Here Comes the Judge

In 2006, Till's arranged for transportation for prostitutes from Buffalo NY to a meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

August 10, 2009

BUFFALO NY NEWS -- A former State Supreme Court Judge from Hamburg, New York, Ronald H. Tills, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment after he plead guilty to knowingly transporting a female illegal alien from a North Tonawanda, New York massage parlor, interstate with the intent for the woman to engage in prostitution violating the Mann Act. The charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Moscati, who handled the prosecution, stated the defendant admitted that in late October 2005, Tills, John Trowbridge, Michael Stebick, and others, transported a woman from the Western New York area to Kentucky and intended for the woman to engage in prostitution in Kentucky with fellow members of a mens organization, Royal Order of Jesters. As part of his plea proceedings, Tills admitted to five additional occasions where he engaged in similar conduct involving the transportation of women across state lines for purposes of prostitution. In addition, all of these instances were related to the Till's membership in the Royal Order of Jesters, which held weekend meetings that provided women to the members for sex in exchange for money. John Trowbridge and Michael Stebick previously entered pleas of guilty for this same conduct and are awaiting sentencing.

Moreover, some of the former judge's illegal activities took place during his tenure as a New York State Supreme Court judge, which ended in late 2005. While serving as director of the Buffalo chapter of the Royal Order of Jesters during September 2001, he recruited out-of-state prostitutes to work at a meeting in Dunkirk, New York. Once retired, in 2006, Till's arranged for transportation for prostitutes from Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York, to the national Royal Order of Jesters meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, Terrance P. Flynn, commended during the successful prosecution announcement, of the outstanding work of the District's Human Trafficking Task Force and Alliance (WDNY HTTFA) which included:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Laurie Bennett
• United States Border Patrol, under the direction of Acting Chief Patrol Agent Kevin Oaks
• Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Lev J. Kubiak
• New York's, Erie County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard

The former New York State Supreme Court judge, 73-year-old, Ronald H. Tills will begin serving his sentence for his human trafficking crime on October 1, 2009

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