One of the raided Java Juggs locations (Facebook photo)
A 30-year veteran of the Snohomish County, Wash., police department was arrested by Everett Police as part of a sting involving eight barista stands allegedly involved in prostitution.
58-year-old Sgt. Darrell O’Neil is accused of tipping off the owner and baristas at Java Juggs and Twin Peaks coffee shacks, as well as having sex with the 51-year-old owner of those shops, Carmela Panico, while in uniform. Everett police say the sex acts with Panico and a 22-year-old manager were in exchange for tips related to undercover police work.
Undercover police had been investigating lewd behavior — from flashing for tips to paid sex acts — at the locations since 2010, and police believe O’Neil may have begun compromising the investigation in 2011. Multiple stands owned by Panico were served search warrants on Tuesday, and seven more baristas have been detained for questioning. Police say baristas were going so far as to have sex in parked cars outside the coffee huts, and that Pamico personally made more than $1 million in 2012.
Here is more from the local Q13 Fox affiliate:
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
Comment
1 Comment
Comments are closed.
As someone who is extremely enthusiastic about coffee, in addition to being in the same age group as the girls in question, I am really appalled at this. It is shameful and is really in appropriate. But I can’t say that I am surprised.
I came across Java Jugs online about a year or two ago when I was first getting into the coffee scene; it was then that I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that people allow this kind of “business etiquette” for a common consumer good such as coffee.
So really, if you look on it in hind sight, it was only a matter of time until some of them got the idea to go farther with it than what was and deemed socially acceptable.