text: Posted Tuesday, November 21, 2017 5:27 pm 
   
   
   
   How to help ... Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Pittsfield Police Officer Brenna Dorr at 413-448-9700, ext 384. 
   
   PITTSFIELD — Two men are facing charges for allegedly participating in a citywide prostitution ring involving multiple women — one of whom may have been as young as 15 — who were allegedly plied with drugs and threats. 
   
   
   
   Joseph E. Van Wert, 65, of Becket, and Randy W. Lambach, 45, of Pittsfield, are being held on charges including human trafficking pending dangerousness hearing Nov. 29 to determine if bail should be set and in what amount. 
   
   
   
   The investigation began in the spring of 2017 after police began receiving calls and complaints regarding apparent increases in prostitution throughout the city. 
   
   
   
   Most of the activity seemed to be centered around the areas of First, Adam, North, Linden and Wahconah streets, police said. Many of the women had been recruited by a white male named "Randy." 
   
   
   
   Randy would seek out women with a drug addiction, photograph them and post advertisements online, seeking clients for sexual services, police were told. 
   
   
   
   While conducting patrols around First and Second streets, police interviewed multiple women, many of whom admitted to being prostitutes, but declined to identify who "tricked them out." 
   
   
   
   One told police she didn't "street-walk," but instead got her "dates" through ads on backpage.com. 
   
   
   
   Police also began receiving reports of suspected prostitution from a North Street senior living facility, where Randy had driven at least five women to and from Van Wert's third-floor apartment. 
   
   
   
   Police were provided the plate number of the blue station wagon used to shuttle the women and identified Lambach as its owner. And witnesses identified Lambach via photographs as the man they knew as Randy. 
   
   
   
   One woman told police she was prostituted by Lambach for about a year and had sex with him for money or to pay off a debt on multiple occasions. Lambach photographed her and placed advertisements on backpage.com. 
   
   
   
   Men would contact Lambach via cellphone and a date, time, location and fee would be agreed upon. Rates were typically $80 for 30 minutes or between $160 and $200 for an hour. 
   
   
   
   Lambach would then contact the woman and drive her to the appointment, police said. He would sometimes wait outside or watch from a closet or doorway. 
   
   
   
   He would collect the money and keep anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of it. Sometimes he would keep all of the money and pay the woman with a few bags of heroin or some crack cocaine instead. 
   
   
   
   One of the women told police Lambach would drive her to appointments outside of Pittsfield, and on at least one occasion, outside of the state. 
   
   
   
   He allegedly recruited and transported about 10 other women in a similar manner and provided narcotics to those that used drugs to get them high before having sex. 
   
   
   
   Lambach allegedly threatened to turn the women in if they stopped working for him, and warned them the police would not believe them because they were, "drug addicts and whores." Police were told some of the women Lambach had recruited used to be his foster children. 
   
   
   
   He would host meetings between women and customers at Van Wert's apartment. 
   
   
   
   Van Wert allegedly paid for sex with the women and was paid by Lambach in cash and drugs for use of his apartment. 
   
   
   
   Another witness told police that Lambach approached her in August, telling her he ran a prostitution ring and showed her several photographs of women he said worked for him. 
   
   
   
   That witness said it appeared several of the women in those photos were very young and estimated the age of one at about 15. 
   
   
   
   Lambach allegedly said he also drives women to Springfield, where they prostitute themselves from a strip club. 
   
   
   
   Another witness told police Lambach may have been involved in prostitution and trafficking for about 10 years. 
   
   
   
   Other witnesses told police Lambach would threaten the women if he thought they were giving information to the police. 
   
   
   
   By mid-November, police felt they had enough probable cause to arrest the men. 
   
   
   
   Lambach was picked up without incident about 4 p.m. Nov. 14. Van Wert was arrested at his apartment shortly thereafter. 
   
   
   
   Lambach has pleaded not guilty in Central Berkshire District Court to four counts of human trafficking. Van Wert has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking, deriving support from prostitution, maintaining a house of prostitution and sexual conduct for a fee. 
   
   
   
   The investigation remains ongoing and additional charges may be coming. 
   
   The Pittsfield Police Department detective bureau, anti-crime unit, drug unit as well as members of the state police detective unit assigned to the District Attorney's Office, are assisting with this investigation. Reach Bob Dunn at bdunn@berkshireeagle.com, at @BobDunn413 on Twitter and 413-496-6249. 
   
   
   
   ||||| Two men were arrested for running a prostitution ring out of an apartment in a Massachusetts senior living facility, police said. 
   
   Joseph VanWert, 65, and Randy Lambach, 45, of Berkshire County, were arrested and held on human trafficking charges ahead of a hearing later this month, according to Pittsfield Lt. Michael Maddalena. 
   
   Police, who received reports of increased prostitution in Pittsfield earlier this year, said Lambach sought out women with “severe” drug addictions and advertised their services on social media. 
   
   Lambach, who allegedly ran the prostitution ring for several years, would set up meetings and rates with prospective “johns”, police said. 
   
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   VanWert would allow some of the meetings to take place in his third-floor apartment at the facility in exchange for drugs and cash, according to the Berkshire Eagle. 
   
   Lambach also worked as a chauffeur, transporting the women to and from specific locations and waiting until they were done, police said. He crossed state lines on at least one occasion, one of the prostitutes said. 
   
   Lambach would take a significant cut of the women’s money — or pay them in heroin, cocaine or prescription drugs in lieu of cash, Maddalena said. 
   
   Some of the women he recruited were formerly his foster children. A witness, whom Lambach reportedly approached with photos of the prostitutes, said the victims looked to be as young as 15. 
   
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   Police, who had been investigating for several months, arrested VanWert and Lambach last week. 
   
   Lambach pleaded not guilty to four counts of human trafficking, while VanWert pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking, deriving support from prostitution, maintaining a house of prostitution and sexual conduct for a fee. 
   
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target: – Two men have been charged with human trafficking after police arrested them for running a prostitution ring out of a senior living facility in Pittsfield, Mass. Police say Joseph Van Wert, 65, and Randy Lambach, 45, will face a hearing later this month, the New York Daily News reports. Lambach would allegedly seek out women with drug addictions and post their pictures online, then arrange meetings with clients. Some of these meetings took place in Van Wert's apartment in a senior facility. Van Wert offered his apartment in return for cash or drugs. The Berkshire Eagle reports that the police investigation began last spring in response to citizen complaints about increased prostitution across the city. Lambach would allegedly keep up to 90% of the money the women made, sometimes refusing them cash altogether and paying them in heroin or crack cocaine instead. At least one woman said Lambach drove her to an "appointment" across state lines. Police estimated one of the victims was 15 years old. They were also told that some of the women were Lambach's former foster children. Both men have pleaded not guilty, Lambach to four counts of human trafficking and Van Wert to conspiracy to commit human trafficking, deriving support from prostitution, maintaining a house of prostitution, and sexual conduct for a fee.