Former Judge Pleads Guilty BUFFALO (wned) - Former State Supreme Court Judge Ronald Tills could spend 21-months in prison for helping to recruit prostitutes for a men's fraternal order.

The 73-year old Tills accepted a guilty plea Thursday in Federal Court for violating the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting people across state lines for the purpose of prostitution.

A 10-year judge in New York's Supreme Court, Tills served as the director of the Buffalo chapter of the Royal Order of Jesters. Tills arranged for out-of-town prostitutes to travel to Jesters' events in Dunkirk, Kentucky and southern Ontario.

His former law clerk, Michael Stebick, and former Lockport police captain John Trowbridge have also pleaded guilty for their connections to the ring.

All three reportedly have cooperated with Buffalo agents from a human trafficking task force.

Tills will be sentenced by Federal Judge William Skretny in January. © Copyright 2009, wned