♪ ♪ this is "nightline." tonight, backpage busted. the website dubbed the world's top online brothel seized by the federal government, accused of facilitating the sex trafficking of minors, as young as 14. "nightline" was on the case, traveling to amsterdam to confront a top executive nearly two years ago. >> just want to ask you a few questions. >> i have no comment. >> the worldwide rage on the company offices. plus, undercover mother. when her son was convicted of murder, a juror became one of her targets. >> he committed very serious juror misconduct. >> she planned an elaborate sting operation, transforming her appearance. >> i put a whole new wardrobe,

low-cut blouses, push-up bra. i had to try to attract him. >> capturing secret recordings. >> could those conversations help set her son free? >> "nightline" will be right back. back. we only have 30 seconds to describe the newest specialty flavor in the signature crafted recipes collection by mcdonald's: garlic white cheddar. it's layered with a slice of smooth, perfectly melty, white cheddar cheese. a crunchy medley of tasty, crispy garlic chips... a dramatic drizzle of smooth, delicious and flavorful, delectably creamy garlic aioli... all coming together with a mouthwateringly juicy

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that classified ad website known for facilitating sex trafficking. tonight it appears authorities are cracking down. backpage.com, once worth $600 million, shut down by federal investigators after avoiding any kind of conviction for years. the online classified ad site has been accused of making sex trafficking possible. >> whoever owns backpage, he's gotta go home at night knowing he's selling kids today. >> when i grow up, i'd like to be a doctor. >> reporter: tom's doctor was sold for sex at just 15 years old. he and his daughter told their stories to my colleague gloria riviera. >> how many encounters do you think you had during that time? >> over 150. >> would that have been possible without backpage? >> no. >> reporter: "nightline" has been investigating backpage for years. we tracked down its former ceo in 2016, all the way in amsterdam. >> you know, law enforcement

tells us that under-age girls are trafficking on backpage.com, your company. >> reporter: he and other co-founders were arrested and charged with pimping in late 2016. a judge later dismissed all charges. but just today the fbi went to the arizona homes of founders michael lacy and james larkin. >> natalie's parents told us tonight the justice department got this one right. they spoke for the hidden and the abused today. and now we turn to an incredible story of one mother's dedication to freeing her son from prison. staging an audacious, under-cover sting operation. how far would you go for your child? >> good morning. >> hey. >> are you ready? >> here i am. >> here we come. >> rikers here we come. >> doreen quinn giuliano has become far too familiar with rikers island, one of the countries most dangerous and notorious jails.

her son john jukea has been behind bars since 2005, convicted of murdering a college sophomore. >> john doesn't belong there. >> where does he belong? >> home. >> reporter: it was known in the new york tab lids as the grid kid murder, short for grid iron. but doreen was convinced her son was innocent. >> does it ever cross your mind that maybe john did have something to do with this? >> no. i'm a hundred percent sure he did not. >> how can you be sure? >> the facts. just follow the facts. >> reporter: these facts, doreen said, led her to take matters into her own hands. going under cover and drastically changing her appearance, all to try to clear her son's >> there's a part of me that's sympathetic to her. and i almost admire that she stood by him to this point. but john jukea is not the victim in this case. it's mark fisher.

>> reporter: columbus day weekend 2003. mark fisher heads to the big apple to explore the city's hopping bar scene. >> mark fisher was every parent's dream, a big, strapping, good looking student athlete, the prom king in his high school. phenomenal football player. >> reporter: he meets up with a group of guys that night, including tommy silay. >> a bunch of us went to the bars on the east side. >> bunch of guys? >> bunch of guys. >> cruising for chicks? >> or -- yeah. >> cruising for chicks along with him that night, his wingman, june jukea. >> best friends? >> yeah. hang out every day, weekend. >> reporter: after some failed to score drinks with their fake i.d.s, 20-year-old jukea invites everyone back to his house in brooklyn, where mark fisher has no idea what he's about to get himself into. >> why was it decided to go to john jukea's house? >> his mom was away and he had a big house. it was an easy choice. >> so it was a little bit like, the cat's away, the mice will

play. >> i was in florida on a weekend vacation with my husband. >> and john decided to throw an impromptu party. >> there was a few kids that got stranded in manhattan and had no place to go. >> and yet that party turned into perhaps one of the biggest mistakes of his life? >> oh, yeah, absolutely. >> reporter: doreen says one of those mistakes, her son's decision to invite neighborhood bad apple antonio russo, known for his dread locks, picking fights, and dealing marijuana. >> he was a bit of a wild card. >> reporter: some say jukea got on his bad side, mooching on the beer and weed. fisher stumbles out the door, found dead two blocks away on a argyle road. >> they found a male white, obviously the victim of several gun shots. trauma to his face. >> reporter: the strapping

football player from new jersey is found shot five times in the back, laying on a blanket from jukea's home. it's a tab lid feeding frenzy over the grid kid slaying. antonio russo attracts cops' attention immediately. john jukea is put on trial for the murder of mark fisher, along with pot pusher antonio russo, who cut off his dread locks the same day fisher is found dead. >> he had dread locks that he had cultivated for years. so for him to get them sheered was very suspect. then he takes off for california a couple days later. >> reporter: jukea also becomes a suspect because the party was at his house. but the investigation stalls out for days, weeks, and then months. that's when aggressin aggressiv prosecutor gets assigned to the case. john jukea and antonio russo are charged with murder. at trial, the star witness, a jailhouse snitch who had approached prosecutors with a

story to tell. >> he's the last according to him, john jukea elaborates on how he killed mark fisher. >> reporter: he testifies that his prison mate told him he pistol-whipped mark fisher and then his buddy, antonio russo, shot him dead. >> this was an extremely dramatic moment at the trial. nobody saw it coming. >> reporter: both are found guilty of murder, sentenced to 25 years to life. >> what was your reaction to the fact that the jury came back with a verdict in two hours? >> something was wrong. >> reporter: outraged by her son's guilty verdict, john's mother decides to take action. immediately focusing on the jurors who so quickly convicted her son. >> she was crazed with hifterria and terrified for her son's future. >> reporter: fair to say what

she does next few mothers would ever consider. >> what made you decide to go under cover? >> when i mutual friend of john os who was in the audience, recognized one of the jurors. the guy with the baldy head. >> reporter: she believes if the bald juror knew anyone involved in the trial, especially the witnesses, it should have disqualified him as a juror. >> the key point here is less about how much did he know about these people and more, did he intentionally lie to get on the jury? >> who was jury number 8? >> juror 8 was jason. he knew my son's friends. >> reporter: setting her sights on that juror, a construction worker, still living at home with mom. >> he committed very serious juror misconduct and i've uncovered it. >> reporter: doreen, who at the time had been married 17 years, confides the details of her

audacious plan to her husband, jukea's stepfather. >> he didn't want me to do it. he said, no, no, no. >> you went to a tanning booth? >> yes. i just was trying to knock off some years. >> these pictures of her radical transformation were taken for a "vanity fair" magazine shoot. >> i bought a whole new wardrobe, you know, low-cut blouses, push-up bra, high heels, that i had to practice walking in because i wasn't good at it. i had to try to, you know, attract him. >> you became your own private investigator? >> i did. sitting there for hours. >> reporter: for months, she stakes out his every move in the little italy of brooklyn. at one point, she even dons a burka. >> a muslim friend hooks me up with this burka and says, you

can get up close to anyone you want and eavesdrop. i remember listening to a conversation, he was talking about blondes. he liked blondes. that's what i decided to go really blonde. >> reporter: five months into the sting and she's ready to make her move. >> i rode my bike past him several times up and down the block, waiting for him to notice me. then his friend whistled at me. and my heart dropped and i said hi. and i said i was from california and was new to the neighborhood. and he said to give him a call. >> reporter: her new persona also rents a bachelorette pad. >> how long were you here? >> a year. maybe a year and a half. >> reporter: armed with a brand-new life and a sexy cover, she's ready for her next flash move. a romantic dinner for two with juror number 8. >> you would have done whatever it took? >> yes. >> even if it meant taking him

to bed? >> of course, of course. >> but it didn't come to that? >> no. no. we had a friendship. >> reporter: they drink wine, eat take-out and listen to the rolling stones while he was rolling something else. >> and you're smoking weed with him? >> i'm like, am i going to feel paranoid, am i going to blow my cover? >> how much of your conversations were recorded? >> all of it. >> yep. it turns out, in addition to her push-up bra and daisy dukes, doreen was wearing something else. a wire. >> and you kept it where? >> between my boobs. >> hello? hello? i'm nervous as hell. >> slowly she builds his trust turning the conversation towards her son's murder tile. >> he believed that john was

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♪ ♪ >> reporter: it's been 11 long months for doreen giuliano. desperately working to free her son from what she says is a wrongful murder conviction. she's playing private investigator, undergoing a total transformation to woo a member of the jury -- jason aloe. now after secretly recording him

over dinner and drinks, the undercover mother finally gets what she thinks she needs. >> reporter: she says, if what he is saying is true, he shouldn't have been on the jury because he knew some of her son's friends. >> he's bragging how he put this kid away. >> an unbelievable story of a mother trying to get her son out of jail. >> reporter: october 2008 news of her exploits hit the media. >> this has to be put out on the record. >> reporter: "nightline" scores an interview with his lawyer who deny the things caught on tape. >> do you ever recall saying anything like, i hate jews? >> no, not at all. i'm not a prejudice person. >> can you ever remember saying i shouldn't have been in that jury. >> he doesn't remember. >> no, i don't. >> did you commit perjury? >> absolutely not. >> were you lying to the judge when he asked you if you knew about -- >> no, this is ridiculous. this is the most ridiculous

question i've ever heard. these questions are nothing but tidbits. this is a bunch of malarkey. >> i have the proof. so now all's we gotta do is write a motion and submit it to the judge. >> but the judge denies their motion to vacate the conviction. casting doubt on the reliability of her recordings and saying, there was no evidence that aloe intentionally lied. he even denounced doreen for reckless and vigilante behavior. >> is there any way that you're blinded by a mother's love and you're not seeing something about what happened that night? >> look, it's the facts that drive me, not a feeling or a hunch. it's the facts. >> reporter: undeterred, she doubles down, hiring a professional p.i. to dig into the prosecution's story witness, who testified that giuca confessed to him while they were both in jail. but now he tells the p.i. he fabricated that whole story. >> i just want the truth, that's all.

>> the whole thing was a lie. >> the whole thing was a lie? >> yeah. >> reporter: he not only reicants in a sworn affidavit, he said he lies to the prosecutor in exchange for what he said was a deal to keep him out of jail. >> his dealings reflect the worst in how a prosecutor can violate the rules. >> reporter: in the years since the giuca case, that prosecutor has become the most of two crime shows on investigation discovery, one of them called "true conviction." >> let me take you inside the fight for justice. >> she comes out and she says, i've never lost a case. >> you know what, because she's a cheater. >> reporter: a cheater, doreen says, because she didn't disclose that apparent deal with the prison snitch who helped convict her son. giuca's team files a new motion, and now the prosecutor takes the stand, forcibly defending her own true conviction, saying she made no promises to evita.

>> are you pointing to something specific or overall? >> about anything. >> i don't believe so. >> that's when it's the prison informant's turn to testify again. but this time he apologizes to giuca for lying. >> i apologize. deeply sorry. >> reporter: the judge shockingly upholds giuca's conviction, concluding there was no deal. giuca's team files an appeal. this february, doreen gets the news she's so desperately hoping for, a panel of four appellate judges overturn his conviction, finding that nick had helped and should have told the defense. >> we won. i thought it was a miracle. >> how long has this christmas tree been here? >> 13 years. >> you never took it down? >> no. he was on his way home to decorate the tree and he never made it home. >> and so you've kept this up,

waiting. >> yes. waiting. >> after 13 gruelling years, doreen is still waiting for her son to walk through that front door. the brooklyn d.a. asking a judge to keep giuca behind bars as they appeal the panel's decision and contemplate a retrial? >> i find no reason to release the defend. nor to grant bail in this case. >> if four judges all agreed that the trial was flawed, wouldn't it be logical that you send the guy home? how much does the guy have to suffer? >> i'm surprised the prosecutors are moving forward with this case. i don't see how they're going to be able to prove it. >> nick and the current d.a. declined to speak with abc news. but giuca did when he surprised his mother with a phone call from inside rikers. >> did you have anything to do with the murder? >> absolutely not. i had nothing to do with the murder of mark fisher. >> what was your reaction when you found out the length that

your mother went to, to go undercover, to try to get to the truth? >> i thank god, and i said to myself, i'm so lucky to have her as a mother. >> i love you, john. >> all right, i love you. >> we'll be right back. abc news "nightline," sponsored by the lincoln motor company. do ndo not misjudgenity quiet tranquility. with the power of 335 turbo-charged horses lincoln mkx, more horsepower than the lexus rx350 and a quiet interior from which to admire them. the lincoln spring sales event is here. for a limited time get zero percent apr on the lincoln mkx. hurry in today to your lincoln dealer. from the world's number one conditioner brand...

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♪ and finally tonight, a special thanks to the fabulous team at "20/20" and thank you for joining us this friday night. as always we're online