Charges filed in sex, drug, sting operation
A Houston man who bragged about making $30,000 a week with a high-dollar prostitution operation has been arrested after taking more than a dozen women to The Post Oak Hotel near The Galleria for what he thought would be a raucous bachelor party, according to court records and local law enforcement.
Mark Anthony Cole, 43, is accused of working out a deal for prostitutes and an array of illegal drugs for $1,500 each after bumping into an out-of-uniform law enforcement officer working off-duty security at the hotel — a $350 million development opened by billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta earlier this year.
Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, whose office worked with Houston police in the undercover operation that led
to the arrest, said Tuesday that 13 women were found in one hotel room along with cocaine, ecstasy and OxyContin.
Rosen said some of the women said they had been victims of sex trafficking, and he urged anyone with information about other victims to step forward.
“If Cole has attempted to traffic you or force you into prostitution or force you into committing criminal acts, we want to hear from you...so that we can fully and finally not only protect victims but also put somebody behind bars that very seriously needs to be there,” Rosen said.
Landry’s — a company founded by Fertitta that owns The Post Oak Hotel — said late Tuesday that the investigation originated from information provided by the hotel’s security team, which asked for help from Rosen’s office.
“Affluent properties in the City of Houston seem to experience issues/problems with prostitution, as their clientele is a target for those involved in prostitution activities,” according to the statement from Landry’s general counsel Steve Scheinthal.
“Landry’s Inc. has a zero tolerance policy with regard to all criminal activity, and will continue to take an extremely aggressive approach in dealing with prostitution activity and all other criminal activity at all of their locations and venues,” the statement said.
Fertitta’s vast business empire includes hotels, amusement parks, casinos and restaurants, including the Golden Nugget Casino and Landry’s Seafood restaurant. He also owns the Houston Rockets.
Cole was arrested Oct. 17 after a six-week undercover operation. He has been charged with aggravated promotion of prostitution, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and two counts of delivery of a controlled substance.
Cole, who has a string of prior arrests in Harris County, is being held in the Harris County Jail without bond. He has two prior felony convictions and had received deferred adjudication, a form of probation, on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison, police said.
His court-appointed attorney, Patrick Ruzzo, could not be reached late Tuesday for comment.
The investigation began by chance after Cole struck up a conversation with the plainclothes officer in The Post Oak Hotel lobby. He bragged about his weekly income selling drugs and sex, according to court records.
Cole offered to bring prostitutes, cocaine, ecstasy and OxyContin to a party at the hotel for what the officer told him would be a bachelor party. The 13 women were high-end sex workers from Houston between the ages of 20 and 30, Rosen said.
Vice officers said it was the most women they’d seen together in one hotel room, Rosen said.
“Many of these women were trafficked in a way that they feared Mark, and they were too scared to come forward,” Rosen said.
The operation was a collaborative effort involving the Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, the Houston Police Department’s vice division, the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance and the Harris County District Attorney Office’s Human Trafficking Division.
“A lot of families have been destroyed by this; a lot of lives have been destroyed by this,” Rosen said. “We’re committed to doing something about it, and we are.”
Anyone with information about Cole or other possible victims are asked to contact the Human Trafficking Hotline at 832-927-1650.