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4 face charges in S. Phila. prostitution ring

Federal authorities unsealed an indictment yesterday accusing four illegal immigrants of bringing in women from out of state to staff brothels located in two South Philadelphia rowhouses, allegedly netting the defendants about $9,000 a week.

Federal authorities unsealed an indictment yesterday accusing four illegal immigrants of bringing in women from out of state to staff brothels located in two South Philadelphia rowhouses, allegedly netting the defendants about $9,000 a week.

Authorities said three of the men were arrested yesterday morning and will have a detention hearing in federal magistrate court Thursday. A fourth defendant is on the lam.

The feds say they don't know the actual names of the defendants, who are referred to in the indictment as FNU LNU #s 1-4 and their aliases. (FNU means First Name Unknown, LNU means last name unknown.)

The indictment said the defendants operated two brothels between August 2009 and this month out of rowhouses at 7th Street near Latona and 6th Street near Sears.

The prostitution business was controlled by FNU LNU #1, aka "Jose Claudio," 27, and FNU LNU #2, aka "Raymond Gonsalez," 31, the indictment alleged.

Authorities said the pair would arrange for and schedule Hispanic females to travel on a Greyhound bus from New York, New Jersey and Delaware to Philadelphia, where they would be picked up by the defendants at the bus terminal on Filbert Street near 10th.

The females lived in the brothels for a week at a time while they worked "in house" or for "delivery" to their customers, the indictment said.

Unbeknownst to the defendants, some of the prostitutes and customers were either government informants or undercover law-enforcement agents, the indictment said.

Authorities said Claudio and Gonsalez brought in three new women per week - two would work "in house" and a third off-site at a location designated by the customer.

Prostitution services were provided at the brothels and off-site locations from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and until approximately 5 p.m. on Sunday, the indictment said.

The women were paid in cash at the end of each week based on the number of customers they serviced, the indictment alleged.

FNU LNU #3, aka "Nicolas Gonsalez Salazar," 22, handled customer calls, processed customer phone requests for the delivery service, drove prostitutes to customers who ordered the delivery service and collected cash receipts at the end of the day, authorities said.

The fourth defendant, FNU LNU #4, aka "Leonel Rubio," who has not been apprehended, worked as a doorman for the 7th Street brothel. He escorted customers to the brothel from the street, escorted prostitutes from the brothel and prepared them to visit customers off-site, the indictment alleged.

Authorities said that Claudio and Raymond Gonsalez kept track of the number of customers serviced weekly by prostitutes through "punch cards" or "tickets" that were maintained by Rubio and tallied weekly.

The indictment said that approximately 60 to 70 women worked for the prostitution business from since August.