Reality P.I. in hooker ‘video extort’ caper
THE WAY PROSECUTORS tell it, the private eye’s client needed to stop a kid from testifying against him.
Samuel Israel of Brooklyn didn’t want the girl to tell a jury she was just 12 in March 2016 when Israel sexually abused her, according to authorities. So he hired private investigator Vincent Parco.
Yes, that Vincent Parco, the 67-year-old mustachioed gumshoe and onetime reality show star of “Parco, P.I.”
The 45-year-old Israel and Parco concocted a scheme, authorities said, to compromise someone close to the girl so that person would put pressure on the kid to back out of testifying.
And that’s where the cameras and a Sunset Park hotel and a sexy Parco associate named Tanya Freudenthaler came in.
Freudenthaler, 41, lured the unnamed person, a relative of Israel’s alleged child victim, to the hotel, where a sex romp with a prostitute took place, prosecutors say. Parco allegedly acquired and set up the cameras.
But the equipment — the cameras — didn’t work. So the trio allegedly put the game plan into action again, this time with more recording equipment. This time, the surveillance worked just fine.
But the second victim, the blackmail target, balked. Instead of getting the kid to keep quiet to avoid the embarrassment of the tape being revealed, the second victim went to the authorities.
And Parco, Israel and Freudenthaler found themselves in a world of trouble.
Brooklyn prosecutors unraveled the tawdry, tangled tale at a Tuesday arraignment on the indictment against the trio. The handcuffed group pleaded not guilty. Parco and Freudenthaler, 41, were released on their own recognizance. Israel, 45, made $150,000 bond.
Parco told the Daily News he’s innocent. His lawyer, Peter Gleason, said his client was looking forward to his day in court.
“Mr. Parco is the premier investigator in New York,” said Gleason. “Through this unfortunate circumstance, this just shows how he goes above and beyond for his clients.”
Parco is charged with unlawful surveillance and promoting prostitution. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. Israel is also charged in the steamy spying scheme, but he also faces other charges like witness tampering and sexual conduct against a child. He’s looking at up to 25 years in prison if he’s convicted.
Assistant District Attorney Adam Libove said when investigators searched Parco’s offices, Parco said Israel was his client and he'd reviewed the recordings.
Parco also allegedly said he’d gathered discrediting like this “many times before.” Parco “repeatedly and deliberately impaired the integrity of the court,” according to Libove.
Parco has no criminal record. But prosecutors noted Parco’s trip to the witness stand in a notorious fatal attraction case.
Parco testified in a 1991 murder trial he sold a pistol and silencer to Carolyn Warmus. She was a star-crossed lover of a Westchester man married to another woman, and convicted for the elimination of her rival.
Parco got immunity for testifying against Warmus, Libove said Tuesday.
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the trio “engaged in an illicit and disturbing scheme in an attempt to obstruct justice. They have now been exposed and I intend to hold them accountable.” He commended the victim and her family for reporting the incidents to his office.
Parco says he’ll fight the case. Israel's lawyer said her client would as well. “I think you’ll see that there’s some set up here,” Susan Necheles said.
Freudenthaler and her lawyer declined to comment.