Former Local Businessman Sentenced for Role in Sex Traffic Ring

NEW LONDON, CT — A former local business man was sentenced to a decade in prison for his role in what prosecutors called a human trafficking ring, the Connecticut Post has reported.

Bruce Bemer, 65, from Glastonbury, the millionaire owner of the New London-Waterford Speedbowl racetrack, was sentenced on Monday after he was found guilty in April of all four felony counts of patronizing a trafficked person and on one count of criminal liability of trafficking a person.

Bemer’s legal team is appealing the decision and calling for a new trial, the News-Times has reported. The attorneys for Bemer also requested, and received, a $750,000 bond so their client would not have to stay in jail awaiting an appeal.

Bemer's co-defendant, Robert King, of Danbury, ran the operation, recruiting Bemer's victims from rehab centers and group homes, according to the State's Attorney's Office. King targeted those with mental health issues ranging from depression to schizophrenia in a sex-for-money scheme. King has pleaded guilty, cutting a deal that calls for four-and-a-half years imprisonment, followed by 35 years of probation. He awaits sentencing. William Trefzger, of Westport, was also named as part of the sex trafficking operation and was sentenced to a year in prison.