NEW YORK – Seven New York residents have been indicted on charges of running a 24-hour prostitution ring on Craigslist.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office says five of the seven were arrested Wednesday on charges of corruption, conspiracy and money laundering.
They're scheduled to appear in state Supreme Court on Wednesday in Queens, where authorities say the operation was based.
Authorities are searching for two other people.
Cuomo's office says the group operated Room Service Entertainment in the "erotic services" section of Craigslist from June 2007 through December 2008.
Investigators say the ads included explicit or seminude photographs and a phone number to arrange "dates."
The defendants each face a maximum 25 years in prison if convicted.
Last week, the company said it agreed to remove its "erotic services" section and monitor ads in a new "adult" category.
The move followed the arrest of a Boston medical student charged with murdering a masseuse he allegedly met on the classified ad site.
Click here for photos from the 'Craigslist Killer' case.
Pressure to remove the category ramped up this spring when Philip Markoff, 23, was charged with killing Julissa Brisman, 25, who advertised erotic massage services on Craigslist.
He has also been charged in two other similar hotel crimes against women he allegedly met on Craigslist — the attempted robbery of a Las Vegas stripper in Rhode Island and the armed robbery of another erotic masseuse in Boston.
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