Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Charged with Soliciting Prostitution

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

I was hard on Brady; but his a superstar, and is golfing buddy woth Curry. Superstars like Curry and Brady are still gonna win

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Charges dropped.

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1309179587105034243?s=19

Definitely the right call. Kraft is a clear and obvious scummy piece of sh!t but the actions of the police were outrageous and what he did shouldn't even be a crime anyway in my opinion.

[KaiserDave]

He was always going to get away with this.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

He was always going to get away with this.

Which he always should've even if he's an awful guy. It's absurd what he did is even a crime.

[KaiserDave]

He was always going to get away with this.

Which he always should've even if he's an awful guy. It's absurd what he did is even a crime.

It should be a crime for him, not for the woman involved.

[The Dowager Mod]

I am shocked that a rich white guy got away with a crime!

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I am shocked that a rich white guy got away with a crime!

Actually because of evidence being dismissed that should've been dismissed all charges in the sting are dropped, not just his. And this includes a bunch of guys who aren't all rich and most likely not all white. Kraft is a scummy sleazebag but this was the right call.

Anyone who thinks police are often abusive and is upset when they break the law themselves and is also upset about this decision is not consistent. The police were WAY out of line here.

He was always going to get away with this.

Which he always should've even if he's an awful guy. It's absurd what he did is even a crime.

It should be a crime for him, not for the woman involved.

There's plenty of evidence that criminalizing either hurts the women involved which is why Amnesty International opposes such but regardless police violating the Fourth Amendment is never a good thing even if you dislike one of the people they violate it against.

[Never Made it to Graceland]

Disgusting

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

The proper answer to the Problem of Robert Kraft is to expropriate all his assets, and that (if it were to ever happen) would be a fine substitute for imprisoning him if the only way to imprison him is to violate his due process rights. These guys usually end up with cushy Club Fed prison experiences anyway.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Justice for the Champs!

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Disgusting

Yes the actions of the police that sh!t all over the Fourth Amendment and violated the privacy of many that weren't even charged with a crime was indeed disgusting.

The proper answer to the Problem of Robert Kraft is to expropriate all his assets, and that (if it were to ever happen) would be a fine substitute for imprisoning him if the only way to imprison him is to violate his due process rights. These guys usually end up with cushy Club Fed prison experiences anyway.

He wouldn't be going to jail anyway for such a low level misdemeanor. He'd get a fine that would be equivalent to loose change under the mattress with his wealth.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

To elaborate:

Kraft did not get off because he's rich and white. He got off because the evidence against him and everyone else charged in the sting was obtained via very blatant Fourth Amendment-violating hidden cameras that also recorded many people who weren't even charged. Hence this evidence is "fruit of the poison tree" and per all legal precedent inadmissible in court. Since the prosecution had no chance of winning a conviction without the illegally obtained video evidence they dropped the charges not only against Kraft but EVERYONE charged from the sting, which no doubt includes many not-rich and not-white guys too. If Kraft hadn't been caught in it and news of this sting just came out due to the civil liberties violation it was, people would be outraged in the opposition direction.

It is not OK for police to blatantly disregard the Fourth Amendment and engage in illegal abuses of their power just because some rich white asshole is one of the people victimized by the police abuse this time.

[dead0man]

We can note that there was never any indication of sex trafficking like the govt alleged at first (because it's not really a thing, why go through the trouble of kidnapping randos when there are plenty of women willing to do it for a little money or cocaine?).  Also, the women at the message parlor are still being charged.  'cause the cops are c**nts.

[Meclazine for Israel]

NFL want to talk to him about his behaviour.

Clearly the problem here is not what he did. Most NFL franchise owners have sex, drugs and rock 'n roll on tap.

The problem here is that he was stupid enough to get caught.

So the NFL will talk to him about not getting caught next time.

[BaldEagle1991]

He got away with Spying, deflating, and now prostituting?

[dead0man]

masseuse isn't a rich white guy, doesn't...<ahem>...."get off"

No one was ever charged with human trafficking. In fact, the women providing massages and sex acts—the group that authorities said they were in it to rescue—were the ones who faced the most severe charges.

Masseuse Shen Mingbi—one of two women at Orchids of Asia that Kraft was accused of patronizing—was charged with one count of deriving support from prostitution (a felony) and 10 counts of soliciting another for prostitution.

On November 30, she pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting another to commit prostitution, and authorities finally agreed to return her passport and phone and unfreeze her bank account. Mingbi was sentenced to one year on probation, conditions of which included 100 hours of community service (which she could pay $1,000 in lieu of serving since we're in a pandemic) and submitting to the state results of HIV and STD tests.

Mingbi was also required to forfeit $20,000 to the Jupiter Police Department, in addition to the $5,000 cash bond she posted and the other $6,573 in fines and fees she was ordered to pay.

Hua Zhang was the owner of Orchids of Asia as well as a masseuse there, and the other woman Kraft allegedly patronized. She and spa manager Lei Wang were each charged with more than 20 counts of misdemeanor soliciting another to commit prostitution, plus three felonies (deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution, maintaining a house of prostitution, and renting space for prostitution) apiece as well.

Today, Wang pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting another to commit prostitution and was sentenced to one year probation. Zhang pleaded guilty on November 12 to one count of soliciting another to commit prostitution, plus one count of renting space for prostitution; her probation sentence is one year and six months. Each was also required to submit STD and HIV test results and do 100 hours of community service or pay a fee instead.

Zhang ultimately had to pay $6,661 in fines and fees (including the $1,000 fee to opt out of community service). Wang must pay $5,623, plus an additional $1,000 if she wants to avoid pandemic-times community service.

Palm Beach may now be wrapping up its part in this shameful saga. But the actions of the authorities who worked this case shouldn't be forgotten. Ultimately, they illegally spied on citizens, spent years of police time and public resources, possibly ruined multiple lives, and went on a hero's publicity campaign while saving no one and stealing about $45,000 from a few immigrant sex workers.