Former politician goes on trial, accused of using escort service to cover for prostitution ring

By Judy Lin

Associated Press

UNIONTOWN, Pa. – A former county commissioner accused of using her escort service as a front for a prostitution ring went on trial, with a former escort saying she was asked to strip during her job interview to show she was willing to take off her clothes.

Susanne Teslovich, 55, is charged with six counts of prostitution and related offenses in connection with her business, First Class Entertainment, which advertised massages, escorts, dancers and “sensational exotic entertainment for whatever the occasion.”

Teslovich ran the business out of her farmhouse, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, starting in 1999. Her attorneys say she neither knew nor approved of employees having sex with clients for money.

But on Monday as her trial began, a former escort testified that Teslovich knew her employees were being paid for sex and encouraged them to seek tips to earn more than the $150 per hour she charged for the escort service.

Danielle Bogle, 21, who went by the pseudonym “Carrie,” testified Teslovich asked her to strip to show she was willing to take off her clothes in front of clients.

Bogle also said she went on 25 calls, all arranged by Teslovich, ranging from topless massages to intercourse, in the winter of 1999.

Defense attorney Jack Connor said Bogle and other employees initiated sex without Teslovich’s knowledge. “Some girls were out to make money for themselves,” Connor said during opening statements.

Under cross examination, Bogle testified she never gave Teslovich more than her $100 share of the $150 hourly rate.

Bogle offered to testify against Teslovich after she was arrested by a state trooper during a sting in March 2000 that led to Teslovich’s arrest.

Prosecutors said they planned to call witnesses to testify they contacted Teslovich for sex, including an undercover trooper who offered to pay $340 for sex as part of a sting.

Teslovich, a Democrat, was first elected as Fayette County commissioner in 1987 and served two terms before she lost a re-election bid in 1995. In 1999, she lost a primary election to be the Democratic nominee for county controller.