THE CARROLL NEWS: NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer in trouble after being implicated in prostitution ring

NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer in trouble after being implicated in prostitution ring
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The Associated Press on 13 March, 2008 01:17:00
 
Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the crusading politician who built his career on rooting out
corruption, apologized Monday after allegations surfaced that he paid thousands
of dollars for a high-end call girl.
At a hastily called news conference, Spitzer stood next to his stone-faced wife
and bit his lips, telling reporters: “I have acted in a way that violates
my obligations to my family.”
As he walked out, reporters shouted: “Will you resign?” He did not
answer.
The New York Democrat’s involvement in the ring was caught on a federal
wiretap as part of an investigation opened in recent months, according to a law
enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity
because of the ongoing inquiry.
According to the law enforcement official, Spitzer is the person identified in
legal papers as “Client 9,” who paid to bring the prostitute named
“Kristen” from New York to Washington for a four-hour tryst at a
hotel on Feb. 13.
The client paid $4,300 in cash to the service, with some being used for the
encounter and the rest apparently to be used for credit. When discussing how the
payments would be arranged, Client 9 told Lewis: “Yup, same as in the
past, no question about it,” suggesting it was a routine exchange.
In a conversation with the booking agent, Kristen said that she liked the
client and that she did not think he was difficult.
Spitzer has not been charged, and prosecutors did not comment on the case. The
four defendants charged in the case last week were charged with violating the
federal Mann Act, a 1910 law that outlaws traveling across state lines for
prostitution.
Spitzer spoke about an hour and a half later. Stunned lawmakers gathered around
televisions at the state Capitol in Albany to watch, and a media mob gathered
outside the office of Democratic Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who would become
governor if Spitzer were to resign. It took opponents only minutes to call for
his resignation.
Spitzer, 48, built his political reputation on rooting out corruption,
including several headline-making battles with Wall Street while serving as
attorney general.
He stormed into the governor’s office in 2006 with a historic share of
the vote, vowing to continue his no-nonsense approach to fixing one of the
nation’s worst governments.
Time magazine had named him “Crusader of the Year” when he was
attorney general and the tabloids proclaimed him “Eliot Ness.”
Bruno wouldn’t comment when asked what Spitzer should do.
“I feel very badly for the governor’s wife, for his
children,” Bruno said. “The important thing for the people of New
York state is that people in office do the right thing.”
Spitzer, who has three teenage daughters, had served two terms as attorney
general where he pursued criminal and civil cases and cracked down on misconduct
and conflicts of interests on Wall Street and in corporate America. His cases as
state attorney general included a few criminal prosecutions of prostitution
rings and into tourism involving prostitutes.
In 2004, he was part of an investigation of an escort service in New York City
that resulted in the arrest of 18 people on charges of promoting prostitution
and related charges.