A colorful Jersey City pimp known for his outrageous hair styles and "Prince" moniker died in prison Thursday while serving an 18-year sentence he began in May 2010, officials said today.

On Dec. 5, Allen "Prince" Brown, 50, was transferred to the hospice unit at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton and days before his death he was moved to an area hospital where he succumbed to illness at 2:41 a.m. Thursday, New Jersey Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman said.

The resident of Jersey City's Society Hill development drove exotic sports cars, lured women and girls to Jersey City with promises of "the good life" and then forced them into prostitution, state prosecutors alleged.

On April 1, 2010, Brown admitted in court that he used violence and drugs to control women and girls -- some as young as 17 -- and force them to engage in prostitution.

If the prostitutes did not make the daily quota -- $500 for a weeknight and $1,000 on weekend nights -- they were refused drugs, beaten or denied entry into the house until the money was made.

The charges resulted from "Operation Red Light," an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau and the Jersey City Police Department.

Four other defendants in the case, including Brown's mother, pleaded guilty.

Brown became an Internet sensation after The Jersey Journal posted his photo on Hudson County Now and readers responded to his wild and intricate hair style.





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