The bill signed into law in November made prostitution a misdemeanor crime regardless of where it occurs. Previously, indoor prostitution was allowed because of a legal loophole.

State Police say Robert Sormanti of Warwick was among those arrested in an undercover sting at a hotel. The Providence Journal reports Sormanti is among the team's mascots.

The Patriots said in a statement that multiple people wear the mascot costume and that the "individual in question" has been suspended.

A phone message left at Sormanti's home Friday evening was not immediately returned.