DANBURY – The owner of three motorcycle dealerships in southern New England as well as Waterford Speedbowl was one of three men arrested and charged this week for allegedly being a client of a prostitution ring that exploited young men with mental disabilities for more than 20 years.
Bruce Bemer
Bruce J. Bemer was charged Wednesday with patronizing a trafficked person. He was released from custody at Superior Court here Thursday on a $500,000 bond and is due back in court on April 26.
Bemer, who lives in Glastonbury, owns New England Cycle Center in Hartford, Springfield Motorsports in Massachusetts and Columbia Motors in Columbia, CT.
Also arrested was Will Trefzger of Westport, who the “News Times” newspaper describes as a previously convicted sex offender. The newspaper reported that Trefzger is being held on $250,000 bond in Bridgeport.
The arrests of Bemer and Trefzger follow the earlier arrest of Robert King. The newspaper reports that King “was at the center of the ring, which served as many as eight wealthy men in Connecticut and Massachusetts. King would befriend troubled young men, including one he found prowling through a Dumpster, get them hooked on drugs including cocaine and heroin and, when they had run up debts, pushed them into prostituting themselves, arrest affidavits show.
“Police said the ring had been under investigation since January 2016, but Bemer told them King had been sending him young men for more than 20 years. King has been charged with second-degree prostitution and tampering with a witness.” King is being held in custody at Garner Correctional Facility in Newtown on a $200,000 bond.
The “News Times” reports that, according to court records, “At least 15 young men in their early 20s with illnesses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were exploited as part of the scheme… Some of the victims had severe disabilities and were living in group homes.”
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Tampering with a witness? In what sense?