Members of an Internet sex forum hatched a "revenge" plot against a Long Island hooker who was later murdered and dumped in a serial killer's burial ground, the Daily News has learned.
Talk on longislanderotic.com shows members were outraged when one of their cronies claimed he had paid Amber Lynn Costello $200 for sex, only to be robbed by men who barged into her West Babylon home.
"Tell her we are all coming over there with baseball bats," threatened one member, a self-declared ex-con known as "Morrie."
That ominous threat, and more to follow, has opened a window on what probers say is a virtually unregulated sex network of johns, hookers and escort services.
"The Internet has really become a highway for criminality," said Eugene O'Donnell, a professor of law and police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "In terms of prostitution, it's moved a pretty public enterprise into the shadows more than ever, and made it more difficult for law enforcement to get a handle on it."
Investigators would not say if any of the online johns are suspects in the probe of a possible serial killer who dumped as many as 10 bodies along Gilgo Beach and Jones Beach. Still, law enforcement sources say the chilling online thread is the type of internet-based sex crime that attracted the FBI to the case.
The four victims found in December - Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman, in addition to Costello - were craigslist hookers. All had been strangled and stuffed in burlap sacks. The bodies of a woman, a man, a child and an adult whose gender hasn't been determined were found between March 29 and April 4. Two sets of unidentified remains were found on Monday.
Shannan Gilbert, 24, a New Jersey hooker who vanished on the beach in May, is still missing.
A message board member known as "Humiliatrix69" first raged on July 11, 2010, about getting "suckered" by Costello and company hours earlier.
Shortly after, a pal called "italyrider" asked for her address: "No one from this board needs to be involved. I have friends who can take care of this s---."
Humiliatrix69 posted Costello's address, a description of her home, and her phone number. Three days days later, Morrie chimed in: "A friend of ours told me today that 'You won't hear from those 2 girls anymore!'"
Costello, a twice-divorced drug addict, disappeared on Sept. 2, 2010. That was eight weeks after Humiliatrix69 aired his anger on the message board — and posted raunchy pictures of her from her sex ad on newyorkbackpage.com.
Costello and the three other slain hookers advertised on craigslist and other sites.
Costello's sister, Kimberly Overstreet, 33, told The News she tried to protect her from the hazards of turning tricks.
"She knew there was a risk," Overstreet said.
Costello arranged to meet a john on the day she disappeared, the sister said. At 10:20 p.m., Costello left her home on America Ave., and was never seen again.
Sex for sale
The sign-in page of Longislanderotic.com claims the site is for "entertainment purposes only," but its
homepage lists it as a place for "escorts, adult entertainment, massage parlors, strip clubs, sex."
There is a link to an ad for a massage parlor that entices potential customers with pornographic photos. Its chat rooms are full of skin-trade tales and gossip, like johns talking up a sex party at a Long Island hotel.
Humiliatrix69 referred to buying sex as "hobbying" — a habit his angry post revealed he had recently succumbed to again when he ventured to Costello's house.
Costello advertised herself as a "Southern girl" named "Carolina," who was "short, sexy & a lot of fun." Humiliatrix69 didn't have such a good time.
"Seemed really friendly," his angry post read. "Provided the donation. She slipped away and got comfortable, and so did I. Then there was a knock at the door."
Humiliatrix69 claimed two men armed with a baseball bat rushed at him. One claimed he was Costello's boyfriend. Humiliatrix69 wished he had a gun — what he called his "tooley." They fought on the front lawn.
"I made it clear that it wasn't over, so after posting this ...I gotta go handle this," he wrote.
Joseph Palminteri, 63, a retired forklift driver who lives across the street from Costello, said police were called to her home "too many times to count."
"It was always something. Lots of screaming. Lots of yelling. Lots of drugs," he said. "Sometime last July a naked man was banging on my door at 10 at night. He came from [Costello's] house. He was screaming: 'Don't let them kill me! He's going to kill me!'"
'I want to be spiteful'
Humiliatrix69 was hell-bent on revenge, but nervous.
"I want to be spiteful and get revenge, but I am going to [private message] the info. I wanna get the exact address. I will go by there tonight.
"I could seriously do some time for the things I want to do to this provider and her boyfriend." Then he admitted to having cold feet. Revenge wouldn't be worth it, he reasoned, claiming he would go "back to attempting to make legitimate porn videos."
After "Morrie" posted that no one would "hear from those 2 girls anymore," Humiliatrix69 seemed grateful. "Thanks for all the help."
On Jan. 24, the message board exploded with chatter about Costello and the other slain call girls after Suffolk County Police announced their identities.
The same day, Humiliatrix69 wrote, "Hey, I posted my experience in frustration and anger cause I got ripped off, but I wouldn't wish death on no one."
He added, "Hobbying is one thing, and [I] hate to say it ... karma is truly a b----."
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