Ringleader of Miami Companions escort service making plea to avoid prison time
The ringleader of a high-priced escort service busted in Detroit will make an 11th hour appeal today to stay out of prison, according to his lawyer.
Gregory Carr, 44, co-founder of Miami Companions, is scheduled to be sentenced next Thursday. He pleaded guilty in March to running the high-priced escort service and money laundering.
The government on Thursday urged the court to give Carr a 27-month prison sentence.
His lawyer, Paul DeCailly, told the Free Press today that he will seek probation for his client, arguing Carr does not deserve prison time for his crime.
“We are going to seek the lightest sentence possible, which includes probation,” DeCailly said. “I think that everybody involved deserves a sentence that is less than jail time given the circumstances surrounding the case … It’s obvious the government and all connected to the case that there was no force or coercion in play by Miami companions.”
DeCailly has argued this point repeatedly since his client was arrested last year, along with four women, on charges they ran a massive prostitution ring that made millions — Detroit being among its busiest ports.
Court records show the agency dispatched call girls to locations nationwide. Some of them earned as much as $500 an hour from clients, including a famous rock star in south Florida, a prominent Washington lobbyist and a retired Detroit cop who died having sex with a call girl.
DeCailly claimed his client was targeted because he is a man, and said the government cut deals with the women first, then went after his client.
According to court documents, Carr, a Dearborn Heights native, ran Miami Companions for nearly a decade with his now ex-wife, Laurie Carr. She cut a deal with the government and is awaiting sentencing. She is facing 12 months in prison.
Both Carrs pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to persuade or entice someone to engage in prostitution.
Today, the first of the Miami Companions defendants is scheduled to be sentenced at 2:30 p.m. The defendant, Nayubet Swaso, is a former porn star and call girl who was the operations manager at call centers in Panama and Costa Rica. Her attorney is asking for no prison time, while prosecutors are arguing for a 10-month prison term.
