Faces Charges A Third Time –

Holland Claims His ‘Escort Service’ Was Not A Prostitution Ring

By Denise Lavoie

Associated Press

Louis “Buddy” Holland, Jr, complained to the undercover police officer about the seedy trappings of his job running a high-priced escort service.

“It is a shady business and you could get hurt,” he told the female officer, who police say was posing as a would-be prostitute interviewing to join Holland’s organization.

Despite his complaints, Holland apparently liked his business well enough. Twice convicted of running a Danbury prostitution ring, Holland had started up again, state police say.

This time, he allegedly ran a $250- to $300-an-hour escort service out of his parents’ home in Newtown and a small office in Bridgeport. State police say the business, known as Bunny’s Inc., was a thinly disguised front for prostitution.

The quiet of the suburban dead-end street where Holland lives with his parents was disturbed in April when the state police organized crime task force raided the Holland home.

They also raided the Bridgeport office that Holland allegedly used as a dispatch center.

Stacks of credit card receipts, computer files with the names of Holland’s customers, financial records for prostitution services, and other documents were found during the raids.

In October, two women were charged with prostitution and two male drivers were arrested along with Holland.

Police say the records show Holland’s service had almost 200 customers and $150,000 a year in receipts. His parents were apparently unaware of their son’s activities, according to police.

The women did not work out of the Newtown house. But Holland allegedly used phone lines at the house and office to set up appointments with men looking for prostitutes, state police Sgt John Drescher said.

The women worked mostly – but not exclusively – in Fairfield and New Haven counties, but also traveled to such places as the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket.

“He would send the girls wherever customers wanted them,” said Sgt Drescher, a member of the organized crime task force.

Holland, who received suspended sentences and probation on the two earlier convictions, denies any wrongdoing. He pleaded innocent November 28 to charges of promoting prostitution, violating the state’s Corrupt Organizations Racketeering Act, and conspiracy.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Holland said he ran a legitimate escort service in which the women signed contracts saying they would not do anything illegal.

“I’m not a pimp – by no means,” he said. “I’m a businessman.”

Holland acknowledged that some of the girls may have decided on their own to have sex with clients, but claimed he never encouraged that and didn’t know about it.

“I’m not denying that some of these girls might have gone out and done something they weren’t contracted to do, but if they did that ... they should be accountable for their actions,” he said.

Holland called the girls “adult entertainers,” and said he told them they were to provide lingerie modeling, private dancing, or companionship.

“Basically, they were going to be paid for their companionship,” he said.

He said he was a “booking agent” for the women and collected a flat booking fee from them. He would not disclose his fee.

“I want to leave that out because I’m still in business,” he said.

Holland said he feels he is being “railroaded” by the state police.

“I’m not a bum like they made me out,” he said.

According to court documents, Holland advertised his business in newspapers, on the Internet, and in the Yellow Pages, describing Bunny’s as a reputable escort service that guaranteed “100 percent satisfaction.”

Holland said he worked for years as a professional welder but was seriously hurt in 1986 after a 25-foot fall at a Danbury construction site. He was out of work for almost a year.

After he recovered he decided to go into a different business. He said he considered opening up a dating service, but found that most people “wanted things more expedited.”

Holland said he hired lawyers to advise him on how to set up a legitimate escort service.

“If I could make people happy and make a living doing it, it was going to work for me,” he said.

Several women have signed sworn affidavits saying that Holland required them to have sex with him as a tryout before he would hire them.

Holland, who called himself “Joe” in his dealings with the women, denied the allegations. He theorized that the girls who gave the statements were either threatened by state police or jealous because he had refused to date them.

“They all wanted to date so-called ‘Joe,’” he said. “They all had this false belief that I had a lot of money.”

One woman told police that in December of 1998, at a time when she had no job and was virtually homeless, she responded to an ad in the Yellow Pages for Bunny’s Escorts. She said she eventually met in her motel room with a man who identified himself as Joe.

She said Joe told her that it was her job to please the men and to provide “full service.”

“Joe then said that he had to get to know her body and had to show her what ‘full service’ was,” a warrant for Holland’s arrest states. “She then had intercourse and oral sex with him and he explained that that was ‘full service.’”

Holland’s lawyer, Mark Balaban, would not comment on the case or on the earlier convictions.

“The case is going to be prosecuted very seriously because it’s his third arrest for the same offense,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Susan Filan.

Holland says he plans to move to Nevada once his criminal case is resolved, but not because prostitution is legal there. He says he plans to go back to being a professional welder.

“I’m just waiting for my day in court,” he said.