Police in Jupiter, Florida, announced today that Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots team, recent Super Bowl winners, the final of the National Football League (NFL), had been charged for seeking the services of prostitutes.
At a press conference, police chief Daniel Kerr reported that the investigators had a video recording showing that the 77-year-old businessman had sex with a prostitute.
He said the findings of the investigation had been forwarded to Florida Attorney Ashley Moody, whose services should formally indict Robert Kraft.
According to the chief of police, the owner of the NFL champion team should be charged with two different charges, corresponding to the two reports documented by the investigation he had with prostitutes.
"We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft took part in any illegal activity," a spokesman for Robert Kraft said in a statement to AFP.
"To the extent that this is a court case," he added, "we will not make any further comments."
Arrest warrant
The indictment of Robert Kraft is part of the dismantling of a prostitution network linked to several massage and care establishments in the region, including the Orchids of Asia Day Spa.
Two people of Chinese origin suspected of leading this network have already been arrested, said Daniel Kerr today.
The investigator revealed that a hidden camera had been placed by his team in the massage rooms, which allowed the recording of sexual acts between clients and prostitutes.
He also explained that, in the case of the indictment of a non-resident of the State of Florida, which is the case of Robert Kraft, an arrest warrant was issued.
In addition to the owner of the Patriots, 24 individuals believed to have been customers of this prostitution ring will be charged by the Florida Attorney's Office.
Asked by AFP, the local office of the prosecutor Moody, responsible for the file, declined to comment.
According to Florida law, soliciting the services of a prostitute is punishable by 60 days in prison.
A businessman from the Boston suburbs, Robert Kraft made his fortune in packaging and the paper industry. His fortune is now estimated at $ 6.6 billion by Forbes magazine .
He bought the New England Patriots in 1994 and transformed the club, which has won six Super Bowls since 2002, a record.
The Kraft Group also owns the Patriots Stadium, Gillette Stadium.
"It's the shadow men who are the monsters in this equation," Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said on Tuesday about customers involved in the network at a news conference on this case.
"Without being moralistic," he added, "none of this would have happened if these men had not benefited from human misery."