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Crime & Safety

Florissant Man Sentenced in Prostitute Exploitation Case

Justin Biancardi's lighter sentence may have been the result of his cooperation with police.

Florissant resident Justin Scott Biancardi, 22, a former auxiliary police officer for the Uplands Park Police department, learned his fate Monday after he was accused of conspiracy to exploit suspected prostitutes.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Biancardi provided “major assistance in the investigation,” which helped to uncover the conspiracy and may be the reason for his lighter sentence.

While he could have faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced yesterday that Biancardi will serve six months of home confinement, three years of probation and 100 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay restitution.

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Biancardi pled guilty in January after admitting that during 2009, he and his former Uplands Park Police Department field training officer, Leon Pullen, had decided to “set up” suspected prostitutes so that they could steal money and property from them.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported in January that Pullen admitted to sexually assaulting four women and asking Biancardi to cover for him. Pullen later wrote a letter to the court in which he denied the claims, which was classified by the court as a motion to withdraw his plea. Pullen is facing up to 25 years in prison.

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The St. Louis Division of the FBI investigated the case, and it was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Howard Marcus and trial attorney Eric Gibson.

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