Saturday, January 8, 2011 02:50 AM
By Tresa Baldas
Detroit Free Press
DETROIT — The coveted black book at the center of what federal prosecutors in Michigan are calling a major bust of a nationwide high-priced escort service will have its own ticket to Tampa.
Florida defense lawyer Paul DeCailly, who fought for access to the list that names tens of thousands of clients, had his request granted by a federal judge in Detroit yesterday. But he is heading back to the Sunshine State without the list.
DeCailly said he doesn’t want to take any chances with losing it or someone stealing it.
So, the feds are sending the list to Florida, where the escort service was based, separately and under tight security. DeCailly will pick it up at a government office possibly by next week.
Against a prosecutor’s wishes, DeCailly is getting an unedited customer list of Miami Companions, which was busted in metro Detroit in the summer. DeCailly is representing Gregory Carr, a Dearborn Heights native and co-owner of the service, who was indicted in July on charges of prostitution and money laundering.
Carr, his ex-wife Laurie Carr and three others were indicted on charges of running what the government says was once one of the largest prostitution rings in the United States, with metro Detroit being among its busiest ports.
According to court records, from the early 2000s through 2009, the Carrs raked in more than $4 million.
Laurie Carr pleaded guilty in October and is cooperating with authorities.
Gregory Carr is scheduled to go to trial March 22.
U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow granted DeCailly’s request to obtain the list — which contains roughly 30,000 names — but he set some conditions: Prosecutors must give DeCailly the list on a computer disc that can’t be copied, DeCailly can’t print any information off the disc, and the client database can’t be shared with the public.
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