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Desert Divas

March 21, 2009

Desert tales often include camels, hot sun, and sometimes even sandstorms. But the Desert Divas were a story of another type. It was a prostitution ring in Arizona that became famous when police put the finger on them in 2008.

Desert Divas

Paul Nichta was the brains behind the Desert Divas. He mainly ran his operation online. These included Desert Divas, AZ Confidential, Hips Tour and Escorts in Action. Paul’s business, and thus his stable of girls, extended into New Mexico and even Pennsylvania. The ring really had no official name, but because it was based in the desert city of Phoenix, the name Desert Divas from one of the web sites became the one most used by the media and police.

This now famous group set a few records. Desert Divas was broken up in the largest investigation into prostitution that had ever taken place in Arizona. Charges were brought against more than 50 individuals. Police seized three homes, a motorcycle and eight other vehicles. Those will bring some money to the state through auctions. Speaking about money, most of the escorts in this ring earned between $2,000 and $15,000 a night. That larger amount was possible in the form of tips.

The Desert Divas girls weren’t the usual suspects when you think about prostitutes. The age range was 18 to 40 years old. Many women were attracted to work for this business which included everything from escort services to live web cameras. Some of the websites included pay-per-view live sex action.

Indictments came in September for three men, including Paul Nichta, who ran Desert Divas. There were charges filed in both Arizona and New Mexico. Racketeering was one of the main charges – it’s nothing more than engaging in illegal business activities. It turns out many of the girls, including seven college girls, were recruited via ads in college newspapers. Most women warmed up with legitimate dating and R-rated WebCams before they graduated to full-fledged pornography and escorting.

It turns out a pretty unfortunate woman was also known as the Desert Diva. She used the name Desert Diva Assistant for her business assistant service. She was caught up in the prostitution situation when people confused her name and web site with the now famous case. She received many harassing emails, including from so-called attorneys who claimed to be suing the government for stealing a cat.

Desert Divas

The world gets weirder and weirder. Desert Divas is par for the course.

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