Joseph Yannai, Wrote Popular Chef's Guide, Indicted for Sex Trafficking by Feds

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBS/WCBS/AP) New York writer Joseph Yannai, already facing a state indictment of luring young women from overseas and then sexually abusing them, now faces a federal indictment on similar charges but carrying tougher penalties.

The 66-six-year-old Yannai was indicted by the state last spring on counts including labor trafficking and sexual abuse of women from Hungary, France and Brazil.

The federal indictment, announced Tuesday, does not specify the countries. But if convicted, Yannai could be sentenced to life in prison and could lose his house.

Prosecutors say that after his arrest he showed signs of a stroke and was hospitalized.

Yannai wrote a reference guide to the world's top chefs called "The International Who's Who of Chefs 2004-2005."