Treating Pimps Like Al Capone

You know it's hard out here for a pimp
When he tryin' to get his money for the rent

Lyrics from the Oscar-winning song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp''

And it just might get even harder if the flesh peddlers in America don't file their W-2s or hold on to their receipts.

Congress is considering unleashing the same forces that toppled the likes of infamous 1930s Chicago gangster Al Capone on the brazen street hustlers, brothel and escort service operators and others making a pretty — and mostly untaxed — penny in the multi-billion-dollar prostitution and sex trafficking trade.

No, we're not talking cops or even the clergy here. We're talking about that most feared of government agents: the tax collector.

Proposed legislation approved by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in late June could provide the feds a tried-and-true — but also nontraditional — way of prosecuting those cashing in on the exploitation of hundreds of thousands of young girls and women annually.

The bill, chiefly sponsored by U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, would set aside $2 million to create a unit within the Internal Revenue Service to deal exclusively with the operators of an underground sex economy that stretches from the seedy streets and motels of red-light districts to the online porn industry.

The proposal pumps more muscle into current federal tax laws. The proposed legislation significantly stiffens the penalties pimps face for failure to file income tax returns for themselves or even W-2 forms for their "employees.''

If criminal activity is substantiated, the proposal would tag pimps with a maximum 10-year federal prison sentence and $50,000 for each W-2 form that is not filed. Ouch.

"The thugs who run these trafficking rings are exploiting society's poorest girls and women for personal gain," Grassley told reporters recently. "The IRS goes after drug traffickers. It can go after sex traffickers."

Of course, this sounds at first glance like a pimp-in-the-sky idea. Even given recent years of great awareness about human trafficking, both domestic and international, law enforcement has traditionally and historically been lax in making busting pimps a top priority. But those in the local trenches of this problem think it's not a bad idea.

"From what I'm reading, it sounds like a good idea and a long time coming,'' said St. Paul police Sgt. John Bandemer, a vice cop and also project manager for a local Justice Department grant to rescue human trafficking victims and help prosecute their exploiters. The Twin Cities area has been designated by the federal agency as one of the 13 "hot spots'' in the nation for sex trafficking.

Bandemer says one of the more difficult aspects of prosecuting pimps of all types is often the unwillingness of exploited victims to testify. Fear of being harmed or bringing harm to their family members often is a key reason.

"The tax laws have been a great thing for us in the past when going after drug dealers,'' he added. "I think it's good to find nontraditional ways to stop these guys and prosecute them for their illegal activities.''

Capone, who posed as a used furniture dealer, reportedly made $105 million by 1929 through prostitution, illegal gambling and alcohol sales during the Prohibition era. He eluded the law through bribes and witness tampering or intimidation. But treasury and IRS agents teamed up in 1931 and dug up receipts from some of his illicit earnings. He pleaded guilty to tax evasion and watched his mob empire crumble during his 11 years in the slammer.

Vednita Carter, who runs Breaking Free, a St. Paul-based nonprofit that provides services to prostituted girls and women in the Twin Cities area, likes the idea but has some concerns.

"It's usually the women that get busted, and my concern is whether they will go after former victims who are forced to recruit others and even run part of the trade,'' she said. Carter, however, also believes the paper chase might serve as another useful route in dismantling prostitution rings.

In testimony before Congress last year, a street outreach specialist for a group based in Washington, D.C., similar to Breaking Free provided an interesting estimate of one local pimp's annual haul.

"A victim sex-trafficked from her early teens was generating an estimated $130,000 in profits for her trafficker each year,'' Tina Frundt told legislators. "We sat down and figured out that the pimp was making about $24,000 a month between her and other women and about $642,000 a year tax-free.''

Go get them, tax man.

Thanks to Ruben Rosario