Mount Prospect man sentenced for human trafficking
A Mount Prospect man arrested during an undercover prostitution sting earlier this year pleaded guilty to human trafficking.
Phillip Puccio, 29, was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison in exchange for his guilty plea. Puccio also pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in exchange for a one-year sentence, court records show. Puccio was ordered to serve the sentences concurrently.
Undercover Schaumburg officers, detectives and FBI agents conducted the prostitution sting in January at area hotels using online resources and with the cooperation of hotel management, authorities said.
Two women, Lanesha D. Todorovich, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Laquesta C. Rice, of Indianola, Missouri, were arrested with Puccio and charged with soliciting a sex act. Bond forfeiture warrants were subsequently issued for both women, court records show.
Puccio was sentenced as a class X offender because of his criminal background, which includes convictions for robbery, residential burglary, aggravated battery, forgery and possession of a weapon by a felon, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. He must also pay $459 in fines and restitution, records show.