.

Investigators say they believe Navarrette helped the ring by fortifying Arce-Torres' home with surveillance cameras, registering drug-courier vehicles in his name and laundering money.

Navarrette and Najera, the other arrested detention officer, helped set up a shell corporation called West Utilities Group Inc., which was used earlier this month to launder nearly $50,000 in drug proceeds, according to court documents.

Najera's name appears on West Utilities Group's corporation filings in Arizona, along with that of a Phoenix construction company owner who was arrested on suspicion of laundering money for the organization.

Investigators believe that, in addition to laundering money and doing other chores for the ring, Navarrette himself was smuggling humans.

"Navarrette assists this (human smuggling) organization by operating a drophouse and on at least five occasions transported illegal aliens from Arizona to California for the organization," records state.

Yearlong inquiry
A tip about the ring came into the sheriff's special-investigations unit almost a year ago, and the investigation moved slowly at the outset, according to sheriff's officials.

Navarrette remained on patrol duty until he was moved to the sheriff's training facility a couple of months ago for a violation of office policy that was unrelated to his suspected role in the trafficking ring.

Sheriff's officials said the probe was unique and had to be handled delicately because of the serious criminal allegations against law-enforcement employees. That meant that transferring one of the suspects to another role within the office, or even pulling personnel files, could have been enough to tip off friends that something was afoot and risk spoiling the investigation.

Navarrette had the most opportunity to gather information and influence investigations because of his work on the streets. Even he could not be moved out of his role in the human-smuggling unit, however, until supervisors found a violation of office policy that gave them reason to move him without compromising the probe.

"There was not enough to take any action against him, either, until very recently," said Deputy Chief Brian Sands, who oversees the human-smuggling group.

Navarrette has been with the Sheriff's Office since 2001 and worked in a variety of roles, including patrol and court services, in addition to his role with the human-smuggling unit.

Rosters for the unit indicate that Navarrette was a member from the earliest days of the sheriff's controversial "crime-suppression operations," when deputies and posse members flood a region of the Valley looking for minor traffic violations and potential immigration offenses.

Arpaio said he believed Navarrette used information from those operations and his position in law enforcement to help coordinate the movement of contraband through the Valley.

"He repeatedly supplied details about the illegal-immigration crime-suppression operation to leaders of the drug-trafficking organization," Arpaio said. "This action placed numerous deputies, reserves and posse volunteers in harm's way while they were volunteering and conducting operations."

Arpaio could not say when Navarrette last worked on a crime-suppression operation with the human-smuggling unit.

Probe continues
The investigation went public when search warrants were served and a series of arrests were made Tuesday. But officials say the probe could last for months and target other suspects.

A few additional sheriff's employees were being interviewed Tuesday night, Arpaio said, to determine what they may know of the suspects' activities in the Sheriff's Office. "Doesn't mean they're guilty of anything," Arpaio added.

Investigators are also trying to determine the extent of the ties between the suspects and members of multinational drug-trafficking organizations operating in Arizona.

Navarrette was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on suspicion of 19 violations including conspiracy, money laundering and human smuggling. He was being held on a $1 million cash bond.

Hernandez, booked on suspicion of committing 11 violations, including conspiracy, drug crimes and money laundering, was placed under a $2 million cash bond at a Tuesday court appearance. The reasoning for the $1 million bond disparity was laid out in court documents for Hernandez, who just returned from a trip to San Luis, Mexico, with Arce-Torres, suspected of being the ringleader.

"Hernandez has said that she, Torres and co-conspirator Navarrette have talked about leaving the U.S. and living on one of Torres' ranches in Mexico," the documents state.

Najera was in custody Tuesday and faced money-laundering and other charges.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/05/25/20110525mcsoarrests0525.html

I am especially concerned with this because some of the people who attended Sedona Temple tantric workshops run by "Mater Perun" and "Master Chekes" (and at least one of whom is now connected to the Phoenix Temple), have been recruited by Perun and Cheles into an international criminal network of people and drug traffickers that is highly active in Mexico and inevitably will be working with Mexican criminal networks.  

Who to trust in such an appalling situation?

« Last Edit: September 16, 2011, 10:22:16 am by nemesis »