Frank Saggio busted for running LI prostitution ring

[Wiseguy]

Suffolk prosecutors look to seize $1.9M from mafia associate Frank Saggio, of West Islip, charged in alleged brothels ring
By Grant Parpan and Sandra Peddie
April 28, 2025

Suffolk prosecutors are looking to seize a $1.2 million Fire Island home owned by the alleged leader of a long-running prostitution ring that operated brothels in Holbrook and West Babylon with the help of a Suffolk County police officer and Islip High School gym teacher, court records show.

The home seizure is part of a $1.96 million civil forfeiture filing against self-proclaimed mafia associate Frank Saggio, his wife and girlfriend for money earned from the alleged scheme, according to the complaint. Prosecutors allege the Ocean Beach home was bought by a corporation controlled by Saggio using proceeds from the sale of the Holbrook brothel property, records show.

"Saggio ... purchased [24 Bungalow Walk] in order to launder the proceeds generated by the illegal activity," Assistant District Attorney Craig Pavlik wrote in the April 24 filing.

Saggio, 60, of West Islip, and his girlfriend, Dana Ciardullo, 32, of East Meadow, were charged in October along with veteran Suffolk police officer George Trimigliozzi, 56, of Islip, and physical education teacher Steven Arey, 54, of Islip, in a 58-count indictment alleging enterprise corruption and promoting prostitution, court records show.

Prosecutors have said Saggio oversaw the brothels from October 2019 through last June, a bail letter states. The police officer and the teacher allegedly served as managers of American Girls Spa locations on Sunrise Highway, while Ciardullo managed the West Babylon site, known as Tunnel of Love, prosecutors said.

The defendants in the criminal case, which is ongoing, forced the sex workers, some of whom spoke limited English, to sign "leases" to pay for the use of the suites — $6,000 monthly for the Holbrook location and $12,000 for West Babylon, prosecutors said. The sex workers were paid in tips.

The civil forfeiture complaint alleges "rent" was the "code word" for illegal payments received by 6801 Sunrise Highway, a corporation controlled by Saggio that was named for the address of the Holbrook location. Saggio's wife, Lisa Piazza Saggio, who is named as a noncriminal defendant in the forfeiture action, was listed as the sole officer of the corporation, prosecutors said. The corporation served more as an "alter ego" for Frank Saggio, prosecutors wrote in the filing.

Property records show that in July 2022, Saggio sold the Holbrook property for $1.2 million. About two months later, he bought the house at 24 Bungalow Walk for $1.25 million. The court papers describe the transaction as an effort "to launder the proceeds generated by the illegal activity conducted by 6081 Sunrise."

Lisa Saggio did not respond to a phone call or text seeking comment.

Attorney Anthony La Pinta, of Hauppauge, who is representing Saggio along with co-counsel Mark Lesko, said last week’s filing, which seeks to prevent the house from being sold while the criminal case is ongoing, is expected in such a case. He said the attorneys are currently reviewing the evidence against their client.

"We are continuing to review the enormous amount of discovery provided to us," La Pinta said.

Because Ciardullo is alleged to have profited from the operation, she is named in the effort to collect a judgment, said her attorney, Nancy L. Bartling.

She added that it could also be an attempt to recoup some of the money spent on the district attorney’s investigation, which ran at least 18 months and involved extensive wiretaps.

John Powers, immediate past president of the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association, said the district attorney’s effort could be seen as pressure on Saggio and Ciardullo.

The Ocean Beach property is not the first home Suffolk prosecutors have sought to seize in the summer rental community in recent years. Five homes purchased by former Schechter School of Long Island chief financial officer David Ostrove in Ocean Beach are the subject of ongoing civil forfeiture action.

Ostrove, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence and also resided in West Islip, was convicted by a jury last year of stealing $8.4 million from the school and laundering the funds through the purchase and rental of the Fire Island properties, which are now being managed by a court-appointed attorney while the case is pending.

Four of the Ostrove homes subject to forfeiture are being offered as short-term rentals by a real estate management company, while the fifth home, which never received a certificate of occupancy, is pending sale after being listed for $2.4 million, court records show. The proceeds of the sale and rentals are to be used to maintain the homes while the district attorney’s office seeks forfeiture.

Saggio, who has multiple prior felony convictions, published an autobiography in 2004 titled "Born to the Mob: The True-Life Story of the Only Man to Work for All Five of New York's Mafia Families," in which he claimed to have "worked for each of New York’s big five [Mafia] families, refusing to pledge his allegiance to any single organization."

Prosecutors said at the time of Saggio’s October arrest that $104,225 in cash was seized from the West Islip home he shared with his wife.
"Any kind of property that’s in play, that’s more of a bargaining chip the government has over the accused," he said.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment.

"A lot of times, this is a pressure tactic," she said.
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/cri ... o-hgbon12c


New York Post article
https://nypost.com/2025/04/28/us-news/m ... p-teacher/

Suffolk County DA Press Release
https://www.suffolkcountyda.org/suffolk ... lk-county/

[Tony Monte]

Didn’t he flip back in the day?

[Wiseguy]

Didn’t he flip back in the day?

I don't recall if he testified against anyone but he wrote that book Born to the Mob.

[B.]

The book is terrible and filled with nonsense (like Saggio being an elite associate of all the Families) but he really was related to Phil Giaccone and there are a few anecdotes about interacting with Giaccone's former crew after his death that I recall being interesting.

Pennisi mentioned meeting Phil Giaccone Jr. at one point. I believe he's a Genovese associate.

[Tonyd621]

Anytime I read a news article that says "self-described mobster" "self-proclaimed" "self-declared." I have to cringe. Because one i know whatever he says about himself in the article is bullshit. Like, automatically. "Self...mobster... they should hit this asshole with RICO charges. Unlike the Lucchesses who did not get bail recently, this guy probably will. Figure that sh*t out...

[Hired_Goonz]

That was the worst mob book I ever read. Almost 20 years later I still can't get over him claiming that Pistone called his uncle Phil's house the day of the three captains hit to tell him not to go to the meeting tonight. There were tons of obvious lies in the book but they always stood out to me.

[B.]

That was the worst mob book I ever read. Almost 20 years later I still can't get over him claiming that Pistone called his uncle Phil's house the day of the three captains hit to tell him not to go to the meeting tonight. There were tons of obvious lies in the book but they always stood out to me.

Oh yeah, forgot about that one hahaha.