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This article is re-posted here on Azn747 by request of, and with explicit permission, from the original author.
http://kaitlintaylor89.blog.com/2016/02/05/insider-information-from-david-on-pmc
https://www.platinummodelscanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/elitelogo.jpg
November 29th 2015 – An angry affiliate of the Outlaws Biker club furious that Platinum Models Canada owner “Grace Kissington” wouldn’t pay him monthly demands for what he explained was protection money stands over her 5’6 frame yelling inside her St. Catherine’s home. He threatens to harm her and her children if she doesn’t produce $2300.00 immediately, telling her that Family and Children’s Services would take her children from her if she called the police because the government ran agency wouldn’t allow children to live in that residence if they find out the Outlaws we’re after her. Pleading for her family to be left alone Grace produces the money she had set aside for the mortgage and children’s Christmas presents and hands it over to the man standing in front of her. As he leaves she believes the worst is over, little did she realize, the terror inflicted that night was just the beginning.
The next day Grace is out driving and doing errands with her children, afraid to go home and contemplating staying with family over the weekend so she isn’t alone when she receives a phone call from an employee working at the Platinum Models Offices located in Hamilton Ontario. A totally different Outlaw affiliate names MM had just walked in to the office during shift chance. The day time receptionist had just un-locked the door from the inside so the girl working the night shift could begin her shift. When she does this MM is getting out of his car and pushes past the two women. It is obvious he has been outside waiting for an opportunity to gain entrance to the office with bringing minimal attention to what he is doing. The receptionist’s ask him what he’s doing, who he is and what is he doing here. MM’s responses are minimal, he threatens the receptionists, and she better not call the police. As he begins taking the phones off the desks and attempting to disconnect all computers he informs them Platinum Models Canada is no longer “allowed” to operate in Niagara Falls or Hamilton regions anymore without severe consequences to the staff adding that if they wanted to work they could work for him in his office and he might even pay them the same rate. He walks out the door, with the phones before the police arrive.
During the course of this letter I will reveal what events lead up to this day. How Ontario’s largest escort agency was built and what principles made it successful. At the end of this true story we will examine what laws are surrounding he escort industry, how the police, politicians and Judges plan on dealing with extortion and other crimes occurring around this industry. The biggest question of all we will be looking at will be is this actually a legitimate industry as it is portrayed. Is it protected like all the other businesses under Canadian law who pay their taxes and follow the law? OR is this an underworld run by pimps and biker clubs who use the profits to buy and sell drugs while the police sit idly by waiting for a “bigger bust”.
My Name is David and In late 2012 I opened up a Niagara Falls escort agency. At that time the agency was a side job to supplement my income as an electricians apprentice working in construction. In order to tell this story I am going to have to share all of my history with you, both the good and the bad will be included. At this time in 2012 I was 35 years old. I had been raised by a single mother in North end St. Catharine’s, I had a criminal record I was not one to steal or conduct unethical business.
Up to this part in my life I had spent nearly 20 years making bad choices. The right path wasn’t always as clear to me as I made my way through life. When I opened the escort agency I was no longer involved in the daily activities of crime although I did receive a monthly payment from a guy I had introduced my drug connections and distributers to. Other than meeting him once a month to pick up my money, I lived the life as every other law abiding citizen. Platinum Models was a minor company then. I worked on it 2-3 hours each night. My daily routine was waking up with my daughter, taking her and dropping her off at her babysitters, working my regular 8 hours at construction, driving back, picking her up, making her dinner and putting her to bed, regular day stuff for most single dads. All that was about to change on July 11th 2013. Looking back I feel it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
July 11th 2013 was a bright and hot summer day. At precisely 11am the Niagara Regional Police Conducted several raids in homes across St. Catharine’s, Ontario. My residence was included as one of the houses that were searched that day. Concluding the search of my residence the police found no drugs in my home. However I was still brought down stairs and placed under arrest for participating in organized crime. I spent the next 10 days at the Niagara Detention Centre while my lawyer and the local courts determined the conditions of my bail release.
During those 10 days I did plenty of soul searching and self-discovery. I kept coming to the same conclusion; I had the talent and determination to do so much more with my life. My Family did not deserve this embarrassment. I was not actively involved in crime anymore, however I shouldn’t have taken the monthly payments. I had grown up with these men. Old routines needed to be changed. Based on my reputation and theirs I could go to jail just for shaking some ones hand in a bar underneath the new organized crime laws.
My daughter was 4 years old at this time. Life wasn’t just about myself anymore. Revolving in and out of jail definitely was not an option going forward. When you’re spending time in jail, time moves exceptionally slow. You miss your loved ones and you realize that freedom is the greatest gift a man has. This realization made me determined not to waste a minute of my life when I was granted bail. Organized crime carried a sentence of 4-12 years. If I was found guilty I would be doing some serious time. Every minute of every day I was on bail had to count. I had to leave a legacy, something positive, a business or career that I could do my sentence if needed and still continue when I was released. Construction was something I truly enjoyed. Being with “the guys” and accomplishing something each day was satisfying. However, deep in my heart I was an entrepreneur. With the recent supreme court ruling in the Bedford case and PMC having already been started It seemed like an emerging industry. I consulted with a legal and a corporate lawyers before throwing all my efforts into my small regional agency. With the great amount of unwanted attention my organized crime charge brought me not many people in the criminal underworld wanted to be seen with me or even speak to me, this was fine with me and seemed to fit into my new realizations quite well.
The first year I ran the company I brought an old friend named JD to help me. The idea being that he would manage the day to day running of the company while I was at construction during the day. We negotiated a performance based salary of 1/3rd of the company’s weekly profits. The company was so new that some weeks we made money and some weeks we did not thus having set weekly profits was not possible. Platinum Models Canada has always been a corporation. Company owner ship and board membership is clearly laid out under out actual of incorporation. JD’s name was never added to ownership or names as being on the board of directors.
Having JD work at PMC taught me a hard lesson about being a responsible in regards to who you allow around a business and what avenues one should use when hiring help. JD is from Vancouver, British Columbia. I was arrested with him back in 2011.When he came to work for me he had just moved back to Ontario. He informed me that he was working solely on a contracting business and was focused on changing his life around as well. Naturally, I felt we had reliability and a common goal to work towards. JD turned out to be a big mistake. After a few weeks it became apparent that he was more interested in becoming part of the models social life rather than acting as their agent, promoting them and finding them work. The man had zero business skills, often refused to answer the phones and didn’t seem to understand the concept of customer service. Platinum Models first year in business we received bad client reviews. It would take a lot of effort to reverse the damage JD’s few months of employment had caused; he even promoted big pay days to models that never came. JD and I were not seeing eye to eye, every time I came in to work I would spend the first 2-3 hours apologizing to everyone before I was able to begin my shift. Later it came to my attention that he conducted interviews with new models in which he had asked them to perform sexual acts on him in order to get the job and become part of Platinum Models. I immediately met with JD and fired him. I asked models who I knew were interviewed by JD if they had had similar interviews, the answers were always yes. I then proceeded to ask the models involved if they wished to press charges against JD and ensured them that this is not how Platinum Models had intended things be done, we wanted to make sure they had every opportunity to move forward with dignity and fair treatment. Some girls did and most did not. Even though the supreme courts said workers within the industry had rights it seemed the fear of publicly having to testify and using their real names was something that they did not feel comfortable doing no matter how badly they wanted his crimes to be brought to justice. This really bothered me.
Growing up I admired my mother quite a bit, most of my childhood she worked 2 jobs to support us. And even after saving up enough money to open her own business she would still work a second job to ensure ends were being met and I was able to participate in all life’s adventures. Between raising me and working she somehow found time to complete collage night classes and go to graduate university. A lot of the models I represented were also single mothers or university students paying for school and debts. Like myself the industry provided an opportunity for them to overcome social and economic factors that stood so strongly in their way of achieving their personal life goals. Escorting when done correctly isn’t close to what it appears to be when portrayed in most movies or TV shows; 95% of our clients treat the ladies as equals, those that don’t are immediately blacklisted and never able to call and book an appointment again. I won’t speak on the models behalf about their work because they are more than capable of expressing their own experiences. What I can say is that I am and always have been very impressed and proud to represent these young intelligent professionals. In order to promote the model I felt I had to be in touch with their overall goals and from this interesting facts emerged. Many had graduated teaching school, and I didn’t know that 2 out of 3 teaching graduates had to wait 5 years to find a job placement. How would someone in their early 20’s pay back $60,000 student loan and afford to live day to day?
That summer the conservatives were holding an emergency summer session to discuss new legislation on Canadian Prostitution Laws. The highest court in the nation had struck down existing laws in the Bedford discussion. These laws were deemed unconstitutional because they did not provide any safety to sex workers. For 2 weeks I read articles and watched the debates in the senate daily. I knew the conservative government didn’t want to legalize prostitution because it wouldn’t appeal to their core religious supporters. However after listening to the well thought out arguments of the pro-legislation side , public polls that showed the public’s support of the decimalization, I thought that there was absolutely no way that the conservatives couldn’t follow the supreme courts previous decisions.
In my mind it was society stepping forward on a democracy. Honoring civil rights as we have evolved since the 1960’s with race relations issues; 1970’s with woman’s rights issues; 1980’s with abortion rights ;1990’s gay rights ; 2000 marijuana legalization. Each topic was a political hot potato. Politician’s and lawmakers rarely exhibited the motivation to do the right thing until the supreme courts or public opinion forced their hands. That’s summer of 2014 I thought Canada was ready for change. When Bill c-36 was announced I didn’t feel it followed the supreme courts orders. After consulting with a lawyer Platinum Models changed its business plan to completely comply with the laws. As time went on there was many grey areas to contend with, and that we will discuss later on this letter
After firing JD and not being prepared with an immediate solution I had my work cut out for me. My current construction site was in Oakville, Ontario my total time required to for my day in construction was about 11 hours including the 1.5 hour commute. When I arrived home in the evening I would answer PMC’s phone and do interviews for another 10-11 hours. My total work day was brought to over 20 hours. I was barely sleeping but I was functioning. Platinum models progressed to opening franchises in Hamilton, Toronto and Kitchener bringing a total of 4 operating at once. During the day different models would work the phones while I was at construction. I was a man on a mission. Business was beginning to thrive, my trial was set for March 2015.
During the events expressed so far in this letter Grace Kissington had come into my life. Not only did I discover a strong and intelligent woman with one of the best hearts I have yet to come across but asking this woman to marry me 2 years later was one of the best decisions of my life. Grace also symbolizes to me everything that the industry should stand for. She came to Platinum models after working a short time at another Niagara based agency. She was an instant hit and very popular with reputable clients, she understood the equality of the industry, and seemed to have a passion for taking control and ensuring every client she interacted with had an unforgettable experience. Grace always arrived on time , never left early and if possible she would come in and cover additional shifts when asked. Every once in a while she would miss a shift or not respond to the office line when asked about pre-booking appointments for a few days. Something wasn’t right. I asked her about the sudden change in behavior at its first arrival but because we didn’t know each other that during this time well she was quite guarded and would often push off the conversation to more positive ideas. I didn’t push her for more information. One night I received a phone call from Graces security driver informing me that she would not be able to make it to her next appointment, They were in Niagara Falls and he was supposed to take her to her to an appointment shortly after the one she was in was finished. Grace has requested time alone in the – the shower and prepare before leaving for the out-call, this was normal so he was waiting outside for her to come down. When I questioned why they wouldn’t make it to the next appointment I was informed that they were waiting for the police to arrive. I immediately called Grace and was informed that an ex-boyfriend must have been watching the hotel and had kicked in the door, stolen her purse and pulled her down a flight of stairs by her hair. She went on to tell me she was with him back in 2012 and was extremely abusive. Since her first attempts of leaving him she had been kidnapped on several occasions, he had broken into her home before and often was caught stocking her. He had been violent on several occasions and usually she would not always call the police on him out of fear that it would only progress to more dangerous situations and she was unsure what he would do to her next. On the occasions she did call the police he would always come back. It was almost always a neighbor or her family that would report the incidences. We discussed obtaining her a restraining order so he wouldn’t be allowed near her again. When the police arrived Grace hung up with me so she could make a statement. The ex-boyfriend (who was now on the run) was arrested the next morning – staying in the same hotel as Grace was attacked at. Grace took a several days off work clearly shaken up from the events that had happened.
Grace and I spoke frequently and became friends before this; our daughters were the same age so we arranged a few play dates for the kids at her request to go skating, swimming or to arcades. While the kids played we talked, I found out a lot about Grace when we would meet. She had married and had her first child immediately after graduating high school. She had supported and helped her husband at the time to build a very profitable business of his own and she worked afternoons and nights at a very popular restaurant within Niagara Fallsview Casino. They went on to have a second child together and soon after split up. Grace was on her own with the kids, working and taking college courses, somewhere along the line she met another guy, he at first was exceptionally charming and helpful, he seemed to relieve pressures of everyday life while making her feel more confident in her choice to leave her husband and the father of her two young children. This quickly desecrated, he became extremely controlling and began stocking her when she wouldn’t want to be with him for the evening. Between his jail stays grace would gain strength to leave but he always seemed to be out too soon. Unfortunately during this time he introduced Grace to drugs, typically after violently assaulting her. This allowed him power over her, and the drugs made her feel better periodically.
While I was getting this back story from Grace I was in shock, if you seen Grace in the mall you wouldn’t think she looked or acted as if she was being stocked, abused, kidnapped regularly and living within constent misery and fear. She always seemed to be a positive light who wanted to help everyone she came across making everyone laugh. I also found out that in addition to everything else Grace was managing to accomplish she was also in day treatment and working on the drug addiction issues.
Eventually the day where Grace’s ex-boyfriends trail arrived, Grace was to testify and they sentenced him to one month in jail. I couldn’t believe the short time frame given but even more shocking to me was when the crown attorney asked for the $600 cash that was in her purse was re-paid to her because it was stolen with her purse and never retrieved . The judge replied that he didn’t have to pay the money back because she’d earned it escorting. The government would collect taxes from her money when she claimed her taxes, yet the way she earned it was not viewed as not having the same protection from the law as everyone else!
Shortly after testifying at her ex-boyfriends trial Grace and I became more seriously dating and organizing Platinum Models office. The changes she brought into effect had a positive outcome for PMC. Unfortunately Grace suffered a relapse from past addiction issues and wouldn’t be able to work within the Platinum Models Office managers anymore. It seemed like no matter how much she wanted to stay clean it just couldn’t just last more than 6-8 weeks. Day treatment had provided her a good support but not enough. Arrangements were made for her to enter the Niagara Detox center in St. Catherine’s Ontario. While she was there I visited the Niagara Detox center I visited every few days, during one of our visits Graces informed me that one of her counselors has informed her that the start of her addictions and cycle of relapses centered around the mental and physical abuse from her previous relationship . Her relapses would continue if she did not seek help for the trauma faced from that relationship. We were offered couples and families counselling through C.A.S.O.N (Community Addiction Services Of Niagara) from there she was recommended to the Jeen Tweed Program in Toronto for a 2 month trama based program. The relationship program that Grace and I attended at C.A.S.O.N. set the foundation for us to grow together, I cannot thank them enough. During these sessions I was able to also set up some extra help setting my life up for my upcoming trial and managing the stress. Graces time at the jeen tweed center was very helpful. I went to Toronto every Sunday to visit her and began to notice how much more confidence she had gained each weekly.
Eventually the time came for Grace to be released my house was a co-hosting the PMC office and wasn’t a suitable environment for her return. Grace decided to stay with her Family in Toronto. For a few weeks we didn’t see each other and we would only talk on the phone or sent emails. Her Family has strong religious believers and Grace began attending church again on a regular basis attending meetings and getting to know the church members. At the time Grace’s family didn’t know what to make of me. They heard great things about me but on paper I owned an escort agency and was on organized crime charges. Personally, I was experiencing the negative effects drugs and domestic violence had on someone close to me this got me thinking in new ways about life and business. We changed PMC’s views on relationship with how we interacted with the models we represented. Prior to this we were more or less representing the models for a financial gain VIA our client referral fees. Not every model needed help, in fact, most didn’t. However more outreach programs and pro-action was to connect the corporate stance to be taken for the models that needed and wanted help. What people did during their personal time was none of my business, however if something occurred at work we would intervene. From this moment forward if suspected drug or alcohol problems occurred at work, an intervention would take place and variations of support and programs would be offered. If the model denied the help we would terminate her contract with PMC. On issues of domestic violence a similar policy was in place. One of the differences was that we would call the police if evidence of abuse was brought to our attention. As a company we started raising money for various charities in addition to donating 10% of our company profits each month to a different cause silently.
One of the first causes PMC physically took part in was “walk a mile in her shoes” campaign. Fundraising was for Gillian’s place a woman’s shelter located in ST. Catherine Ontario. I picked up Grace in Mississauga and we headed over to the local mall where the walk was held. On the drive Grace informed me that she would be participating in a 3 day church retreat with her family and invited me to stay at the church with her for the weekend. I was hesitant about going for a few different reasons but agreed to go because I didn’t want to miss my chance to prove I was not who they were believed me to be and there was no turning back the feelings of fate that I felt for Grace.
In another interesting twist of fate the conservative government had contacted many churches for input on the new prostitution bill C-36. The law hadn’t come into effect yet but as it turned out a lot of people that I was about to meet knew I owned an escort agency that even operated a franchise that was in their home town. To my surprise the church members were very open minded. I had several interesting conversations and my views were not immediately dismissed. Most members never realized how important a role that a good agency could play. Astonishingly the some of the outreach programs the Church was using were some of the same as PMC had also already installed. They were anti-prostitution so legalization we were not the same politically. One member told me a real life story about a 14 year old girl they had rescued who was held hostage and forced into being a sex slave in a basement. Often times when I think of that story I wonder if I had been there when the girl was rescued what would my position on legalization be then. I could see myself being anti-prostitution as well if that was my only experience with the escort business. After spending the weekend at the church retreat I was further fortified that my belief that PMC was on the right track. A few months later Grace came to live at our home again. PMC moved out of my house and into an office space in Hamilton. Grace and I became business and life partners. Once in a while on an escort review board my past lifestyle was brought up but my past life was behind me not something I was involved in anymore.
The spring of 2015 my trial for organize crime was set to begin business was better than ever 23 had hired a full office staff, security manager and a new model liaison. The crown was asking for 8 years, which was scary, but I had found a life partner and built a company it was sure would survive. After the first week of my preliminary trial myself and my defense attorney and the government crown attorney has a letter idea of what my case entailed. The police investigation was a long one that spanned to the period of 6 months. Seven other people had been arrested with me and 12 detectives were involved in putting the evidence together. I had spent 2.5 years on bail awaiting trial and at this point I was working about 80 hours a week just to pay my lawyer bills. I had a 1 in 3 chance of winning the case based on what we knew so far. There was still another 3 weeks of pre-trial to go with a full trial scheduled for 2016. Before we broke for recess on the Friday of the last week and offer was made to reduce the sentence to conspiracy which would require a 2 year sentence. After weighing the options with my family I decided I would take the deal if the crown attorney and the judge would agree to give me 7 months before my sentencing date so I could get my business affairs in order. The judge asked my lawyer what type of business I ran that would require 7 months, my lawyer informed that it was an escort agency and he had no problem with that as it was not a violation of my bail. The date was set for November 5th 2015 for me to begin serving my 2 year sentence.
Over the next 7 months Platinum Models grew at a phenomenal rate. Grace and I became engaged. As the head of Platinum Models board I signed 50% of the company shares to her. Arrangements were made to take my place as CEO of the company. In the summer before I left we celebrated Graces 1 year clean with a family BBQ in our backyard. I was ready to serve my sentence and fully accepted the debt I owed to society. Best of all I had severed all ties completely with the criminal underworld, moving forward with a new life.
Late in the summer of 2015 my past was going to come back to haunt me. Crooks are opportunists that are always seek leverage to commit the cowardly crimes. The prefer power by numbers and avoid situations where the odds would be considered to be even. Platinum Models always tries to recruit models that are career oriented, ethical and choose to have an honest purpose in life. Like all other companies a few bad apples get through the screening. Even the police force ends up with a few crooked cops and the army has spies that sells their secrets to enemy nations. Word had gotten back to JD through some models /drivers he had sold drugs to that PMC was doing very well. After JD had been fired from PMC he went back to his old ways (if he’d ever actually stopped). Now he was selling drugs with an outlaw biker club. I hadn’t heard from him in almost 2 years, but my success had caught his and his friends’ attention. As I was about to find out that had no intentions of allowing me to walk away from my past without paying a hefty price called extortion.
JD came into my Hamilton office one day under the pretense of “catching up on old times” After a bit of small talk he cut straight to the chase. He said I owed him $60,000 including interest for drugs that the police had seized during a 2011 drug bust.
http://www.stcatharinesstandard. ... atharines-drug-ring
farther more a man I had introduced him to back then had run off with $40,000 in drugs so all together he decided to inform me that now I owed him $100,000 and that I was to pay it to him before going to jail. This seemed insane to me, I wasn’t sure if I should actually take him seriously or not. Why approach me now with something so crazy after all of this time? I told him that I hadn’t even paid off my lawyers bills and there was no way that I had that type of money and I didn’t even feel as if it was my responsibility. After I told him this he proceeded to inform me that he was prospecting with the outlaws and they still controlled the local jail systems from the inside. He then informed me if I wanted to survive going to jail I would pay him before November.
On the drive home my mind was exploring what happened. I kept thinking JD could not be serious. Why would he insist I pay another man’s debt, after being out of contact for such a long period of time. It became obvious that there was no honor among thieves. In such a sick twist of irony I was going to jail , I was not a “Rat” I could have gotten a lesser sentence had I been and for talking about the same people which allowed them to avoid facing charges yet now, these same people I protected we’re threatening to harm me in jail if I didn’t pay an extortion fee to them for my legitimate business that I had built so I could leave that life.
The next morning I assessed the situation, I thought of calling the police nut I had been to jail before and seen firsthand the beatings and segregation that police informants faced. I would be serving the two years no matter what, so going to the police was not an option. It came to me that under law PMC was a legally operating business and was protected by rights. Biker clubs didn’t go around extorting commercial stores or other legal businesses. JD was playing the odds in this gamble. He was calculating the odds that I hadn’t ratted on my previous charges had also meant I would not contact the police on the extortion, especially given that I was going to jail. This wasn’t just about my business it was about taking advantage of the situation while they were able. He seemed to have to leverage before I went to jail but knew that afterwards I would be able to call the police without consequence. I decided not to tell anyone. It was a rock and a hard place, I needed to weigh the options I had. I even considered calling up some people that I knew from my old life of the criminal underworld, they could fight fire with fire but that would put me right back in the world that I no longer wanted to be in.
A couple months went by and I hadn’t heard a word from JD again. Then 3 weeks before the date of my sentencing date a man I had met through a model at the company a year before had again contacted me. His name is MM. The model that introduced me to him the year before no longer worked with PMC no longer worked with us, she had been let go for using drugs. The reason MM was introduced to me before was because he was attempting to buy a Platinum Models franchise in London, Ontario. He drove a high end car and always was dressed well in flashy clothes but it was quite apparent that he has a short temper in addition to steroid use. At the time I was open to selling a franchise to the right person however I quickly pulled out of the deal after several business meetings with MM and realizing he was planning poor business practices. Making money off a 5th franchise by simply receiving a licensing for the PMC name in London without spending the start up costs would have been great. The risk of the damage MM could cause to PMC’s brand name and the value if the $ other franchises would not be worth it.
MM knew our office’s location from visiting in the year before. He sent me a message that said he would be seeing me in 15 minutes. When MM arrived he was with a large man with a shaved head. MM introduced him to me as big John. At this time there was several employees inside PMC’s office so they suggested that we talk outside. There was a picnic table beside the building of our offices where we all sat down to talk. MM started the conversation MM started the conversation by informing me that him and JD were going to now be partners working for the outlaw biker club. He informed me that Big John was the national president of the outlaw biker club At this point Big John showed me his outlaw tattoo on the inside of his left arm that confirmed what I was being told was true. MM began by telling me that the original $100, 00.00 that JD claimed I owed him would now me $110, 00 with interest because I hadn’t made any payments since JD had come by my office. Next Big John said the outlaws would be approaching every Niagara / Hamilton based agency for protection money and that MM would be in charge of taking the monthly payments. MM then said that PMC would have to pay 2500.00 a month. According to him he had already had several girls and drivers that worked with him already working with every Niagara/Hamilton agency he claimed to have known how much each agency and model made per night. By taking that number and looking at the company’s books seemed to be a reasonable amount and wouldn’t break the company. Since PMC was the largest and the busiest they would be required to pay the most per month. Last of all MM informed me that I was to employ his girlfriend with a job in our office. I told MM that his numbers were inconsistent. The numbers his “planted “models inside PMC’s company had given him been profits yes but not profit less expenses. Big john seemed to understand what I meant but the terms were obviously MM’s . Slowly I explained what the models said was made after each call was a referral fee. The referral fee covered PMC’s operating costs and was used to cover transportation to calls, advertising, office rent, salaries for the office staff and a little thing he overlooked that all legitimate businesses paid called government taxes. What his over cover drivers and models that later would form Elite models told him was actually 1/5th of the actual $2500 amount.
Ive never really had been into the biker culture. It never really appealed to me to ride a loud machine that caused everyone to look at the driver as if they were desperate for attention. The only other group of adult men that wore that much leather and chain were the LGTB community. They did it for fashion and fun, why the bikers did it nobody knows. As far as the outlaws go I had only read one article on them and it wasn’t very flattering.
http://www.thestar.com/news/onta ... gns_in_disgust.html
At this point in my meeting with MM and big john it became apparent that the two men began thinking from one another. I think MM had brought the national president along by promising a huge payday, based on faulty information. Big John seemed to understand a lot more about how a legitimate business operated and this changed tactics while MM sat and listened to us talk. Picking up where I left off I began to explain that every call PMC was on the books for tax purposes just like every product sold at Wal-Mart was rang through a cash register. PMC was a corporation not a sole proprietorship, this means that although I was the CEO and head of the board the cooperation was an independent entity. Legally speaking I couldn’t make $2500 let alone $500 disappear from the company accounts each month without several members of PMC staff helping to conceal the crime. Even if I was to steal the money our office staff are post-secondary graduates with no criminal records as we screened prior to hiring them. Ethically they wouldn’t participate in crimes. Big John seemed to have changed saying he understood the complications involved. He got up to make a phone call. While he was gone MM told me Big Johns real name inside the club was Moose in case I wanted to check with anyone to make sure he was actually the national president. When Moose came back he said I was to pay the debt JD mentioned once I was back from jail. The club would contact me when I was back from jail but leave me and PMC alone until then as long as I allowed one of their people to work within my office. I informed them I would think about it and get back to them in a few days. Moose told me to text my answer to MM by the end of the week, as they left I was very uncomfortable. PMC always worked hard to fairly represent each model, we trusted security drivers to protect the models and handle the company’s money daily. Knowing that some of the people we betrayed that trust to help evil men was a slap in the face. It also clear to me why moose wanted someone to work in the office so badly. That would give the Outlaw club access to all models and drivers information. If PMC couldn’t be corrupted they could use the allure of instant riches, flashy cars and free drugs to earn the loyalty of the talent. Temptations that young woman and men in their early 20’s would find hard to resist. Those same temptations that had brought me into a life of crime at around that age. The end of the week came and went I did not contact MM and no one contacted me back.
November 5th came, that morning I said goodbye to my family hugging Grace last as the bailiff placed me in handcuffs and took me to jail. For those that don’t know, when you enter the federal penitentiary system one has to go through a processing system to define your classification (minimum/medium/maximum) This system of tests requires the inmate to go 14-100 days without contact to the outside world. During this time assessments occur with parole offices, medical overviews and physicals. In between tests I thought a lot about life, family and business. Foolishly I believed what happened with the outlaws was a desperate attempt by the gang to extract money from me before I went to jail. Moose seemed to have common sense unlike JD and MM and I believed he realized how dumb of a plan the later two’s was. In my 3 years in the escort industry I had never heard of or seen firsthand or illegal crime groups operating. And agency JD and MM were outsiders to the escort industry they had no understanding of how legit the agencies were. Their plan was hatched by watching too many episodes of Sons of Anarchy. My plan going forward was to do my time and contact the police if the outlaws approached me after my release. I didn’t allow any outlaw affiliate to work within my office so there was nothing to worry about. Unfortunately I had no idea what the clubs true plan were and just how many promises of instant riches MM’s models and drivers had already made to staff susceptible to its allure.
After 22 days spent at the Joyceville institution I had been assed and deemed stable by psychiatric standards to not be influenced by anyone I called on the phone. When I called Grace I received news that was not very good. Days after I left JD approached me her at work informing her that she was to pay $2500 in protection money to him directly every month. She had been given 7 days to get the money together. That was step 1 of the plan, Step 2 was 6 days later when Grace was to collect money from all the drivers. 3 drivers did not show up and left grace nearly 5000.00 short for the week. These 3 drivers were MM’s double agents most likely that $5000 went directly to the outlaws. After Grace paid advertising, staff and office rent she couldn’t pay JD 2 cents let alone $2500.00. Next step was MM’s group of models left the company and began working for a club owned company that they would tell the public was owned by a model for models. They had convinced models to leave PMC by promising higher rates (350-400/hour) big pay days and there would be no rules on attendance. All this had happened before I was able to make the first phone call. The next day was the Grace had been given as the due date to pay JD the 2500. I told Grace to not meet JD at the office or at the house. To call one of our most trusted security drivers and have him take Grace to meet JD at a public location, not to give him any money and to inform him if he contacts you or any model again that you would be calling the police. I was only able to have one phone call a week. We exchanged “I love yous” and set up a time for the next call.
During the next weeks call Grace told me everything that had happened since our last call. She had set a meeting with JD for the Tim Horton’s down the street from our house as we had planned , security had arrived for her before the meeting took place. As Grace was about to leave JD arrived at Graces house instead he pushed himself inside and he became threatening, Grace explained she did not have the $2500 and that she would call the police if he approached him again. JD said then she would have 110,000 together or hand over platinum models. If she called the police he would harm her and her children. Also that if she had called the police that Family and Children’s services would surely take her children away once they learnt that she was a direct target of a biker club. Terrified of JD and afraid to lose her children Grace told security not to call the police and went into her purse and provided $2500 and gave it to JD.
The next day MM burst into PMC’s Hamilton office while the night receptionist was walking in to start her shift, he stole the company phones and tried to steal the computers. The receptionist called Grace and she called the police to report the theft. Grace spent the next few hours in the Hamilton Police station giving her statement of events. The police asked her what gang these people worked for but Grace could not give an answer as she wasn’t sure. Grace left the Hamilton police office being told if she felt scared she should take her and her children to a shelter as they would need to investigate more before making arrests. Grace was floored, since when does theft go un-arressted, since when did a police force not offer to help a mother and her children. Turns out, those Hamilton didn’t do anything at all. She was informed that the threats were her word against someone elses and JD was claiming he owned part of the company which was 100% untrue. But the police had to take a stand on this being a civil matter until more information was provided to support this being criminal. Grace went on to file civil papers against JD and made an appointment to bring in company paper work that stated company ownership and shares.
The Hamilton police had apparently decided that another on-going investigation they had against the outlaws was more important that Graces and her children’s safety or protecting our business from extortion. I wondered if a call from farther up on the chain of command decided that furthering their level of care. It seemed catching a big publicity case was more important than protecting an ex-drug dealers fiancee and children, or did they simply not care because this was an escort agency, considered to be the underworld of business.
So grace was on her own to go out and figures out how to make this safer for herself, she caved in and texted JD making a request to get the phones back. When they met JD explained that he was giving the phones back but he would be taking 50% of the company, he and MM would be working together and if she complied he would not harm her or her children. She would be able to pay all of her bills and would have very little to worry about, as she had to do was work with them rather than against them. Grace was instructed to fire the current Drivers manager and inform all drivers that mike was a new manager and they should all hand in the funds to him. Grace was unaware that the Outlaws had taken down all the models phone numbers when they had taken the phone. MM did not deposit any let alone 50% of the money to Grace after all of the collections were done. The outlaws have no stolen 12,000 from Platinum Models within 3 weeks. Grace and PMC were broke. I gave Grace the combination to the safe kept at a different location where the paperwork for PMC was kept.
The next day Grace met with the Niagara Regional Police bringing the articles of incorporation along with PMC tax returns to prove that neither JD nor MM have any ownership. Unlike the Hamilton polices response the Niagara Police took the events very seriously. They concluded that there was enough evidence for them to charge both men with not only just theft but also with extortion. To ensure that all charges stuck they could not go forward on a technicality; they would need my testimony and witness signature. There was one problem, I was 6 hours away in Kingston Ontario, and paper work for visitation was required. The date was December 10th 2015. Office staffs for the federal prison system were cut back for the holidays. My testimony wouldn’t take place until mid-January. In the meantime Grace had filed restraining orders and the police had made notes of our residential address in case anything went on.
From the period of November 28th until December 14th the day to day business affairs PMC became a mess. With all the additional safety planning and meeting with the police, addressing confused clients and a hectic family life over the holidays Grace was having a difficult time giving PMC the usual amount of attention it needed. Grace informed me she laid awake in bed most nights worrying that the outlaws work break down the door and hurt her and the children like they had threatened to do so. Grace being a victim of domestic violence in the past being threatened, hurt and having been kidnapped before began having flashbacks of her domestic abuse.JD and MM had waited a very short time after my jail sentence began to attack Grace, our children and the business at its most vulnerable. Being behind bars there was very little I could do to offer help. I was allowed only 2 phone numbers on my registry one was Grace and the other was my mother. My phone card was down to 2$ so I began writing letters. First letter was to my lawyer who wrote back some good advice and recommended that I write a letter to the media explaining the situation. We felt that doing this would draw the right amount to keep Grace and the children safe, letting the world know what these cowards had done would cause them to crawl back into the hole they had creped out of until my statement could be given. When the first wave of MM models and drivers left PMC it was only 8 of 42 models we lost. The 3 drivers we lost wasn’t a big deal except the money that they had stolen when they left to join elite models Canada. Most our staff wanted to stay with PMC they had no idea of the events that happened until after my letter had reached them. Like most people nobody worked for free and because we represented them the models wanted to earn the market value. Platinum Models was no extremely set back financially. In 3 weeks the outlaws and the affiliates had stolen and extorted nearly $15,000 ($5000 from drivers;$2500 taken at the house,6,500 MM took in collections) Grace was terrified to leave the house un-escorted, so we had no CEO which was just as well considering the office landlord had apparently been paid a visit to from JD and kicked us out without warning without warning, claiming it was not safe for his insurance policy after finding out of MM’s theft within the office. The receptionists were now answering the phones from home, at least the ones that remained, some office staff quit because they feared that the outlaws would come to their houses and steal the phones, or worse. Another left because she felt her job security was at risk or that we wouldn’t be able to pay the salaries. Arrangements were made to pay all remaining office staff who stayed to be paid in weekly instalments. We couldn’t pay company credit cards, had to shorten hours of operation due to being under staffed and close 2 or 4 franchises. We didn’t feel right about hiring new models to replace the ones that left due to the threats.
During a phone conversation Grace and I were very thankful that so many people that had offered to help after my first letter. Things looked bleak for PMC we were contemplating closing down after everything was paid off. Family friends had offered us jobs in sales or marketing within their own companies. We both loved PMC it was like a baby we created and loved the fact that it had been a vehicle for making a difference, touching our life’s and all the friends we had made along the way.
About a week before the conversation Grace had received a phone call on the company phones from the owner of Niagara Angels escort Agency saying he had been approached by the same men regarding extortion payments as well. The outlaws first agency’s website was brand new and wasn’t ranked in SEO to draw the web traffic they needed. I imagine they always planned on stealing Platinum Models website which in the industry was leading drawing 180,000 unique visitors each month and an organic SEO that placed it at the top of most metropolitan cities searches for escorts. Seeing as that never happened because we reported them to the police, they now needed a website that ranked at the top of the club claimed to own in Niagara Falls.
I do not know if the owner of Niagara angels reported the outlaws to the police but I do know the outlaws to the police but I do know the outlaws now own the Niagara Angels website. It’s pretty obvious how they obtained the website and access to the models was through extortion. The next day Grace received a copy of an email and text message that the outlaws had sent to everyone that had still remained at PMC. The message contained untrue information on that platinum models was bankrupt and would no longer be operating in Niagara Falls or Hamilton, also welcoming all models or drivers who wanted to continue working were more than welcome to join them at their agency. They went on to say that transition would be smooth and they had already negotiated a price for all of PMC’s photos with PMCs photographer because they informed him that PMC would be going out of business and wouldn’t be paying him anymore.
For those who didn’t know about what had really happened the message seemed to be true. We were running now advertisements, half the office staff was gone, we had no physical office, shortening operating hours and Grace was nowhere to be found. Combine all that with the fact that we hadn’t hired any new models in 3 weeks it would seem as if Platinum Models was in fact closing in the not too distant future. Some models left and went to work with the outlaws agency, others went independent, and those who understood the truth of what had happened stayed. Personally I do not blame the second wave of models and drivers that left. Unlike the first group they were not spies for the outlaws bike club, in the past I myself left a workplace when things seemed to not going well. A family persons first responsibility is to pay bills and provide food on the table for their loved ones. Hopefully once the letter is released they will re consider who they are working for but that is their choice. The outlaws are only going to use the money they make from Niagara Angels to buy and distribute drugs. If you doubt that here is an article from the last Niagara from the last Niagara arrest.
So far my first 2 months in jail have been a real eye opener. For many years before my 2013 arrest I financially benefited from the sale of drug is. Now each day I witnessed firsthand the damage drugs has on our society. Behind the prison walls I am housed with 2000 inmates. From my assessment 80% of the prisoner population is here because of drug addiction or crimes revolving around drugs (murders, kidnap, robbery, assault’s, theft, and distribution) I see hundreds of addicts suffering withdrawals each day. I see potentially deadly assault’s happening due to fights over limited supplies of drugs that have been smuggled into the jails. Realizing that I profited off this misery negatively affects me deeply. Knowing there are so many families who suffer along with these men hurts the most because they did not choose the drugs but rather had to watch the torment of their loved ones lives be destroyed because of it.
During recent conversations with Grace we decided to keep platinum models going, we built it up from nothing so we were sure we would be able to fix the issues. Our primary reason was to let the public know what had happened so we could help stop the flow of drugs. Drugs had almost destroyed Graces life at one point. Drugs were the reason I was currently away from my family. Drugs had affected so many people we knew that we felt we had to take a stand against this happening.
Grace and I have both developed strong ties within the industry community. By keeping Platinum Models open we would do so with the hope of engaging others in a push to publicly legitimize the escort industry. Granted that our personal story is unique in its set of circumstances, no matter what our background, as a job creating and tax paying corporation we shouldn’t be treated as second class citizens by the police and within the law. Like any other industry we have rights and shouldn’t be over run by the likes of JD and MM and the outlaws. We feel if we don’t take a stand here then the next agency or independent will be targeted. Escorts in particular fare public scrutiny because of their choice of work already. They should be entitled to basic rights at the workplace free of discrimination. Having a sexual predator like JD running an agency is a public safety issue. We couldn’t continue to stand by and not report it; it is an obligation to everyone involved to be given a warning. To make sure all clients advertisers and escort agency advocates needed to be aware that these agencies the outlaws started up have been taken over by force and have zero affiliation with Platinum Models Canada. The do not share our same values or standards. There ads and branding are designed to confuse the public into thinking we are working with us or have bought our company also, do not be tricked, investigate their background before spending a dime, or deciding to work for them as an escort.
Grace had contacted our photographer who sold the outlaws some of our Platinum Models photos she found out that he was promised lots of work and additional funds if he agreed to what they were asking for. Three weeks later he hadn’t received a single cent from them or any additional work. The easiest part for JD and MM is misrepresenting themselves and lying about various things just as they did when saying PMC was closing down due to reasons other than that they had stolen money, models and drivers and everyone who they could contact. Anyone familiar with gangs knows that false promises of big pay days and easy money are always made upfront. However gangs rarely deliver on their promises pocketing all money for themselves and discarding the people that they make the promises to as soon as those people complain. Don’t be afraid to stand up to these types of people and report any threats and abuse, take a stand.
For those in the media reading this letter, We understand that the escort industry is a difficult one to report or take a stand on because so many people believe that it shouldn’t exist as it is but ethically our society has a difficult time expressing all sides of social issues because of the increased role media plays in engaging social dialogue. Television format encourages us to focus on the individual when we can see and listen too. Using current media format it is much easier to portray the common story on woman’s life being destroyed by pimps and drugs or the Hollywood rags to riches story in the Jullian Roberts movie “Pretty Woman” , to produce a news segment or television shows that everyone expects. It was far more difficult to present a story of a woman who is working of her own free will to pay off her student loans, leaving the industry after a year, uses her education to get a decent job within her selected field, get married and become a suburban soccer mom. This type of show or news story isn’t a leader for ratings but it is the most common true story that Platinum Models comes across, strives for, lives within. Believe it or not running an agency isn’t thrilling either. Like all other office jobs our time is primarily spent doing paperwork and eating lunch at your desk during breaks. The fact that real escorting jobs is primarily preformed as secret double lives doesn’t mean that those within the field shouldn’t have their jobs not protected from extortion and intimidation. If you read this letter please take the time to know the issues and report them. Do not be afraid to do a story on an average escort. Reporting on the average escort life will aid the public to know the truth. Politicians and police have a difficult job dealing with the issues surrounding escorts as well. Public opinion is split so it isn’t exactly an easy issue to take a stand on. I understand that like an abortion , gay rights, and human cloning, this is another issue that is better left for courts to decide than a politician. However , these unsolved issues are effecting lives every day. My agency is one of 20 large agencies currently operating across Canada. Provinces like Ontario are running yearly multi-billion dollar debts. Working with established agencies to provide proper guidelines and regulations would lead to larger tax contribution from the escort industry. Currently there is no legislation regarding how many hours a week an escort or security drivers are able to work. Valuable tax contributions from thousands of people who work within the escort industry are not being made to the Canadian Pension Plan because of the lack of regulation. Criminal background checks on agency owners, escorts and independents could easily be enforced by the police without costing the public nearly as much money as it costs to attempt to stop it. Money could also be raised by licencing fee similar to ones strippers are required to pay for and obtain to work within the strip clubs. My story shows that criminal organizations believes it can infiltrate this industry because of the lack of the regulation and oversee and government involvement. These are the same people we spend considerable resources to keep out of other areas in our society. By not dealing with this issue effectively we are handing them over the refuge to further their crimes. Bill C-36 has not accomplished what the supreme court asked it to do in the Bedford case and all of the grey areas it has created is a nightmare to work with. The only part that should be kept is the harsher penalties for actual human trafficking. The rest of the bill does not protect the constitutional rights of escorts to work in a safe environment. It does not stop discrimination and harassment against them. While I have been running Platinum Models daily I experienced treatment as if I was a second class citizen from the police. The spring of 2015 after bill C-36 passed our in-call locations were regularly being visited by police officers claiming to be doing “safety checks”. During that period models and drivers were being pulled over 2-3 times a week. Within those “safety checks” and randomly being pulled over there was not one single ticket was issued, not one single arrest was made. I understand the need for safety checks and completely agree that everyone working within the industry must be of appropriate age and to be working of their own choice and not being forced and controlled by another person to work. Platinum Models position is we are glad that the police are protecting the public and taking an initiative to do so. Even though the safety checks done on PMC yielded no citations, if they performed 1000 checks and found one under aged girl being forced to work then in our eyes the effort is worth it. What we disagreed with was the derogatory manner of which these safety checks were performed in. Often times they would pull over the model and driver within a hotel parking lot, would ask the model to get out of the car and wait in their cruisers while the police interviewed the driver, often asking them if they had wives and families saying that they should be ashamed of themselves. After interviewing the driver they would go back to the model. Nobody would be arrested or ticketed and the entire ordeal would take 45-60 minutes. In addition to these hundreds of events of discrimination it would also make the model and driver late for work, adding un necessary stress to innocent law abiding citizens. This same type of police harassment happened to the gays during the 1980’s yet now in 2016 we couldn’t dream of a homosexual facing this type of discrimination for their lifestyle being different than public majority.
The difference between the communities is that the LGTB has organized itself and took a stand against being treated as second class citizens.
At Platinum Models we had several staff meetings during the spring of 2015 on how to deal with the police, during conversation at the traffic stops it was obvious the police were also dealing with a lot of grey areas with the new legislation. We came up with a new idea on how to help the police accomplishment their goals while maintaining our models civil rights. The roadside stops were not helping relations between police and our staff. What we proposed was doing safety and ID checks monthly at our offices in Hamilton Ontario. Everyone PMC represented had signed a contract in addition to providing a copy of their ID. The police could come by, check everyone off as of age and have open conversation with our models and drivers to ensure everyone was there of their own free will. We felt doing this would build better and more trusting relations between the police and those that PMC represented. If anyone had information they would be more likely to shove it under this scenario than a human traffic stop that interfered with their job. Farther if there was a missing underage girl or pimp that the police had been searching for they could hand out fliers to the models, drivers and staff. At the time these ideas were composed we represented 42 models and 26 security drivers, that’s a additional 68 people helping police who worked all over southern Ontario who also spent a lot of time at and near hotels.
My head of security and myself typed up this proposal and emailed it to the head of the HALTON police human trafficking division. We also called the office and were able to arrange a meeting with them that would take place at their headquarters. The day the appointment we arrived on time at the front desk and told the detective would be down shortly to meet us. After a half hour wait the receptionist called us over and informed us that the detective had been called out into the field and he wouldn’t be able to meet us any longer. When I arrived back at the office I sent another email requesting another date to meet. I personally did not get a reply despite several more attempts to connect with that particular detective. Although I was not met with personally the police checks and pullovers stopped almost immediately. During this ordeal again I felt the models PMC represented were once again treated as second class citizens. The police who responded to Graces November 29th report of theft and extortion treated Grace and her children like second class citizens. This needs to stop, the supreme courts original decision in the Bedford case was not brought to life with bill C-36. This same bill that was voted against by every other party but somehow passed because the conservatives unanimously vote for it and they had majority government at the time. The only way to fix the bill is to bring it back to the supreme court which will take 5-10 years of litigation and other country clearly rejected the conservative government drafted this legislation that so clearly violated citizens’ rights. Now when we gave Justin Trudeau and the liberal government the ma |
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发表于 2016-2-19 18:08:20
