Tully Mars

Eliot Spitzer, it seems, has been nabbed in a prostitution sting. This is a guy who prosecuted several prosittution cases while DA. What do you make of these guys who get caught doing the exact same thing they claim to be fighting against?

The story from Bloomberg-


March 10 (Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, elected on a vow to clean up state government and raise ethics standards, apologized to his family and the public following a report in the New York Times linking him to a prostitution ring.

``I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard that I expect of myself,'' Spitzer, 48, said at a Manhattan press conference. The first-term Democrat, with his wife Silda at his side, said he would ``take time to regain the trust of my family'' and report back ``in short order.''

The New York Times story, published on its Web site earlier today, said Spitzer was caught on a federal wiretap planning to meet a prostitute in Washington after arranging for her to travel from New York. The Times, citing a person briefed on the federal investigation, said an individual identified in an affidavit as ``Client 9,'' who met with a woman in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, was Spitzer.

Client 9 paid $4,300 for an appointment that began on Feb. 13 and ended at 12:02 a.m. the next day, according to the affidavit.

Spitzer, elected in a landslide in November 2006 on a promise to change the state's political culture, gained national prominence by investigating financial analysts, mutual fund managers and insurance companies while state attorney general from 1999 to 2006. The governor is married with three daughters.

``There is certainly a sense right now that there is an aura of unseemliness about too much of what goes on in Albany,'' Spitzer told reporters at a Dec. 21, 2006, news conference before taking office.

Succession Plan

Fox News and WCBS-TV reported after today's news conference that the governor would submit his resignation as soon as today, without saying where they got the information. Should he step down, Lieutenant Governor David Paterson would finish Spitzer's term and the Senate Majority Leader, Republican Joseph Bruno, would take Paterson's place as next in line.

Prosecutors from the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia announced on March 6 the arrest of four individuals connected to an international prostitution and money-laundering ring called the ``Emperors Club.''

The four individuals were charged with using the club to arrange trysts between wealthy male clients and more than 50 prostitutes in New York, Washington, Miami, Los Angeles, London and Paris, the complaint said.

Mann Act

The incident was a violation of the Mann Act, which makes human trafficking and prostitution across state lines a federal crime, according to the complaint.

``Although it is not common for so-called johns to be prosecuted, it's not unheard of, and one might make an argument that when our public officials engage in this kind of alleged activity, a strong example should be set,'' said Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, New York, who's now a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He said he backed Spitzer's campaign for governor.

Garcia's office said the ``Emperors Club'' took in more than $1 million from its international business and accepted payments in cash. The ring also used an Internet Web site to advertise its services and included photos with hourly rates. The most high-ranked prostitute's fees started at $5,500 per hour, the complaint said.

Investigators executed three search warrants on locations tied to the club, Garcia's office said. They also seized four bank accounts that investigators said were proceeds of the organization's activities.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. Joseph Foy, a spokesman for the IRS in New York, declined comment. James Margolin, a spokesman for the FBI in New York, wasn't immediately available for comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeremy R. Cooke in New York at jcooke8@bloomberg.net.

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Ustwo

Prostitution is one of those things I just don't understand the illegality of.

Legal, regulated, and licensed with appropriate testing.

'Honnest' women would never stand for it though.

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Craven Morehead

Feel bad for the humiliation his family will have to endure.

Rekna

I will likely resign as he should. Then Vitter and Craig should follow suit and resign also.

Emotion

Sucks to be him right now

SSJTWIZTA

::mumbles something about irony::

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highthief

What a hypocrite! Wasn't he a DA or AG who prosecuted crimes such as prostitution?

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opentocomments

I think this story should be added to the zeitgiest thread in tilted paranoia, seeing as

I want to know why was he wiretapped. Do most guys who pick up hookers get caught over a federal wiretap?

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ASU2003

It sounds like it was a sting setup and maybe the escort agency was working with the police.

The only reason I see for it being illegal is that it hopefully keeps some girls from going into the business and making 'easy' money. It might be tempting if you have a choice of working at a fast food place or working as an escort and making lots of money.

ngdawg

Remember the mayor of Washington, DC? In a hotel room scoring crack with a hooker...

When it's suspected that bigwigs are shelling out mucho bucks for hookers, dope, etc., yea, there's wiretapping going on.

The weasel needs to step down. How he won that position in the first place is beyond me....

Tully Mars

Yeah, good ol' Marion Barry- D.C Mayor. He was convicted and ended doing 6 months in prison. He then went on to serve on the city D.C. city council and was back in the mayors seat within a couple years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Barry


Chris rock does a great stand up bit on him. Mom catches her kid doing crack. "How you gonna make anything of yourself, what can you be as a crackhead?" "I can be Mayor!"

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Sticky

They were not investigating (and wiretapping) him becuase of suspicions of involvement in prostitution.
They were looking into suspicious money transfers thinking he was try to hide bribes.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4424507&page=1

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flat5

..

Redlemon

Agreed, but at this point it is still against the law.

I begin to suspect that access to high-class prostitutes is one of those "perks of power" that a large portion of people in high-power positions assume that they have. Along with an "I make the rules, I don't have to follow them" attitude.

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Tully Mars

The same thing a 4000lb gorilla gets... Anything he wants.

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percy

Bump*

Just wondering if there is any news regarding charges against Spitzer, the escort agency or the girl,..or is this the tip of the iceberg among high powered people that have the final say in pushing this under the rug to save Spitzers ass or theirs.

The silence is amazing. If this were O.J caught with a hooker it wouldn't have been out of the news for a day and the trial would make the front pages.

Cynthetiq

from what I've heard is that Spitzer has powerful friends... they've kept it as much under wraps as they can.

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The_Jazz

The agency folks have already plead guilty and are serving some time. No one else has been charged to my knowledge.

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percy

Can't say I am surprised. Maybe he can go into the financial sector next. There seems to be plenty of unaccountability and lawlessness there also