John Caruso of Haverhill Pleads Guilty to Maintaining a House of Prostitution, Drug Charges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SALEM, Mass. – January 23, 2026 – In Essex County Superior Court today, John Caruso, 80, of Haverhill pled guilty to charges of maintaining a house of prostitution, possessing suboxone with intent to distribute, possessing gabapentin with intent to distribute, possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, and possessing fentanyl, the Office of Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker announces. The investigation that led to the charges stems from the January 8, 2024 overdose death of a young female in the defendant’s office on River Street in Haverhill.

The investigation, which involved the Haverhill Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to Tucker’s office, revealed that, from June of 2021 to February of 2024, Caruso was using a Haverhill building he owned, where he ran his accounting business, as a locale to pay women in money and drugs to have sex with him and other men. The Hon. Elizabeth Dunigan accepted the guilty plea and sentenced Caruso to three to three years and one day in state prison, to be followed by two years of probation, and noted that Caruso would then need to register as a sex offender, stay away and have no contact with victims, remain drug free, and potentially submit to drug screenings.

When Judge Dunigan asked if he wished to comment, Caruso said, “I am embarrassed and I am very sorry.” The defendant was represented by attorney Scott Gleason.

Representing the Commonwealth, Assistant District Attorney Jessica Strasnick shared statements with the court from individuals who were impacted. One said that they were “glad he will be held accountable for what he has done.” Another spoke of the “atrocities committed” by Caruso and stated, “He has destroyed many lives and has profited from others’ misery.”

In addition to Strasnick, the Commonwealth’s team on the case included Victim/Witness Advocate Michelle DeFeo. Judge Dunigan said that the deceased young woman that initially triggered the investigation “was the light that brought this case to everyone’s attention, and this was her final gift.”

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