Hostile
12-12-2009, 03:29 PM
Cops: Patriots’ mascot nabbed in hooker sting
By O’Ryan Johnson
Saturday, December 12, 2009 - Updated 16h ago
An off-duty New England Patriots (http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots.bg)mascot was arrested during a prostitution sting by Rhode Island cops, one of eight suspected johns nabbed in Johnston, R.I., according to police and press reports.
State police say Robert Sormanti of Warwick was among those arrested in an undercover sting at a hotel. Sormanti, 47, one of several performers who don the Pat Patriot costume at Patriots games across the country, was charged with soliciting sex for a fee and was released on his own recognizance after his arraignment, The Providence Journal reported.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James said in a statement, “The Pat Patriot mascot costume is worn by multiple people, each of whom are held responsible and accountable for their actions. The individual in question has been suspended. The mascot responsibilities will continue to be fulfilled by others.”
The arrest happened after a number of men responded to an online advertisement placed offering sex for a fee, according to WPRI-TV’s Web site. State police did not say when the sting was conducted. They said it has been carried out over a number of weeks as they looked for ways to crack down on prostitution after lawmakers closed a legal loophole that allowed indoor brothels in Rhode Island.
A message left at a phone number listed to Sormanti’s Warwick home was not immediately returned.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
By O’Ryan Johnson
Saturday, December 12, 2009 - Updated 16h ago
An off-duty New England Patriots (http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots.bg)mascot was arrested during a prostitution sting by Rhode Island cops, one of eight suspected johns nabbed in Johnston, R.I., according to police and press reports.
State police say Robert Sormanti of Warwick was among those arrested in an undercover sting at a hotel. Sormanti, 47, one of several performers who don the Pat Patriot costume at Patriots games across the country, was charged with soliciting sex for a fee and was released on his own recognizance after his arraignment, The Providence Journal reported.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James said in a statement, “The Pat Patriot mascot costume is worn by multiple people, each of whom are held responsible and accountable for their actions. The individual in question has been suspended. The mascot responsibilities will continue to be fulfilled by others.”
The arrest happened after a number of men responded to an online advertisement placed offering sex for a fee, according to WPRI-TV’s Web site. State police did not say when the sting was conducted. They said it has been carried out over a number of weeks as they looked for ways to crack down on prostitution after lawmakers closed a legal loophole that allowed indoor brothels in Rhode Island.
A message left at a phone number listed to Sormanti’s Warwick home was not immediately returned.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.