Disgraced opera star Plácido Domingo is on tape making plans with members of an alleged sex trafficking ring in Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to local prosecutors.
Authorities say the voice of a man making a date with a woman named “Mendy” through the alleged criminal ring belongs to the opera star. In the recordings, which were obtained by a wiretap, “Mendy” refers to the man as “Plácido.”
NPR reports that police conducted more than 50 raids against the BA Group last week in which 19 people were arrested. The group used the Buenos Aires Yoga School as a front for sexual trafficking, according to media in Latin America, which has been playing excerpts from the tapes on broadcast channels.
A rep for Domingo did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Domingo, once one of the most revered tenors in the opera world alongside the late Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras, resigned as general director of the L.A. Opera in 2019 after several women came forward with claims of sexual misconduct.
In March 2020, the Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C distanced themselves from the Spanish-born singer, who had served as their artistic director and later general director from 1996 to 2011.
However, he has continued to perform outside of the United States, including at a fundraiser in Buenos Aires in April to to benefit victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
