Miami duo charged in stripper scam

MikeHunt · February 16, 2004

Miami duo charged in stripper scam

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published by news-press.com on February 12, 2004

MIAMI — The pitch should have sounded too good to be true: Make thousands a week driving strippers around in a fancy car. But, police say, more than 40 people around the country fell for it and it cost them plenty.

Miami-Dade County police say Gary Janiak Jr., 34, and Tracy Silverstone, 22, advertised online and in publications in 23 states, promising a weekly salary of up to $5,000 in cash for driving strippers to their jobs. The Miami couple got applicants to wire a deposit of $865 to the "company" to pay for the luxury vehicle - but the jobs didn't exist.

Prosecutors said Janiak and Silverstone were charged with wire and communications fraud and grand theft - 335 felony counts each - after police served a search warrant on their home early Wednesday. Records show that Janiak may have previously tried the scam in New York.

Police said there were 43 known victims and suspect there may be others. Police said the victims, men and women between the ages of 19 to 78, are from Florida, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Hawaii and California. Their names were not released.

Detective Chris Hodges said Thursday that when police searched the couple's house Wednesday, they found 25 or 30 cell phones "ringing off the hook."

The ads offered jobs shuttling topless dancers and paid escorts for an upscale adult entertainment company to various events. Other ads sought escorts and actors in adult films - who also had to pay an $865 fee.

Police spokeswoman Nelda Fonticiella said would-be drivers and escorts were told their deposits would be returned after their first assignment but no assignments ever came. After the initial deposit payments, victims were asked to wire additional funds to cover "hidden job-related expenses," she said.

Most victims made between two and five wire transfers to the suspects. One person lost $8,000, police said.

Prosecutors said the pair were charged with one count for each wire transfer by a victim, for a total of 335 each. They used company names such as Blue Star Entertainment, Tiffany's Entertainment and Montana Entertainment.

Judge Gerald Klein set a $500,000 bond for Janiak on Thursday and demanded that he show none of the proceeds for the bond were acquired illegally.

Janiak's attorney, Mycki Ratzan, had originally sought a $50,000 bond, saying her client had no prior criminal record. Ratzan said family members were trying to raise money for the bond and scheduled a hearing for Friday before Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy. Ratzan said she has not yet been able to discuss the case with Janiak.

Silverstone was scheduled to appear at a bond hearing Friday.

Police said Thursday that they are investigating whether Janiak is the same person who allegedly tried to pull a similar scam in New York City.

A man named Gary Janiak was charged in February 2002 with threatening to kill New York television reporter Andrea Day, who was working on a story about him and a similar scam. Miami-Dade Police spokesman Robert Williams said authorities could not confirm that their Gary Janiak was the same man, but public records show that the Janiak arrested Wednesday and the Janiak arrested in New York both lived in the Ridgewood section of Queens and are the same age.

According to Day's segment, Janiak offered people an opportunity to earn $4,000 a day by escorting topless dancers. The catch was that he would charge $800 for his services and then not deliver the goods. The station said Janiak "went a little berserk" when he was realized he was being taped for a segment. Police said Janiak threatened to kill Day if the report were aired.

The outcome of that case could not be immediately determined Thursday.

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