United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

BROTHEL OWNER SENTENCED TO 67 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ALEKSANDER DUBOGRYZOV, also known as Sasha Saposhnik, 45, a citizen of the Ukraine last residing in Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Alan H. Nevas in Bridgeport to 67 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. On September 25, 2007, a jury found DUBOGRYZOV guilty of conspiracy to transport for immoral purposes, transporting for immoral purposes and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, for several years, DUBOGRYZOV operated brothels in Stratford, Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut, as well as locations in New York and New Jersey.  DUBOGRYZOV advertised the brothels as “spas,” “massage parlors” or “holistic health centers” on the Internet and in the adult sections of several newspapers.  DUBOGRYZOV solicited women to work at the various brothels by word of mouth or by advertising in a Russian language newspaper, known as the Russkaya Reklama.  On a daily basis, DUBOGRYZOV arranged to have the women, most of whom were from Eastern Europe, transported to the various brothels.

The investigation revealed that cameras had been installed in smoke detectors in ceilings located at the Stratford and Norwalk locations.  The Government is in possession of videotapes depicting acts of prostitution that were seized from DUBOGRYZOV’s home.

Employees of the brothels, including Tatiana Conte, were responsible for driving women to the locations where the women were employed as prostitutes and for delivering to DUBOGRYZOV cash proceeds generated from the prostitution.  Conte deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars generated by the prostitution businesses into her bank account and wrote checks to facilitate the prostitution enterprise, including checks made payable to cover expenses, such as mortgage and utility payments for a house that DUBOGRYZOV’s owns in Palm Coast, Florida.

DUBOGRYZOV paid no taxes on any of his brothels.

Today, Judge Nevas ordered DUBOGRYZOV to forfeit to the Government $104,830.11 in cash that was seized during the investigation, and an additional $200,000 in proceeds from the future sale of a parcel of property DUBOGRYZOV owns in Ellenville, New York.

DUBOGRYZOV was arrested on September 14, 2006 in Westport, Connecticut, and he has been detained since that date.  He is subject to deportation to Ukraine following service of his term of imprisonment.

On June 21, 2007, Conte pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.  She awaits sentencing.

This case was investigated by members of the Smuggling and Trafficking of Persons Investigative Task Force (“STOP IT”).  The investigation has been led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Connecticut, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and several state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Stratford Police Department, Norwalk Police Department, Stamford Police Department, New York Police Department, Clarkstown Police Department (NY), Spring Valley Police Department (NY), Morristown Police Department (NJ), and the Morris County Sherriff’s Office (NJ).  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Connecticut State Police also assisted in the investigation.

Acting U.S. Attorney Dannehy acknowledged the assistance the FBI in Newark and New York provided during the course of the investigation.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Krishna R. Patel and Richard J. Schechter.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov