MILWAUKEE — A prostitution investigation at a near-west side Milwaukee apartment leads to sexual solicitation charges for locally known legal professionals and public safety staff.
Prosecutors allege that 6 men paid women for sex between 2019 and April of 2024. The men charged with misdemeanors include retired Kenosha County judge George Easton, attorney William Green, funeral director Leroy Stewart, firefighter David Ornstein, and investment banker Christopher Riegg. One man faces two felonies including solicitation and two misdemeanors: criminal defense lawyer Travis Schwantes.
According to the criminal complaint, the activities took place at an apartment near 29th and Kilbourn. Searches of the men’s personal property including cell phones and payment apps confirmed their contact with the women involved.
For Schwantes, the criminal complaint alleges that he “solicited at least one woman by repeatedly paying her to engage in the practice of prostitution who he was actively representing, or had represented, knowing she was being trafficked, suffering from drug abuse issues, or other trauma. In addition, during the course of his
representation of that person, he engaged in misconduct in public office by falsifying records during his work, which was as a public employee, specifically a lawyer, with the Office of the State Public Defender”. He’s also accused of misconduct for “exercising a discretionary power in a manner inconsistent with the duties of his employment with intent to obtain a dishonest advantage for himself and another… [s]pecifically, he obtained representation for that person through false pretenses, which would be a dishonest advantage for another. He also placed himself in a position where he would be the defense lawyer for said client despite maintaining a sexual relationship with that person for money illegally, which would be contrary to ethical rules of lawyer conduct and contrary to the policies of the Office of the State Public Defender”.
All the men will make their initial appearance in court on December 20.
