Ex-Brewster Police Officer Jailed for Protecting Prostitution Businesses
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A former Village of Brewster police officer was sentenced to three years in prison last week after pleading guilty to protecting a prostitution business and a sex trafficking organization from law enforcement in exchange for sexual favors.
Wayne Peiffer, 51, of Highland, engaged in sex with prostitutes for several years in his patrol car and at the police station on Main Street in Brewster when he worked weekend shifts.
“The defendant is rightly punished with a prison sentence for disgracing his badge, violating the public trust in the community he was sworn to serve, and facilitating the victimization of vulnerable women all for his own self-satisfaction,” stated Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “Rooting out public corruption in all its pernicious forms is a priority of this office as such conduct undermines trust in law enforcement.”
“Wayne Peiffer, a police officer and trusted public servant, used his official position to shield prostitution route drivers and sex traffickers from other local and state law enforcement in exchange for sexual favors,” stated Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent-in-Charge Ivan Arvelo. “This case is particularly alarming because Peiffer not only betrayed his sworn duty to uphold the law, but his actions also facilitated the trafficking of young women.”
According to Peace, from approximately 2010 through October 2018, Peiffer provided protection to members of a prostitution business and a sex trafficking organization that each transported women from Queens to Brewster for the purposes of engaging in prostitution.
Peiffer’s protection included advance notice of increased law enforcement activities and assistance with avoiding detection and apprehension. For example, on one occasion Peiffer warned members of the Cid-Hernandez Sex Trafficking Organization not to travel to Brewster because law enforcement officers in a narcotics investigation were conducting car stops in the area. Peiffer met one of the criminal organization’s employees in a service station and told him to leave the area.
On another occasion, Peiffer called one of the organization’s drivers and advised him not to travel to Brewster because of law enforcement activities. When a driver for the organization was pulled over by another Brewster police officer, Peiffer vouched for the driver, describing him as a “friend.” In exchange for his assistance, Peiffer received sexual services from the women at no cost.
Pfeiffer was arrested in 2021 and pled guilty in 2022 to extortion and bribery charges. Four of Peiffer’s co-defendants, Luz Elvira Cardona, Roberto Cesar Cid Dominguez, Blanca Hernandez Morales and Jose Facundo Zarate Morales, all of Queens, were convicted after trial of sex trafficking in October 2023, and they are awaiting sentencing. Co-defendant Cristian Godinez pled guilty to conspiracy to facilitate prostitution and conspiracy to facilitate bribery. He was sentenced in December 2023 to 14 months in prison.
In addition to his prison sentence, which Peiffer was given until September to begin, he must pay $5,000
in forfeiture, as well as perform community service during his supervised release for no less than four hours per week for a total of 208 hours.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
