Prosecutors allege he was bribed with sex

Federal prosecutors have charged a Brewster police officer with demanding sex in exchange for protecting two organizations accused of luring women and girls from Mexico to New York for prostitution.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York alleges that Officer Wayne Peiffer provided protection from arrest and advanced warning of police operations to Queens-based sex traffickers for more than eight years.

Peiffer
Peiffer

Since May 2002, prosecutors said one ring promised girls and women in Mexico work and “a better life,” and then used force, threats of force, fraud and coercion to traffic them for sex, according to a 14-count indictment unsealed on Dec. 14.

Another ring drove girls and women from Queens to assigned routes in Brewster and other places to meet clients, according to court documents.

In exchange for protection, prosecutors allege that members of the rings brought women to Peiffer for sex, including at the Brewster police station. In text messages filed with court documents, Peiffer appeared to discuss the physical appearances of the women.

Peiffer, 48, was charged with extortion, promoting prostitution and bribery. He pleaded not guilty on Dec. 14 in federal court in Brooklyn and was released after posting $300,000 bond.

In a statement on Dec. 15, Brewster Mayor James Schoenig said Peiffer has been suspended without pay and that the village “is cooperating fully with the investigation.”

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies assisted the FBI in the case. In addition to Peiffer, five Queens residents were charged: Luz Elvira Cardona, Roberto Cesar Cid Dominguez, Cristian Noe Godinez, Blanca Hernandez Morales and Jose Facundo Zarate Morales.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

The Peekskill resident is a former reporter for the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, where he covered Sullivan County and later Newburgh. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Morgan State University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. Location: Cold Spring. Languages: English. Area of Expertise: General.

2 replies on “Brewster Officer Accused of Protecting Sex Traffickers”

  1. So this officer was allegedly forcefully raping women. Why isn’t that term anywhere in this story or headline? He had a gun and allegedly raped them. He allegedly used his position of unbridled power to rape women. He allegedly brokered the public trust of an officer of the law to rape women. I expect unwarranted cop-friendly nomenclature in the bigger news sources not a local independent like The Current.

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