gonzo
02-17-2009, 01:50 PM
TheEroticReview.com Owner Arrested in Alleged Murder-for-Hire Plot
PHOENIX — The owner of TheEroticReview.com has been arrested in Phoenix on murder conspiracy and drug charges.
David Elms was arrested after he arrived in Phoenix just after midnight on Sunday and interviewed by officers from the Phoenix Police Department's Special Assignments Unit.
Police said they got the tip from a suspect in an ongoing probe over a prostitution ring called the “Desert Divas,” which has serviced about 6,500 clients.
Phoenix police said that Elms was seeking to contract out a hit to have a 32-year-old woman killed and a 62-year-old male victim seriously injured.
Elms was booked into Maricopa County Jail for one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, one count of conspiracy to possess narcotic drugs for sale, one count of conspiracy to commit misconduct involving weapons and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
TheEroticReview.com hosts escort reviews, site reviews, discussion boards and live chat. Visitors rank their experiences with prostitutes on a scale of 1 to 10, as well as to leave comments. It reportedly gets 500,000 to 1 million unique visitors each month.
Elms’ Phoenix arrest is not the first brush with the law. The New York Times reported last year that a deputy New York district attorney said Elms was criminally charged after a night in 2006 when police were called to a hotel where they found him with 3.8 grams of cocaine and a loaded semi-automatic weapon.
A prostitute was there and said Elms had forced her to perform oral sex at gunpoint, but there was not enough evidence to press charges on that accusation, the deputy district attorney told the Times.
Elms also was recently hit with a federal suit in Los Angeles over cybersquatting claims involving an online adult model.
In that case, the model not only makes infringement claims but also includes charges of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, because the defendant allegedly used the model's real birth name in a domain name.
The Long Beach, Calif., model named as a Jane Doe in the suit said she fears for her life because her home address was allegedly published on TheEroticReview.com.
The complaint alleges that “Elms directed his anger and vengeance at Doe because she refused to engage in sexual intercourse with him and because Doe refused to allow her name to be published on a website he controls.”
Doe, who owns a members-only subscription website through her Kentucky-based company BFN LLC, said that she learned of Elms’ website that uses her real birth name and images of her in March.
Elms also is accused of sending a letter to Doe’s family and friends, informing them that she is a prostitute. As a result, she said, her immediate family has severed all ties with her.
“Elms embarked upon a crusade to ruin Doe’s life, in order to get back at her for her refusal to have sexual intercourse with him,” the suit said.
Phoenix police said the Desert Divas prostitution ring, also known as Night Partners Entertainment, is a Phoenix-based group with ties to Philadelphia and Albuquerque, N.M.
Phoenix police investigated the group for a year before serving nine search warrants Aug. 5. Since then, 38 people have been arrested in connection with the Phoenix branch of the organization.
http://www.xbiz.com/news/104868
PHOENIX — The owner of TheEroticReview.com has been arrested in Phoenix on murder conspiracy and drug charges.
David Elms was arrested after he arrived in Phoenix just after midnight on Sunday and interviewed by officers from the Phoenix Police Department's Special Assignments Unit.
Police said they got the tip from a suspect in an ongoing probe over a prostitution ring called the “Desert Divas,” which has serviced about 6,500 clients.
Phoenix police said that Elms was seeking to contract out a hit to have a 32-year-old woman killed and a 62-year-old male victim seriously injured.
Elms was booked into Maricopa County Jail for one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, one count of conspiracy to possess narcotic drugs for sale, one count of conspiracy to commit misconduct involving weapons and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
TheEroticReview.com hosts escort reviews, site reviews, discussion boards and live chat. Visitors rank their experiences with prostitutes on a scale of 1 to 10, as well as to leave comments. It reportedly gets 500,000 to 1 million unique visitors each month.
Elms’ Phoenix arrest is not the first brush with the law. The New York Times reported last year that a deputy New York district attorney said Elms was criminally charged after a night in 2006 when police were called to a hotel where they found him with 3.8 grams of cocaine and a loaded semi-automatic weapon.
A prostitute was there and said Elms had forced her to perform oral sex at gunpoint, but there was not enough evidence to press charges on that accusation, the deputy district attorney told the Times.
Elms also was recently hit with a federal suit in Los Angeles over cybersquatting claims involving an online adult model.
In that case, the model not only makes infringement claims but also includes charges of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, because the defendant allegedly used the model's real birth name in a domain name.
The Long Beach, Calif., model named as a Jane Doe in the suit said she fears for her life because her home address was allegedly published on TheEroticReview.com.
The complaint alleges that “Elms directed his anger and vengeance at Doe because she refused to engage in sexual intercourse with him and because Doe refused to allow her name to be published on a website he controls.”
Doe, who owns a members-only subscription website through her Kentucky-based company BFN LLC, said that she learned of Elms’ website that uses her real birth name and images of her in March.
Elms also is accused of sending a letter to Doe’s family and friends, informing them that she is a prostitute. As a result, she said, her immediate family has severed all ties with her.
“Elms embarked upon a crusade to ruin Doe’s life, in order to get back at her for her refusal to have sexual intercourse with him,” the suit said.
Phoenix police said the Desert Divas prostitution ring, also known as Night Partners Entertainment, is a Phoenix-based group with ties to Philadelphia and Albuquerque, N.M.
Phoenix police investigated the group for a year before serving nine search warrants Aug. 5. Since then, 38 people have been arrested in connection with the Phoenix branch of the organization.
http://www.xbiz.com/news/104868