DANBURY — A Connecticut businessman was sentenced for his role in what prosecutors call a human trafficking ring that preyed on young men who were mentally ill and intellectually disabled.
A state judge in Danbury sentenced Bruce Bemer, of Glastonbury on Monday to 20 years in prison, execution suspended after 10 years, with 5 years probation. Bemer posted an appeal bond of $750,000 and was released.
A jury found the 65-year-old Bemer guilty in April of several counts of patronizing victims of human trafficking.
Bemer, the owner of the New London-Waterford Speedbowl racetrack, has admitted he patronized prostitutes, but denies any role in human trafficking.
He has asked the judge to acquit him and is citing a Yale Law School professor’s opinion that the judge’s instructions to the jury were flawed.
Two other men were convicted in the case. Prosecutors say the alleged human trafficking ring dated to the 1990s.
