Prof charged in prostitution sting

Albuquerque, N.M. (KRQE) - A New Jersey professor who has a home in Santa Fe has been arrested for allegedly running a massive online prostitution operation in the southwest.

68 year-old David Flory, a physics professor at Farleigh Dickinson University, was arrested in Albuquerque on Sunday and charged with 40 counts of promoting prostitution.

Albuquerque vice detectives say Flory is the creator of southwestcompanions.info, a members only online prostitution operation that connects prostitutes from the southwest with johns.

The website has several layers of protection designed to keep police out, but Albuquerque police say they were able to infiltrate it during a 6 month investigation with the help of prostitutes and johns they recently arrested.

"Its a big operation," said APD vice Lieutenant William Roseman. "It has 14-hundred members involving roughly 200 prostitutes and the other 1200 are male members seeking encounters." Investigators say through their investigation they learned that Flory was conducting most of the site's business out of his apartment in Manhattan, New York, but he did make a trip back to New Mexico this weekend and that is when he was arrested. Police say they caught up with him outside a Starbucks in Nob Hill on Sunday while logged on to his website.

"He was very surprised, most of all wondering how we knew where he was at," said Lt. Roseman.

Albuquerque police say New York and New Jersey police did conduct search warrants on his home in Manhattan and at his office in New Jersey. They are investigating whether Flory was running other prostitution sites out of those areas.

They say he also has a home in Florida and plan to reach out to authorities there.

APD says there are likely more arrests to come, but wouldn't elaborate on who they are looking at.

"There are several members we have identified and are tracking and they aren't aware we are aware of them and we will be knocking on their door shortly," Roseman said.