Sometimes, catching a local bad guy ends up getting noticed nationally.
Det. Paris Capalupo, 33, of the Montgomery County Police Department, was given a Certificate of Appreciation by the Department of Homeland Security for his investigation of a prostitution scheme that led to the arrest of a Transportation Security Administration agent.
“It’s a great honor to be able to work with other agencies and do a team effort to bring a case to successful conclusion,” Capalupo said.
Capalupo, on patrol Feb. 15, responded to a call received from the manager of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Silver Spring. The manager mentioned she had seen a man, later identified as Bryant Jermaine Livingston, come into the hotel before and suspected he may be engaging in some form of prostitution.
Capalupo and other officers went with the manager to Livingston’s room, where they found 11 people in the room, including three women and four men in various states of undress. Several people were also in the two beds in the room. Although Livingston denied being involved in prostitution, one man in the room told officers he paid Livingston $100 to enter the hotel room and engage in sexual activities.
When Livingston identified himself as Homeland Security and told police he worked for the TSA, a red flag went up in Capalupo’s mind.
“He had access to the entire airport without being checked,” Capalupo said. “We don’t need someone acting this way with this much security clearance.”
With Capalupo’s assistance, the case has been closed. Livingston pled guilty to one count of prostitution and was let go from the TSA.
Capalupo has worked with the MCPD on and off for six years and has worked in law enforcement for a little more than 10 years. He said he knew in high school after taking a criminal justice class that it was the line of work he wanted to be involved in.
“It’s a different job every day. We can go from directing traffic one day to catching a murderer to working a bank robbery case,” he said. “I just enjoy helping people.”
