whatdrought

Cause criminals are well known for their adherence to tax law. Yup. Ran for days all over CNN and the like before they realized he lied out his ass... celebrities get attention. That's what Mr. Smollete bet on, and now he's going to jail.

We live in a country of piss poor punishment. Everything is a plea deal and community service. Nothing says recidivism like "I had to pay a fine." I know from a real standpoint it doesn't work, but what about forced castration on men who use trafficked prostitutes? That'd ruffle some feathers.

That's a good first step. Step two would be to make any "johns" arrested for soliciting from trafficked women culpable and criminally liable for the trafficking crime as well ala rico changes with organized crime. Not that that will stop a whole lot, but it'd be much easier to get those jackasses off the street.

You don't know that for sure (unless you do, if so, please share), for one. and for two: I've already gone through this multiple times in this thread- that matters legally speaking but it doesn't matter optically speaking and what the outrage machine will (or should) do with it. The reality is this: If you pay for sex, you're potentially getting it from a slave. He took that risk and he will pay in reputation and likely in career because of that. More to the point, it's a hard sell to imagine that he went in there and didn't have a single clue. If it was a well run establishment with willing women it would probably not be such a sketchy ass place.

But he went back a second time. Plus, it'd be a hard sell to argue that a man worth 6.5 billion dollars stumbled into a ***** hole massage parlor and before he knew it she was touching his no-no square. He went there (had a driver take him there) for the act of sexual gratification which he paid for. It's prostitution. If the girls weren't slaves it's probably not as big a deal, but they were and it is. - at least in my opinion.

I forgot about Soldier and Butler, it makes more sense now. The problem with the comp picks is that the Patriots always let players go, and teams always sign them to huge contracts because their patriots background gives teams hard-ons. If teams stop overpaying for ***** players from the Patriots, this would stop happening. I will say though, it is really quite ridiculous that the NFL keeps the formula locked down.. What's the point of that? Do teams not know and they don't want teams messing with the system? Or is it just kept from the public? It's hard to claim parity and equal playing field with such secrets-however small.

Definitely, and on an NFL level. Legally I am sure they would have to prove that, but the reality is this: if you're not paying for sex, you don't run the risk of getting screwed by a human slavery scandal. According to the police there is a video of him soliciting and receiving sexual favors for money. That's the very definition of prostitution. I think the fact that it happened twice is indicative of pattern of behavior and really makes me (just as a passive bystander) question how much he knew about the real situation there. Well, he was asked directly about the Kraft thing...

I would be very happy with legislation that states anyone charged with solicitation or forced protistutes is also able to be charged for the human trafficking deal. Kinda make it like a rico situation.

Really it doesn’t matter if he knew the ins and outs either way. His demand caused the suply thus making him culpable on some level of another.

I know this thread is huge and hard to follow, but I followed this up by explaining that whether or not he was actively aware of the situation, his money was paying for human slavery. It might not effect the legality side, but it will definitely effect the PR side.

I think the fact that we're hearing about this as he is being charged is important as well. That tells me that the LEO's have their crap together and have made sure this is a solid case before letting anything leak. Rare that we wouldn't hear something before it got to the charges/warrant stage.

NFL.com takes the most vanilla version of the story (rightfully so) http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001018628/article/patriots-owner-robert-kraft-charged-with-solicitation

I think they probably do, but the optics of letting a good team get away with it vs. like say the bills, or the lions. It's easy to accuse them of protecting the fatted calf if nothing is done.

Honestly the fact that this is owner the most successful team in history *pukes violently for typing that* makes it more likely that the NFL does something. No room for viewed favoritism here. The history of the NFL v. Patriots as well.

Pay that man.

Every year we hear about the FBI and other groups busting huge rings that were opperating around the Superbowl- to my knowledge, the NFL has never done much or said much in relation to this? - that being said, this will likely become a thing. If a Running back can be exiled for fighting with a woman who was an active participant in the fight, why is it hard to imagine an owner getting exiled for this? I feel that the double standard on that would give weight to the "rich white owners and their black slaves/players" narrative that many like to push.

I think you're confusing his knowledge of his involvement with his involvement. Even if he didn't know (which is another conversation) his money was still used for human trafficking. They can't charge him with that unless they prove his intent and knowledge, but the optic of it is still there. He was actively involved in that.

The charges mean absolutely nothing. He was actively involved in human trafficking whether or not he was a decision maker in the process. The description of the conditions that these women were kept in alone is enough to make it clear that this isn't a basic prostitution thing. The public optic of this will be huge.

It seems like they would definitely be able to force him to sell.. It also isn't about the act itself, it's that he was actively involved in paying for human trafficking. That's a whole new topic. If this was a regular escort on the streets of boston, probably no big deal with a slight suspension. These women were slaves and he contributed to it (whether or not he was a direct actor in their slavery)

Not sure the legal side has as much to do with it as the optic side. What about the Richardson thing? That was harassment, not even action and he sold.

I would imagine that if this ends up with him getting forced out, the Kraft name will go with him... Does the NFL have anyone else waiting in the wings to be an owner like Tapper was? I could see them wanting a quick and tidy move here.

Prostitution and any connection to human trafficking has to be worse... Right?

I thought his was more harassment than actual action? Also, what was his penalty?

TSW people are pretty useless for rational conversation - anyone have thoughts on long term impact of this? (pending more info of course) I can't imagine it not resulting in him being forced to sell.