Madam Employed Illegal Aliens in Marietta Brothel

Marietta resident Luz M. Gutierrez, 56, pleaded guilty Friday in Atlanta's federal district court to conspiracy to entice individuals to cross state lines to engage in prostitution, and bringing illegal immigrants to metro Atlanta to work in brothels, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a news release.

assisted in the investigation of Gutierrez who operated a Marietta house of prostitution where she employed illegal aliens, both as house caretakers and prostitutes. She regularly solicited illegal alien prostitutes living in other states, including Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Massachusetts, to travel to Georgia, where they worked for her and Epifania Sanchez Delarosa, her co-defendant, who also allegedly operated brothels. 

She also recruited prostitutes who lived in Georgia to travel to Alabama and work for an associate who owned and managed brothels in that state.          

Police in the 300 block of Oakridge Drive in Marietta.

A federal indictment also listed Marietta houses on Seminole Drive and West Atlanta Street and an apartment on Franklin Road as being used by the defendants for prostitution, The Marietta Daily Journal reported at the time.

Gutierrez was indicted in Dec. 6 on two counts of conspiracy, two counts of enticing individuals to cross state lines to engage in prostitution, and two counts of encouraging and inducing aliens to reside unlawfully in the U.S. She pleaded guilty to one conspiracy count.

She could receive a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten will sentence her July 10.

Five other people arrested in the December operation have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, the U.S. Attorney's Office said: Maria D. Rodriguez Hererra; Taina Calderon; Saul Morales Villareal; Romualda Resendiz Perez; and Oscar Rodriguez.

Sanchez Delarosa and Jose Miguel Almonte have not pleaded. They are awaiting a trial date.