Suffolk cop, Islip teacher indicted: How call from sex worker kicked off yearslong probe into alleged corruption

Suffolk patrol officer George F. Trimigliozzi was working an overnight shift in March 2021 when a sex worker called with urgent news: There had been a robbery at the Holbrook brothel he allegedly managed, and police were responding.

Trimigliozzi, in uniform, raced from his location in Islip Terrace to the brothel in his police car at speeds approaching 90 mph, prosecutors said.

Trimigliozzi's presence at the scene raised eyebrows among his fellow officers — the veteran officer had traveled almost six miles outside of his patrol area without permission, prosecutors said. The brothel, in the 6000 block of Sunrise Highway, was located in the Fifth Precinct coverage area, while Trimigliozzi was assigned to the neighboring Third Precinct.

His actions that night, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, kicked off a clandestine, yearslong investigation that resulted in the indictment of Trimigliozzi and three codefendants, including an Islip high school teacher, on charges that they ran a lucrative prostitution enterprise.

"You have this Third Precinct police officer there," Tierney said. "Why was he there? And the investigation sort of proceeds from there."

Trimigliozzi, 55, of Islip, who was suspended without pay from the police department in August on allegations unrelated to his criminal charges, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday to 17 charges. His defense attorney William Keahon said in court that the prosecution would not be able to prove its case and said his client was a decorated officer, earning "cop of the month" six times. He declined to comment further, saying he'd argue the case in court.

Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei ordered Trimigliozzi released on $25,000 cash bail or a $50,000 bond.

Also charged with operating the prostitution ring is physical education teacher Steven Arey, 53, of Islip; alleged ringleader Frank Saggio, 60, a self-described Mafia associate, who lives in West Islip; and his girlfriend Dana Ciardullo, 32, of North Bellmore. They each pleaded not guilty.

The police department did not immediately provide data requested by Newsday on Wednesday seeking to find out how many times the police had been summoned for service calls to the brothels, including the Holbrook site and another in West Babylon that was called the "Tunnel of Love."

The Holbrook site, which was allegedly managed by Trimigliozzi and Arey, was disguised to appear to outside eyes as a sex toy shop, prosecutors said.

Tierney said the two public employees "miserably violated their oaths." The district attorney's office's Public Corruption Bureau is prosecuting the case.

Dozens of women worked at the brothels from 2019 to 2024, according to prosecutors.

The prostitution enterprise netted hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit, prosecutors said.

Investigators from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, with help from the FBI and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, used surveillance, informants and undercover police officers to build a case, which went before a special grand jury.

Saggio, who prosecutors said oversaw the operations, was charged with 51 counts of third-degree promoting prostitution, two counts of sex trafficking and one count of enterprise corruption.

Saggio allegedly had the sex workers — many of whom could not read or speak in English — sign purported leases that required them to pay $6,000 per month to work at the Holbrook brothel and $12,000 per month at Tunnel of Love.

"The execution of the eavesdropping warrants on the cellular telephone utilized by this defendant resulted in the seizure of thousands of inculpatory communications that prove his knowledge and control of the criminal enterprise," prosecutors said in a bail letter outlining Saggio's alleged conduct.

Prosecutors also said they seized $104,225.00 in cash from Saggio's home in July, "demonstrating both the defendant’s possession of criminal proceeds as well as his ability to post bail without posing undue hardship."

Saggio, who has a criminal history, wrote a book in which he boasted that he was a Mafia associate. He allegedly tried to "mask his involvement," according to prosecutors, who said he communicated with his alleged accomplices on encrypted messaging apps; employed the documents he deemed "leases" in an effort to legitimize his criminal conduct in profiting from the promotion of prostitution; and attempted to enlist current and former members of law enforcement to determine whether he was under investigation.

After his house was raided, prosecutors said, Saggio met with a supervisor in a federal law enforcement agency "to discuss this investigation," which prosecutors said demonstrated "the defendant’s willingness to manipulate members of law enforcement in a continuous effort to escape prosecution and avoid accountability for his criminal actions."

No one other than the four defendants named in the indictment has been charged, Tierney said.

Arey, a 26-year employee of the Islip Union Free School District, was suspended without pay before classes began this year, Tierney said.

Avery was paid $155,015.02 in the last school year, according to school district records.

Trimigliozzi, meanwhile, made $314,706, with $124,218 coming from overtime last year.

On March 19, 2021, a sex worker called Trimigliozzi from the house phone at the Holbrook brothel, which was registered with the phone company in Trimigliozzi's name, Tierney said.

The sex worker called Trimigliozzi’s cellphone, which was saved as "George Boss," to let him know that a customer had been robbed. Someone called 911 and police were on the way to the American Girls Spa.

Trimigliozzi and Arey required the sex workers to fill out daily timesheets, which listed their names, how long they spent in each suite with a patron and the money received for the sex acts.

"This dollar amount was frequently referred to as either a 'house fee' or a 'towel fee,'" prosecutors wrote in a bail letter. "During the course of this investigation, investigators recovered digital copies of several such timesheets, including from within codefendant Arey’s cellular telephone."

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.