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Eight Charged, Including Former SU Whitman Dean, In Connection With Prostitution Sting

Chris Bolt/WAER News

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office released more details from a recent prostitution sting in Salina that led to eight men being arrested including the former Dean of the Whitman School at Syracuse University. The sting was a joint investigation with the State Police. Sheriff Gene Conway was publicly criticized for withholding further details on the investigation. However, he said the delay was necessary because the sting was compromised.

“Just the fact that investigations like this, we try to be able to prolong or maximize or of course always protect the safety of that individual,” Conway said at a conference Thursday. “And that was the situation in this case as well.”

The sting began last March after community members complained of prostitution services and human trafficking. Conway explained why it's illegal for defendants to allegedly solicit for sex by responding to advertisements online or through other sources.

“This is a crime," Conway said. "It’s involving other than consensual sex between consenting adults. And that crosses the line.  That’s obviously the line that we cannot allow, that we can not know this information and just to go and say ‘well we don’t have time for that,' or 'we’re not going to bother with that.’”

All of those charged in the prostitution sting are adult males.

Erin Yeager, a specialist from the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center, said human or child sex trafficking is also a problem.

Credit John Smith/WAER News
Erin Yeager, a specialist from the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center, said human or child sex trafficking is also a problem in Syracuse.

“We are talking movements. Exploiters and pimps are smart. They move their product around wherever they're going to make money and stay under cover,” Yeager said. “So when we're talking about ‘is it regional’ or ‘is it what you see like (in) the movie Taken,’ it's very much regional. And there is international trafficking as well.”

Yeager believed Syracuse has issues with both prostitution and human trafficking. She handle cases involving youth 17 and under.

The following were charged with patronizing a prostitute in the third degree after month-long investigation, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office:

Kenneth Kavajecz, 50, of West Jefferson Street, Syracuse

Michael Washo, 46, of Belnor Drive, Cicero

Dylan Johnson, 24, of Buckley Road, North Syracuse

Tyler Frisbie, 31, of Park Street, Cortland

Clifford Gladle, 41, of City View Drive, Syracuse

Jeffrey Wood, 51, of Thurston Drive, Cicero

David Poorman, 55, of Abbott Street, Worcester, Massachusetts

Daniel Gildea, 33, of State Route 32, Watertown

Chris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards.
John Smith has been waking up WAER listeners for a long time as our Local Co-Host of Morning Edition with timely news and information, working alongside student Sportscasters from the Newhouse School.