Patriots owner Robert Kraft charged with solicitation of prostitution

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/26055197/patriots-owner-robert-kraft-charged-solicitation-prostitution


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is being charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution after he was twice videotaped paying for a sex act at an illicit massage parlor, police in Florida said Friday.

Jupiter police told reporters that the 77-year-old Kraft hasn't been arrested. A warrant will be issued and his attorneys will be notified. Kraft has denied wrongdoing.

Jupiter police said details about the charges against Kraft will not be released until next week.

The charge comes amid a widespread crackdown on sex trafficking in the area surrounding Palm Beach County. About 200 arrest warrants have been issued in recent days and more are expected. Police said they secretly planted undercover cameras in targeted massage parlors and videotaped the interactions between men and the female employees.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Kraft said they "categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further."

The Patriots won the Super Bowl earlier this month in Atlanta, their sixth NFL title in the past 18 seasons.

Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr said he was shocked to learn Kraft, who is worth $6 billion, was paying for sex inside a strip-mall massage parlor, the Orchids of Asia Day Spa.

"We are as equally stunned as everyone else," Kerr said.

The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, which would prosecute the case, had no comment.

Kraft lives in Massachusetts and has a home in the Palm Beach area. He is a frequent guest of President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club. Though a Democrat, Kraft is friendly with Trump.

Kraft's wife, Myra Hiatt, died in 2011. He has been dating 39-year-old actress Ricki Noel Lander since 2012.

The NFL did not immediately respond to a message Friday seeking comment.

Owners are subject to the NFL's personal conduct policy, and owners and league employees are held to an even higher standard than players.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was suspended for six games in 2014 after he was arrested on drug charges. He was also fined $500,000.

Most people charged for the first time with soliciting a prostitute in Florida are allowed to enter a diversion program, said attorney David Weinstein, a former prosecutor. Kraft would have to perform 100 hours of community service and pay to attend an educational program about the negative effects of prostitution and human trafficking.

Kraft, who made his initial fortune through a packaging company, was a Patriots season-ticket holder when he purchased the team's previous stadium in 1988, then used his leverage to buy the team for $172 million in 1994 to keep if from moving to St. Louis.

He hired Bill Belichick to be his coach in 2000, and the team subsequently drafted quarterback Tom Brady, launching their nearly two decades of success.

Under Kraft, the Patriots have been the most successful team in pro sports, having made it to 10 Super Bowls, winning six, including this year against the Los Angeles Rams.

But there also have been issues involving team actions under Belichick.

In 2007, the Patriots were caught filming signals from New York Jets coaches; New England was suspected of doing so against other teams as well, and that was confirmed later on. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell fined the Patriots $250,000 and stripped them of their 2008 first-round draft pick. Belichick was fined $500,000, the most an NFL coach ever was fined.

In the 2014 AFC championship game, the team -- specifically Brady -- was accused by the Colts of doctoring footballs.

The NFL concluded that Patriots employees were involved in deflating the footballs and Brady was "at least generally aware" it was being done. After lengthy legal battles, Brady served a four-game suspension at the beginning of the 2016 season and the Patriots were fined $1 million -- the heftiest for a team in league history. New England was stripped of a first-round and a fourth-round draft choice.

Neither Kraft nor Belichick was implicated after the investigation.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.





I know this is a Celtics board, but I suspect many of us are Patriots fans as well. What were you thinking Bob? With your wealth, if you are going to indulge in this sort of thing, couldn't you figure out something more discreet than a happy ending massage parlor? With all the media attention human trafficking has garnered recently, this is not a good look.

Prostitution, should be legalized.

dboss wrote:Prostitution, should be legalized.

I agree, two consenting adults should be allowed to have this sort of interaction. However, some of these places trick young woman and girls from foreign countries into coming here under false pretenses. With no money, possibly illegal immigration status, and a poor understanding of the language and culture, they are essentially at the mercy of these criminals and are forced into this line of work. Legalizing prostitution may make it economically nonviable for these criminals to operate this way, so yeah, I agree.

dbrown4 wrote:Now he is going to have to sell the team like Panthers owner and Clippers owner had to do in this politically correct world.  Wish I had the dough!  

db

No! This isn't that serious is it???

dbrown4 wrote:Can't drop the n-bomb, can't fraternize with the help, can't solicit for sex.  I'm not seeing much of a difference really, do you?  Public opinion will bring him down.  Isn't he married?  If so, wifey's going to want half of the top.

db

Man, I hope this doesn't come to that... His wife died a few years ago. He has a 39 yr old actress girlfriend now.

This is an embarrassing incident for Mr. Kraft.  

He could get fined by the NFL but that is no big deal.  What it does is impeach his character.

Personally I have no problem with a 77 year old guy that is still interested in sex.  Good for him.  He is not marry so he is free to do what he wants.  His girlfriend is not Mrs. Kraft.

I suppose the sleaziness of going to a strip mall massage parlor enhanced his experience.  Afterall, a guy with $6 billion in his piggy bank could more than afford the best of the best.

The new crack against the Patriots will probably say something like ' NE whores their way to another Superbowl'

Unregulated prostitution leads to the exploitation of sex workers.

dboss wrote:This is an embarrassing incident for Mr. Kraft.  

He could get fined by the NFL but that is no big deal.  What it does is impeach his character.

Personally I have no problem with a 77 year old guy that is still interested in sex.  Good for him.  He is not marry so he is free to do what he wants.  His girlfriend is not Mrs. Kraft.

I suppose the sleaziness of going to a strip mall massage pallor enhanced his experience.  Afterall, a guy with $6 billion in his piggy bank could more than afford the best of the best.

The new crack against the Patriots will probably say something like ' NE whores their way to another Superbowl'

Unregulated prostitution leads to the exploitation of sex workers.

+1

dboss wrote:Unregulated prostitution leads to the exploitation of sex workers.

100%. Only a problem in this warped society we live in here in USA.

Judge not lest ye be judged by others.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/report-robert-kraft-not-biggest-182731596.html



Report: Robert Kraft not "biggest name" involved in prostitution ring?




Darren Hartwell,NBC Sports Boston 6 hours ago



Robert Kraft's alleged involvement in a prostitution ring may be the tip of the iceberg.

The New England Patriots owner, who was charged Friday by Jupiter, Fla., police on two counts of a soliciting a prostitute, may not be the most high-profile person tied to the story, ESPN's Adam Schefter said Friday on "SportsCenter."

"I'm also told that Robert Kraft is not the biggest name involved down there in South Florida," Schefter said.

It's unclear who that name would be. WPTV's Merris Badcock tweeted a list of the 24 others charged along with Kraft as a result of a months-long investigation, and at first glance, none stand out more than the prominent Patriots owner.


Merris Badcock

@MerrisBadcock
List of those involved in sex trafficking operation out of Jupiter. http://bit.ly/2T5XKLl  @WPTV @WPTVContact5

439
8:45 AM - Feb 22, 2019 · Jupiter, FL


We may hear plenty more about this case, however. Jupiter police revealed there is video evidence of Kraft not only entering a Florida day spa but actually receiving sexual services, and in an interview on WEEI's "Dale & Keefe," TMZ reporter Evan Rosenblum suggested that video could be made public.

Zack Cox

@ZackCoxNESN
On @DaleKeefeWEEI, @EvanTMZ said there’s close to a “100 percent certainty” that incriminating video of Robert Kraft will become public at some point.

22
9:58 AM - Feb 22, 2019


A spokesperson for Kraft released a statement "categorically" denying he committed any illegal activity.



bob
MY NOTE:  What blows my mind is that the DOB of the last guy on the list is 3/3/1934.  What the Hell did a man who is a week away from his 86th birthday get arrested for?



.

A year from now it will be forgotten.

Not saying that's right, but count on it.

Kraft will get a slap on the wrist, tops.

Worst case; a couple more slightly deflated balls. Been there before. No big deal. Last time it resulted in a Patriots win anyway.

He claims he was just checking out a tight end.

He should go to Amsterdam or Costa Rica, it’s legal over there and he can afford it.

This is so stupid. A 76 year old who is wandering around life trying to get some shallow enjoyment after his wife died, by first hooking up with a 36 year old and perhaps fathering a child and now this!

Brilliant businessman who is lost in life. And NO he cannot be forced to sell the team. It is a joke of a charge and will be plea bargained downed to a fine at most. The passing of money could be argued that it was a tip for an act of love and not payment for services rendered.

BTW I hope the comment was a joke and not meant to be real about legalized prostitution. For those who have daughters, statements like that are very sensitive and should not be taken lightly. I have twin daughters!
Prostitution is an evil vice and a disrespect of ones own body and soul!

112288

dBrown 4

I understand where you are coming from.  The PC world finger pointers are very often committing the same labeled offensives themselves.  

As far as I am concerned, the whole United States have gone crazy with this PC nonsense! Save it for a real issue that is truly offense, verses using it as a tool to destroy someone you hate because of their ideology or position in life.

112288

As the story starts to trickle out, it appears that this was all part of a multi-state roundup of a sex trafficking ring that was staffing massage parlors.  They were bringing women into this country, promising them a better life, and then trapping them into a life that involved giving massages "with happy endings", if the clients had interest.

Regardless of whether you believe that prostitution should be legal or not the cynical fraud perpetrated by international predators engaged in sex trafficking is something else.  Not all women are dragged or compelled into prostitution.  You may feel that shouldn't make a difference, but these women were forced into it and that is wrong.  This is past about "freedom for consensual adults to recreate" or whether prostitution is "a moral evil" because this is not about mutual consent.  This is about being defrauded into indentured servitude in a country where you are there illegally and cannot speak the language, at best, and involuntary slavery at worst.


bob


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bobheckler wrote:As the story starts to trickle out, it appears that this was all part of a multi-state roundup of a sex trafficking ring that was staffing massage parlors.  They were bringing women into this country, promising them a better life, and then trapping them into a life that involved giving massages "with happy endings", if the clients had interest.

Regardless of whether you believe that prostitution should be legal or not the cynical fraud perpetrated by international predators engaged in sex trafficking is something else.  Not all women are dragged or compelled into prostitution.  You may feel that shouldn't make a difference, but these women were forced into it and that is wrong.  This is past about "freedom for consensual adults to recreate" or whether prostitution is "a moral evil" because this is not about mutual consent.  This is about being defrauded into indentured servitude in a country where you are there illegally and cannot speak the language, at best, and involuntary slavery at worst.


bob


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Well said. I am in 100% agreement. If the portrayal of these human smugglers/traffickers is true, and I have no reason to doubt this portrayal, then these people truly represent the absolute worst in humanity. It is possible that Kraft may not have understood the circumstances these women found themselves in, and was under the impression that this was a mutually consensual transaction between two autonomous adults. I find that a little difficult to believe given the amount of press human trafficking has gotten in the past few years, but Kraft lives in a different universe than I do; he may be too busy as a captain of industry to scroll through his google feed while drinking his morning coffee.

To address Dbrown's comment - if Kraft were under the impression that these women were competent adults acting under their own free will, then I would argue that this is a different thing than Sterling's racism or the Panther's owner Jerry Richardson's harassment of employees. In those two instances, there are clear victims: the targets of Sterling's racism and the employees Richardson harassed. People undoubtedly may disagree with the premise that prostitution is a victimless crime, even when the women chooses this profession of her own freewill. However, there are differing opinions on that judgment, and Kraft may have seen this as a victimless transgression.

His buddy Trump thought you need an ID to go grocery shopping....

The whole episode is a sordid affair.  As more details come out we start to realize that this was not a victimless crime although prostitution has been referred to as a victimless crime.

Prostitution has also been referred to as the oldest profession.

Mr. Kraft made a mistake.  He needed a service and choose to go to the spa.  He liked it enough to have made 2 trips there.  What is lacking is a lack of discretion on his part.  

The human trafficking element makes this misdemeanor less acceptable.  I doubt he really knew how those sex workers found themselves into prostitution and I doubt that was a concern of his.

If he did the right thing and purchased some $1,000 an hour hooker we would not be having this conversation.

"Prostitution has also been referred to as the oldest profession."


And here I thought all along that was farming. Gotta have something to offer in payment...


bob


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