A married Massachusetts lawmaker named in court as a client of a high class brothel network has refused to resign over the ordeal.
Cambridge City Councilor Paul Toner was named in court on Friday amongst a list of other men accused of using the illicit services in the city.
At a council meeting on Monday, Toner apologized and made it clear that he would not resign.
Reading from a prepared statement, he said: ‘First, I am ashamed to have my name associated with this case.
‘I would like to apologize to my fellow councilors, my supporters and the community for taking up the time of the council and the public discourse on this matter.
‘All Americans — including elected officials — are entitled to the right to due process but some have already judged and convicted me.’
The 58-year-old added that he had been advised not to make any further comment, and that he had a ‘duty to fulfill’ to voters.
He had first been elected to the position in November of 2021 and is currently serving his second term.
At a council meeting on Monday, Toner apologized and made it clear that he would not resign
Toner is married to Susan Connelly and they share two children together, Grace and Jack
He had first been elected to the position in November of 2021 and is currently serving his second term
Following the meeting, City Councilor Patricia Nolan told NBC Boston: ‘It’s reverberating throughout the city
‘It’s not just a personal thing, it has become a much larger issue, this isn’t just an affair, it isn’t about someone’s sex life.’
Immediately after being publicly named, Toner released a statement saying: ‘I caused pain for the people I care about most.
‘For that, I will be forever sorry. This is an ongoing legal matter and I will not have further comment at this time.’
In court, police said that Toner had paid for commercial sex and settled on handing over $340 for one hour with a woman known as Tulip, a stage name.
Toner did not appear in court on Friday, with his attorney Tim Flaherty instead appearing on his behalf.
Outside of the Cambridge Juvenile Court after the short hearing, Flaherty said: ‘I’ve known Paul Toner my entire life, and in my view, he’s a man of high character.
‘He loves his family, and his family loves him. None of us are perfect. He’s a hard working city councilor, and the City of Cambridge is lucky to have him.’
Toner is married to Susan Connelly and they share two children together, Grace, 26, and Jack, 19.
Police said that Toner had paid for commercial sex and settled on handing over $340 for one hour with a woman known as Tulip. An advertisement for the brothel is seen here
The original affidavit shows a text message sent from a phone related to the operation in Massachusetts which includes a ‘menu’
Their family home is a $1.3 million three bedroom abode which was deserted when DailyMail.com appeared at the address on Friday.
According to a profile on the Cambridge City website, Toner had been a seventh and eight grade teacher of social studies prior to his career in politics.
After rising to being the president of the Cambridge Teachers Association, Paul was elevated to president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association from 2006 to 2014.
Connelly is employed as the COO for a Boston based company that deals in housing opportunities.
Toner was one of 11 johns that were called up in court to face their probable cause hearing in the case.
Others named on Friday were Frederick Rosenthal, Timothy Ackerson, Matthew Fulton, Jeffrey Henry, Steven Riel, Nathaniel Welch, Anurag Bajpayee, James Cusack Jr, as well as two others that DailyMail.com have been so far unable to identify.
The men were named and shamed by Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral and detective Michael Alpers who read out the allegations in court.
The week before, the first 12 were named and shamed and another five are due in court this Friday.
Radiologist Jason Han, 29, appeared in court earlier this month alongside his attorney
Mark Zhu, seen here, was told there was probable cause to charge him with visiting a brothel at a hearing in Cambridge
Mark Zhu, 28, and Jason Han, 29, both appeared alongside their attorneys while Kerry Wu, John Doran, David LaCava, Boya Zhou, Peter MacGillivray, Yihong Zou, Pablo Domingo Maceira, Jonathan Lanfear, Pinhao Chao and Patrick Walsh all sent their legal reps in their place.
Prosecutors say these individuals are part of an elite clientele that includes the likes of public officials, government contractors, as well doctors and lawyers.
All of the men were found to have probable cause in charging them with visiting a brothel.
All are said to have patronized a brothel ring that operated out of six luxury apartments in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, as well as DC‘s suburbs, whose clientele have been described as ‘rich and powerful.’
Prosecutors say these stringent checks revealed that the brothels’ visitors included public officials, military officers, high-level government contractors, doctors, professors and CEOs.
Prosecutors say they paid up to $600 per hour for sexual encounters with predominately Asian women who were being exploited through sex trafficking.
Those in charge of the brothels also made monthly memberships available to repeat visitors.
No details of the men’s private lives have been shared, but it is highly likely many are married, have families and are considered pillars of their wealthy communities.
Three pimps who ran the prostitution ring have already admitted their crimes after being charged in November 2023.
The original affidavit in the case said that the women were advertised for commercial sex via two websites under the guise of professional nude photo shoots.
The affidavit also shows a text message sent from a phone related to the operation in Massachusetts which includes a ‘menu’.
According to the document, the ‘menu’ listed sexual services available, the hourly rate and the women available.
The affidavit states that the term ‘BB’ is a term used in the prostitution industry to refer to unsafe sex, and that ‘GFE’ relates to a ‘Girlfriend Experience’.
The document states that this involves a service that ‘blurs the boundaries between a financial transaction and a romantic relationship’.
One of the websites was focused on the Boston area, and directed customers to numerous addresses, while another was aimed at areas in Virginia.
Investigators have since vowed to seek ‘accountability’ by exposing the men whose lavish spending kept the brothels open.
They sought indictments against 28 men accused of using the brothels at a court hearing in December 2023.
Predictable fury ensued as those men sought to keep the hearings closed to the public in a bid to conceal their identities.
They claimed they had a right to privacy. All face misdemeanor charges and none of the men have been arrested.
