Just finished Scars and Stripes by Tim Kennedy. I recommend the audiobook since he reads it himself.

A few years ago, Kennedy worked with a human trafficking organization on an undercover sting in an attempt to flip lower-level pimps to identify high-level powerful people behind the operations. They spent months gathering evidence and building cases against pimps in the Houston area. When it came time to make the busts, someone high in the Houston PD said "Houston does not have a sex trafficking problem" and ended the operation.

Months of watching young and underage girls getting beaten and pimped out for nothing. He describes the heartbreaking emotions of having to walk away unable to help any of those girls.

Infuriating.

He needs to out whomever high in the Houston PD said that and killed the program.

Nothing is going to change until people are brought to task, and as long as things remain as anonymous accusations, nobody is going to change how they operate.

While there are still rub and tug massage places on every other block...up until about 10 years ago, there used to be literal brothels operating freely and openly in certain areas of town. They would be lit up with neon lights at night and would basically advertise their services outside. My old place near Chimney Rock and Richmond was near a bunch of them. My gf (wife now) from The Woodlands, then Austin, was fascinated by this and didn't believe me, so I drove her down Star Lane and Barbara Lane in an industrial section across Chimney Rock from our hood. Every single one of the places, to a T, had a bunch of HPD/"we donate-support HPD" stickers up and down their entrance doors. Seems obvious that these places were just paying off local law enforcement to run their operations...guessing at some point a relatively upstanding police chief came in and said they were going to crack down on the wh00re houses and just leave the massage places alone.

Scary stuff.
Wonder if that was the year before the Superbowl was supposed to be played there?
Don't want that bad publicity, right?


From 2016:[url=https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/sex-trafficking-ring-leader-sentenced-houston-life-prison][/url]

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Sex trafficking ring leader sentenced in Houston to life in prison
A federal jury convicted Hortencia Medeles-Arguello, aka Raquel Medeles Garcia or "Tencha," April 24, 2015, following a 10-day trial and about four hours of deliberations. She was convicted on all counts: conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, conspiracy to harbor aliens, aiding and abetting to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

This landmark sex trafficking case is one of the most significant in scope and magnitude to be tried to a verdict of guilty on all counts, and one of the few in which as many as 12 victims of an international sex trafficking scheme came forward to testify at trial. Twelve victims rescued in connection with this case testified at trial regarding the horrors of their ordeals, beginning with being recruited in their home countries, only to be forced into prostitution against their will in the United States. Some victims were as young as 14 years old when the traffickers recruited them, using fraud and false pretenses to lure them into the traffickers' control.

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From 2018[url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/11/us/the-hunt-john-walsh-diaz-juarez-texas-sex-slave-human-trafficking/index.html][/url]

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Inside Houston's sex slave trade
"People see Houston as a hub for human trafficking because of its proximity to the border," said FBI special agent Suzanne Bradley. "It also has access to the I-10 highway corridor, which goes across the country, so if they're smuggling people in and trying to get them into human trafficking in other areas of the country, it's very easy to get them on that I-10 route and disperse them throughout the country

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The Hortencia case started during a TABC raid when they found rooms with women in them and an inner block of rooms housing the under 18 women that garnered the highest profit per trick.

Its got a county judge problem.

Most people would be shocked at how many brothels used to exist.
Back before birth control was a steady thing men would visit those places to "get the urges out" so they did not have 14 kids at home.

We actually have sex trafficking bus tours in Houston.

TxTarpon said:

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Scary stuff.
Wonder if that was the year before the Superbowl was supposed to be played there?
Don't want that bad publicity, right?

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It was during the 2017 Super Bowl. Interesting...

popo in the pocket of the cartels. This is their MO. Going to see more and more crime out in the open as cartels gain more influence.

Massage parlors used to line Hwy 6 on the way to Houston in the 80s. A sheriff shut them down. More recently a string of massage parlor fronts were shut down in BCS.

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popo in the pocket of the cartels. This is their MO. Going to see more and more crime out in the open as cartels gain more influence.

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Are you saying HPD and local county Mounties are in the pocket of the mexican cartels?

Was it "at least she wasn't raped" Acevedo?

I work emergency medicine in Houston. We have a huge f-ing sex trafficking problem. Although Tim Kennedy is an attention ***** and rather obnoxious and I take all too grand statements from him with a grain of salt, but that's another conversation

Back in the 80s a rather ornate house was built on the corner of Beechnut and Gessner. I've been told it was a brothel. Probably been one a couple of times.

Some of them, yes. It's inevitable. It's widely known that local LE along the border are on the payroll and it's very prevalent in Mexico. When that doesn't work intimidation often does. You get a random email with a video of your wife shopping at HEB and a suggestion on how to keep her safe. People who think that the brutal tactics south of the border isn't already happening here and isn't going to get worse have their head in the sand.

> Houston doesn't have a sex trafficking problem

That's a relief!

schmellba99 said:

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He needs to out whomever high in the Houston PD said that and killed the program.

Nothing is going to change until people are brought to task, and as long as things remain as anonymous accusations, nobody is going to change how they operate.

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This crime involves those at the top of our government. Literally the very top.

Houston most definitely has a trafficking problem and it absolutely reaches high level personnel.


That said, Kennedy rubs me the wrong way.

TxTarpon said:

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Most people would be shocked at how many brothels used to exist.
Back before birth control was a steady thing men would visit those places to "get the urges out" so they did not have 14 kids at home.

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I guess they didn't use the "up your bum no baby" method

Darth Randy said:

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That said, Kennedy rubs me the wrong way.

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lol, that's actually a recurring theme throughout the book. His big mouth and cockiness have got him into a lot of trouble and kicked out of a lot of career paths.

But the dude is a unique one-of-a-kind individual. He's lived 4 lifetimes compared to the average person. He went through some major battles in Afghanistan. Him and a few buddies flew to Afghanistan during the fall and smuggled people out of Taliban territory for a week straight going 24/7. There's only a handful of people on earth that can accomplish the things he's done.

Just wait until the World Cup 2026 gets cranked up.

lb3 said:

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We actually have sex trafficking bus tours in Houston.

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Just stop in at Katy Mills. It's like perv central.

Kennedy comes in too over the top for me but I know someone that served with him, they say he is legit and a dang good soldier. Plus he was one of the top rated MMA fighters for a few years, that doesn't happen by mistake. Just oversells his name.

The city of Houston knows it has a trafficking issue, they cover it up and also go after anti-human trafficking foundations. They have helped the Atlantic and a few other news companies write hit pieces against Deliver Fun and Operation Underground Railroad.

There is a lot of money to be made in human trafficking, sure a few Houston politicians have some extra cash in their bank accounts from helping

Drive through the track on Bissonet, it still very much exists in Houston.

This dude was just on Rogan.

Getting burned out on listening to former seals.

They all sound the same. Rogan overdone it on this.

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I guess they didn't use the "up your bum no baby" method

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This is not the third world.

He is a Green Beret but close enough.

Rogan brought on Jocko and in another episode Andy Stumpf a few years ago. After that he started hanging out with them he met more retired special operations guys and most own companies or write books so he lets them on to push their stuff.

Guy is the most listened/watched person in the world, I haven't listened to one of his podcast in a while but he is doing something right.

Zarathustra said:

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Darth Randy said:

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That said, Kennedy rubs me the wrong way.

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lol, that's actually a recurring theme throughout the book. His big mouth and cockiness have got him into a lot of trouble and kicked out of a lot of career paths.

But the dude is a unique one-of-a-kind individual. He's lived 4 lifetimes compared to the average person. He went through some major battles in Afghanistan. Him and a few buddies flew to Afghanistan during the fall and smuggled people out of Taliban territory for a week straight going 24/7. There's only a handful of people on earth that can accomplish the things he's done.

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Fair enough. Does he talk about gun control? Correct me if I'm wrong but he supports some portions of gun control, which is a no go for me. I'm kinda tired of the Seal and SF guys thinking they're entitled to own a firearm because of their title but not the rest of us. Cough, Crenshaw, cough.

But I'm derailing.

Houston absolutely has a sex trafficking problem.

I know the TABC is very involved in busting sex trafficking bars - one of my best friends is the chairman and it's one of his key points of emphasis for the agency.

Also pretty sure their OPS have been done with the help of HPD, and other law enforcement agencies.

One reason the TABC is involved is they have a huge number of undercover officers that are in bars.

Darth Randy said:

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Zarathustra said:

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Darth Randy said:

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That said, Kennedy rubs me the wrong way.

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lol, that's actually a recurring theme throughout the book. His big mouth and cockiness have got him into a lot of trouble and kicked out of a lot of career paths.

But the dude is a unique one-of-a-kind individual. He's lived 4 lifetimes compared to the average person. He went through some major battles in Afghanistan. Him and a few buddies flew to Afghanistan during the fall and smuggled people out of Taliban territory for a week straight going 24/7. There's only a handful of people on earth that can accomplish the things he's done.

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Fair enough. Does he talk about gun control? Correct me if I'm wrong but he supports some portions of gun control, which is a no go for me. .

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Just listened to him talk to Colion Noir for 3 hours yesterday. Didn't get any anti gun vibe from him at all.

Kenneth_2003 said:

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Back in the 80s a rather ornate house was built on the corner of Beechnut and Gessner. I've been told it was a brothel. Probably been one a couple of times.

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That house is an alief legend. Always wondered about it...

P.U.T.U said:

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He is a Green Beret but close enough.

Rogan brought on Jocko and in another episode Andy Stumpf a few years ago. After that he started hanging out with them he met more retired special operations guys and most own companies or write books so he lets them on to push their stuff.

Guy is the most listened/watched person in the world, I haven't listened to one of his podcast in a while but he is doing something right.

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Yeah the episode with this guy is worth listening to. He was evacuating people from Kabul airport. He gives a first hand account. It's one of those stories where you're better off not knowing the details.

It was good, but I wish I hadn't listened to it.

Darth Randy said:

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Zarathustra said:

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Darth Randy said:

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That said, Kennedy rubs me the wrong way.

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lol, that's actually a recurring theme throughout the book. His big mouth and cockiness have got him into a lot of trouble and kicked out of a lot of career paths.

But the dude is a unique one-of-a-kind individual. He's lived 4 lifetimes compared to the average person. He went through some major battles in Afghanistan. Him and a few buddies flew to Afghanistan during the fall and smuggled people out of Taliban territory for a week straight going 24/7. There's only a handful of people on earth that can accomplish the things he's done.

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Fair enough. Does he talk about gun control? Correct me if I'm wrong but he supports some portions of gun control, which is a no go for me. I'm kinda tired of the Seal and SF guys thinking they're entitled to own a firearm because of their title but not the rest of us. Cough, Crenshaw, cough.

But I'm derailing.

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No, I'm pretty sure Tim isn't pro gun control.

You go back and look at the Dean Corl case back in the mid-70s. There was allegations that Corl was involved in some kind of larger trafficking ring.

Its probably been going on for a long time.

Theres a lot of that riff-raff over by the port. It went with the territory.