Suffolk police officer, alleged ringleader, his girlfriend, plead guilty to running brothels in Holbrook and West Babylon

The Suffolk police officer who prosecutors said managed brothels in Holbrook and West Babylon, where dozens of women performed sex work, pleaded guilty to three charges Friday in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead that will require him to serve about 2 years in prison.

George F. Trimigliozzi, 56, of Islip, pleaded guilty to third-degree promoting prostitution, official misconduct and second-degree unlawful imprisonment on the same day that two of his co-defendants also pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the case.

Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei, who took the pleas, said Trimigliozzi will be sentenced to 364 days in prison on each of the prostitution and misconduct charges, to run consecutive to one another, when he’s sentenced on Nov. 12. He’ll also receive 30 days in jail, to run concurrently, on the unlawful imprisonment charge, which stems from his conduct while on a date with a woman he met on a dating app.

"He’s a good man; We all make mistakes," Trimigliozzi’s attorney, William Keahon, of Hauppauge, told reporters after the plea. Trimigliozzi, in a light gray suit and downcast expression, ignored questions.

By pleading guilty, Trimigliozzi admitted that in 2021 he was a "co-manager" of the Holbrook brothel, which was disguised on the outside to appear as if it was a sex toy shop. Trimigliozzi also admitted that while on duty as a patrol officer in the Third Precinct, he showed up "unauthorized" to the brothel, which was outside his coverage area, when a robbery was reported there, under questioning by prosecutor Laura de Oliveira, deputy chief of the Public Corruption Bureau. That action raised questions in the police department and kicked off the criminal investigation, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has said.

The Suffolk County Police Department’s press office declined to comment on an email seeking comment Friday about Trimigliozzi’s guilty plea, but confirmed he is still suspended. Trimigliozi, who was paid $314,706 by the police department in 2023, was suspended without pay in August 2024 on allegations unrelated to the brothels.

Self-described "Mafia associate" and alleged ringleader Frank Saggio, 61, of West Islip, who owned the brothels, pleaded guilty to one count of enterprise corruption. As part of his plea agreement, he’s expected to be sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of between 2 and 6 years. He also must pay forfeiture in the amount of $1.8 million.

Saggio’s sentencing has not been set, because as part of the plea agreement, the judge agreed to hold off sentencing Saggio until his ongoing federal case is disposed of. Saggio, who previously has been convicted of multiple felonies, is awaiting sentencing in the Eastern District of New York in a federal mail fraud case, prosecutors have said.

"As long as they’re doing it in a timely fashion," Mazzei said.

Saggio's attorney Anthony La Pinta, of Hauppauge, said it may take some time between 6 to 12 months, to which Mazzei replied: "I wish I was as optimistic as you are in the federal government."

Saggio, in a fitted black blazer and bright white sneakers, appeared agitated as he answered a series of questions from Public Corruption Bureau Chief Kevin Ward, in which he admitted in open court as Trimigliozzi sat in the audience, to various types of conduct, including his role as the leader in the scheme. Prosecutors said he oversaw the brothels, where dozens of women exchanged sex for money, from October 2019 to June 2024.

Saggio sighed repeatedly and, at one point, had to be directed by La Pinta, to answer "yes," to the prosecutor’s questions, as opposed to the less formal "yeah" offered by Saggio.

When Mazzei, as part of a battery of questions that judges ask defendants before they enter a guilty plea, asked him if he was satisfied with his legal representation, he said yes.

"You should be," Mazzei replied.

Saggio’s other attorney Mark Lesko, also of Hauppauge, said after court: "Frank is a committed family man. He loves his wife, he loves his children and he is gonna stay very involved in their lives and will remain committed to that. But in our view, justice was done today and we stand by Frank Saggio."

Saggio’s girlfriend, Dana Ciardullo, 33, of North Bellmore, pleaded guilty to a single count of third-degree promoting prostitution and is expected to receive a sentence of 6 months in jail and 5 years probation. Ciardullo admitted that she was a manager at the West Babylon brothel, called Tunnel of Love, and that she was aware that prostitution was taking place there.

Ciardullo’s attorney, Nancy L. Bartling, of Garden City, told Newsday on Thursday night that Ciardullo is "eager to move on with her life here and accepting responsibility for the charges."

Co-defendant Steven Arey, a suspended Islip gym teacher who prosecutors said co-managed the Holbrook brothel with Trimigliozzi, did not appear in court Friday. His lawyer, Michael J. Brown, of Central Islip, told Newsday Thursday night that he was working toward a "favorable outcome" for his client.

The four defendants, including Trimigliozzi, an 18-year veteran of the police department, were arrested on an indictment in October 2024. Trimigliozzi pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of enterprise corruption, two counts of falsifying business records, filing a false instrument and official misconduct. Prosecutors said he collected proceeds from the sex workers and coordinated their schedules.

Prosecutors said Saggio and Trimigliozzi forced the sex workers, some of whom spoke limited English, to sign leases as payment for using the brothels’ suites. The cost, according to prosecutors, was $6,000 a month in Holbrook and $12,000 monthly in West Babylon. The sex workers were paid in tips, prosecutors have said. 

The Holbrook brothel, located on Sunrise Highway, was known as the American Girls Spa "Suite 3," prosecutors said. The building contained two additional brothels allegedly managed by Saggio: Spa "Suite 4” and Reiki for Healing "Suite 5," prosecutors have said. 

The yearslong investigation began after a curious incident. On March 19, 2021, at 3:21 a.m., one of the sex workers at the Holbrook brothel called Trimigliozzi to report a robbery there, prompting him to abandon his post and speed to the brothel, driving some 88 miles per hour, prosecutors have said. The officer responded to the scene in his uniform, and stayed there for about a half-hour, which raised questions inside the police department.

Trimigliozzi then "falsified official police paperwork" in order to hide his actions, Tierney said previously.

Trimigliozzi was indicted again in May 2025 on charges that he raped and sexually abused women that he met on dating apps. He initially pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree rape and second-degree unlawful imprisonment.

On May 14, 2021, Trimigliozzi reached over a woman who was in the passenger seat of his car during a date in Patchogue and touched her genitals, prosecutors have said. He closed the car door that the woman had opened in order to exit the vehicle, preventing her from leaving, prosecutors said. Trimigliozzi specifically admitted to the aforementioned conduct during Friday’s guilty plea.

Prosecutors had said he took a woman on a date in Hampton Bays on June 10, 2022, and raped her at the end of the date. Trimigliozzi, who had met the woman on a dating app, was invited to her home so he could sober up before riding his motorcycle home. Trimigliozzi asked her for a tour of her home, and he pushed her onto her bed and raped her, prosecutors said.

The women had trusted Trimigliozzi because of his status as a police officer, prosecutors have 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.

Prosecutors had alleged in a civil forfeiture complaint against Saggio and Ciardullo that the brothel operation produced nearly $2 million in revenue for Saggio, which he laundered through corporations to purchase real estate on Fire Island.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated George F. Trimigliozzi's status with the Suffolk County Police Department in both the headlines and the story.