NEW YORK — A Brazilian woman charged with running a high-end Manhattan brothel claimed two prominent business executives as clients, according to court papers.
The papers, filed Wednesday at Andrea Schwartz’ arraignment, describe sensational allegations made by the 31-year-old during police questioning, including claims that one of the executives gave her $50,000 a year in various gifts and had sex with her several times a month.
The woman has described her relationships with prominent executives in interviews, but this is the first time names have surfaced in court.
Schwartz named Wayne Pace, vice president and chief financial officer of Time Warner Inc., and Bob Voccola [pictured] chief investment officer of Barrett Associates, as the executives and said they gave her cash and paid many of her bills, court papers say. Ed Adler, a spokesman for Time Warner Inc., said his company was aware of the allegations involving Pace. He said the company had “conducted a review and found no illegal conduct by Mr. Pace or misuse of corporate funds.”
Voccola was suspended from Barrett Associates “pending an internal investigation,” said Russell Vernon, a spokesman for the firm.
“The nature of the issue is such that there is absolutely no indication that any client accounts or funds were involved,” he said.
Schwartz said during questioning by police, “I’m now having sex with my financial adviser, Bob Voccola from Barrett Associates. We have sex once or twice a week over the past year and a half. He’s given me about $50,000 a year in cash, mortgage payments and checks and other things.
“He also gave me a credit card and financial advice, telling me where to invest, helping me with my mortgage,” the papers quote Schwartz as saying. “He even helped me with INS (immigration authorities) after my husband and I got divorced.”
Schwartz’ comments to police were in papers filed in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court, where she was arraigned on charges of prostitution, promoting prostitution, criminal possession and sale of a controlled substance and money laundering.
Schwartz, a blue-eyed brunette who reportedly speaks several languages, recruited Brazilians for brief stints of prostitution in Manhattan, reportedly charging $800 to $1,500, depending on what the customer wanted, authorities said.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges and was jailed on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond. She was told to return to court Aug. 10.
Assistant District Attorney Artie McConnell told the judge that Schwartz was a flight risk because she had four passports and millions of dollars passing through her bank accounts.
McConnell also said Schwartz had handed drugs to undercover police officers she thought were customers and had more than $11,000 in cash on her when arrested.
The court papers quote Schwartz as saying she believed that about $1.5 million had passed through her accounts since 2001.
“I brought a lot of cash into and out of the U.S.,” she says. “America is the best country to invest in, so why is that wrong?”