A New Jersey native will serve at least 55½ years in prison for trafficking several women in the southcentral Pennsylvania area, including Lancaster County.
Barry Charles Schiff, 53, was convicted at trial last year of trafficking of persons, involuntary servitude, and numerous other charges for his role in the trafficking ring.
Lancaster County Judge Margaret Miller recently sentenced Schiff to 55½ to 141 years in prison.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case. Schiff’s co-defendant, 36-year-old Kenneth Crowell, was previously sentenced to at least 39 1/3 to 146 years.
Last week, Judge Miller denied Crowell’s request for a new sentence.
Investigators said Schiff and Crowell preyed on vulnerable women and trafficked them in Lancaster County hotels and other locations in Montgomery, Philadelphia and York counties, and southern New Jersey.
Schiff, using the alias “Frank Luchesse,” lured the women with drugs – causing some of them to become addicted – then manipulated the women by withholding drugs from them.
The women also were beaten and threatened.
Pennsylvania State Police conducted undercover sting operations in 2017, including in Lancaster County.
The AG’s Office credited Lancaster-based North Star Initiative for their assistance in providing resources to the victims.
Read the release from the Attorney General’s Office: https://bit.ly/3497sBu