A “disabled” ex-cop with ties to the mob has been accused of acting as a high-end cyber pimp — running dozens of prostitution Web sites and hiring out hookers for up to $2,000 an hour, federal authorities charged Tuesday.
Michael Rizzi, a nine-year NYPD veteran who retired in 2000 on a disability pension, bragged, “I’m number one for a reason” and “My clients are the wealthiest people in the world” in an e-mail to a prospective hooker obtained by authorities.
The 44-year-old Rizzi’s alleged sex empire began in 2012 and spanned nearly 60 prostitution Web sites with names like Plushplaymates.com, Eliteclubnyc.com and Hotmodelsnyc.com.
Prices ranged from $400 to $2,000. Between 2012 and 2016, the operation processed more than $2 million in credit-card transactions, according to court papers.
Feds say Rizzi required prospective hookers to submit their weight, height, hair color and other physical details — and then meet him at a hotel before getting the job.
In an e-mail to one applicant who wasn’t willing to meet him, Rizzi boasted: “I’m sorry darling, google ‘escorts in nyc’ im number one for a reason,” court papers say.
“I get the most business, my girls make the most money, my clients are the wealthiest people in the world . . . My models are perfect because I only hire the best,” wrote Rizzi, who used the name “Bruce” while accepting e-mailed applications.
Feds interviewed a number of Rizzi’s alleged clients, one of whom admitted he and two pals hired the hookers for $25,000 — a price tag that included sex and cocaine provided by the women.
Other clients routinely plunked down $10,000 for a single night — and at least one blew $20,000 for one evening, the complaint says.
Rizzi’s wife, Jill, is the daughter of Gambino family muscle Richard Juliano, whose older brother Joseph was a Gambino capo.
Rizzi, who was arrested Tuesday at his Bensonhurst home, smirked as he was led into a Brooklyn federal courtroom.
The beefy ex-cop was released on a $500,000 bond but immediately taken back into custody on state felony weapons-possession charges after an unloaded gun was found during the raid on his home.
His attorney Javier Solano denied Rizzi did anything illegal.
“He ran an escort service which was strictly for companionship — no sex involved at all,” Solano said. Rizzi’s rap sheet includes a 2009 arrest for acting as a “super agent” in a sports betting ring. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in that case.
Additional reporting by Shawn Cohen, Kenneth Garger and Larry Celona