A Florida man and his mother jointly ran a sprawling prostitution ring for nearly a quarter-century, washing hundreds of thousands of dollars via various front companies and real estate purchases, according to police, who nabbed the pair as they allegedly prepared to flee the country. Many of the escorts working for the mother-son team were registered as real estate agents and had valid real estate licenses, the page affidavit contends.
Jelavic, 48, and von Lambert, 70, were arrested on September 11 and 12, respectively, shortly after Jelavic bought plane tickets to Brazil in the middle of the night, the affidavit says. They are both detained on felony charges of money laundering and deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution, and, if they come up with bail money β six-figure sums for each β the two will have to prove to a judge that the funds are not linked to any illicit activity.
Call me some other time. Jelavic does not have an attorney listed in court records and was unable to be reached for comment. The mother-son duo went into business in , and have been targeted by investigators multiple times in the past, but have never been prosecuted until now, according to the affidavit. An investigation launched in January found the business was hidden behind a front company, Boca Art Studios, according to the affidavit. Police managed to insert an undercover operative, posing as a driver, who got further information about the alleged goings-on.
It says they pulled up to an upscale condominium complex on a golf course in Pompano Beach shortly before 9 p. One of the detectives got out and walked toward the back of the building, where he was able to see in through the curtain-less windows, the affidavit states.
One of the drivers shuttling escorts to their appointments was an year-old man, according to the affidavit. The foul-up forced a complete shutdown of the business for a time β the affidavit does not say for how long β and Jelavic went on to complain about how stressed out he had become after 25 years of it.
