By John Schuppe and Andrea Swalec
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Male and female officers posing as hookers reportedly reeled in nearly 200 johns in a four-day citywide prostitution sting that ended Sunday.
Ten prostitutes were also arrested in what the NYPD dubbed “Operation Losing Proposition” according to the Daily News and the New York Post.
At the Sixth Precinct in Greenwich Village, police arrested seven people for allegedly soliciting NYPD decoy prostitutes as part of the citywide sting, sources told DNAinfo.
Five men were arrested in the Village for allegedly soliciting a female plainclothes decoy officer, and two men were arrested for allegedly soliciting male undercover officers who were in the immediate area as backup for the female decoy, sources said.
The busts took place at well-known areas for prostitution along Washington and Greenwich Streets, and those arrested in the Village were charged with patronizing a prostitute, sources said.
Deputy Inspector Brandon del Pozo, the Commanding Officer of the Sixth Precinct, said that bringing down prostitution "has always been a priority in the Sixth Precinct," and added that the precinct runs undercover stings on a regular basis to clear out the area.
The precinct also takes aim at prostitution by arresting defendants on charges including loitering to commit prostitution and public lewdness, he said.
The sting was launched in response to complaints in several neighborhoods, police told the Post.
The largest number of arrests occurred in Brownsville, Brooklyn, where 16 people were busted. Fourteen suspects were arrested in Jackson Heights, Queens.
Police also impounded 56 cars citywide.
