A three-year long undercover investigation by the Suffolk County DA revealed an alleged sex trafficking ring with multiple Suffolk locations.
An Islip teacher and a Suffolk County police officer were among the four people that a grand jury indicted on charges of allegedly running a sex trafficking ring, prosecutors revealed Tuesday.
Steven Arey, 53, a Physical Education teacher in the Islip school district, and George Trimigliozzi, 55, of the Suffolk County Police Department, worked with codefendants Frank Saggio, 60, and Dana Ciardullo, 32, to run two brothels in Suffolk, according to findings from a three-year-long undercover investigation.
“It is a sad day in law enforcement when a public servant is arrested,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney told reporters during a news conference at his office in Hauppauge. “The allegations in this indictment describe a long-term pattern of organized criminal activity and a shocking betrayal of public trust.”
The alleged sex trafficking ring ran in two locations: the Tunnel of Love, a sex toy store on Gleam Street in West Babylon, and a storefront on Sunrise Highway in Holbrook that appeared to be three separate stores, including a sex toy store. In actuality, the investigation revealed, the location was one store with three separate “suites.” In each suite, a sex worker would perform sex acts on paying clients.
Trimigliozzi and Arrey, both from Islip, were comanagers of the Sunrise Highway location, and reported to Saggio, from West Islip, who was the head of the sex trafficking ring, the investigation said. Saggio’s girlfriend, Ciardullo, from North Bellmore, was the alleged manager of the “Tunnel of Love” location.
Saggio also published a book called “Born to the Mob: The True-Life Story of the Only Man to Work for All Five of New York’s Mafia Families.”
The group is facing 58 charges, including enterprise corruption and promoting prostitution. Trimigliozzi is facing additional charges of official misconduct for abusing his power as a police officer to protect the sex trafficking ring.
Trimigliozzi is an 18-year veteran of the Suffolk County Police Department. Last year, he made $305,839. He was suspended without pay in August 2024, for allegations unrelated to the sex trafficking ring investigation. The DA’s Office and the SCPD did not specify what these allegations were — only that Trimigliozzi allegedly “failed to perform his duties adequately.”
“It is our intention that he will never work again as a Suffolk County Police Officer again,” said Deputy Police Commissioner Belinda Alvarez-Groneman. This implies that Trimigliozzi, though suspended without pay, is not yet fired from the Suffolk County Police Department.
Arrey has taught in the Islip school district for 26 years. He was suspended before the beginning of the school year, Tierney said. Last year, Arrey made $152,137. The Islip school district could not be reached for comment at the time of publishing.
“We have two public officials who we allege miserably violated their oaths,” Tierney said.
Timeline Of Investigation Into Sex Trafficking Ring
Saggio was the leader of the sex trafficking ring between October 2019 and June 2024, according to the investigation.
The investigation began in 2021 after Trimigliozzi allegedly used his power as a police officer to hide the sex trafficking ring. On March 19, 2021, one of the sex workers called Trimigliozzi to let him know a customer had called 911 after allegedly being robbed at the Sunrise Highway brothel, which Trimigliozzi managed, according to the investigation.
Trimigliozzi — on duty and in uniform — allegedly abandoned his assigned post, and sped over 90 mph in his police car to the Holbrook brothel, which was in the Fifth Precinct, 6 miles outside his Third Precinct post. He did so “certainly without consent” from the SCPD, Tierney said. Trimigliozzi then allegedly falsified paperwork and records to hide the fact he had responded to the incident while on duty, and that he was a manager in Saggio’s alleged sex trafficking ring.
The Suffolk County Police Department became aware of Trimigliozzi’s alleged misconduct and reported it to the DA’s Office “shortly thereafter” the incident, Tierney said. The DA’s Office then began their confidential investigation into the alleged sex trafficking ring. The SCPD was going through their own disciplinary process for Trimigliozzi for unrelated allegations. The DA’s Office did not reveal their own investigation to the SCPD in order to maintain confidentiality.
Trimigliozzi’s alleged actions led to his facing additional charges of official misconduct and falsifying records.
“We will hold public officials to account who violate the public trust,” Tierney said. “And I think one thing that public officials need to know that in Suffolk County, we’re watching. The District Attorney’s office is watching, and our law enforcement partners are watching.”
“But perhaps just as importantly, so is everyone else,” he added. “So are their coworkers, so are their colleagues, and so are members of the public.”
Status Of Sex Workers Involved In The Sex Trafficking Ring
Each of the four codefendents were indicted for hiring sex workers. The sex workers — most of whom spoke limited English, or could not read in English — were made to sign “leases,” according to the investigation. These leases forced them to pay a certain amount of money each month — called “house fees” — in order to keep working at their suites, the DA Office said.
“In other words,” Tierney said, “You’re on the hook for this rent, and in order to pay that rent, you have to perform X amount of various sex acts.”
The Sunrise Highway location in Holbrook charged $6,000 a month, while the “Tunnel of Love” location in West Babylon charged $12,000 a month, according to the investigation.
“These euphemistic terms, such as leases, rents, towel fees — really, all they were were terms to hide what the proceeds were,” Tierney said. “All proceeds were derived from prostitution.”
In intercepted communications between Saggio and his girlfriend Ciardullo, the pair discussed how many specific sex acts the sex workers needed to perform each day in order to meet their monetary requirements.
The DA’s Office has not disclosed whether the sex workers will also be charged for their involvement, or whether they will be treated as victims of the sex trafficking ring.
Saggio, Trimigliozzi, Arey and Ciardullo are all due back in court on Dec. 9. They each face up to 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
