Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal

Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal
Eliot Spitzer in 2004

The Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal began on March 10, 2008, when The New York Times reported that Democratic New York Governor Eliot Spitzer had patronized a prostitution service called Emperors Club VIP.[1] This ultimately led him to announce his resignation as governor on March 12, effective March 17.[2]

Contents

The scandal

Client–9

Governor Spitzer, referred to as "Client–9" in an affidavit filed in US Federal Court,[3] arranged to meet at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on February 13, 2008 with a prostitute named "Kristen" — an "American, petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet 5 inches and 105 pounds" (165 cm, 47 kg). Allegedly this contact was made by telephone while Spitzer was in Niagara Falls, New York at a press conference at Shorty's Bar and Grill on Pine Avenue.[4] "Kristen" was later identified as the 22 year old Ashley Dupré.[5][6] She intended to travel from New York City for the planned tryst and Spitzer agreed in advance that he "would be paying for everything — train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini-bar or room service, travel time and hotel".[7] After the assignation on February 13, 2008, Spitzer paid her $4,300 in cash.[8] The payment included $1,100 as a deposit with the agency toward future services.[9]

The Mayflower Hotel in Washington.

Room 871 at the Mayflower Hotel was booked under the name George Fox, a pseudonym Spitzer had allegedly been using that was later revealed to be the name of his close friend, a hedge fund investor.[10][11] Reportedly, some of this information came to light from a federal wiretap.[12][13][14]

Spitzer had at least seven or eight liaisons with prostitutes from the agency over six months, and paid more than $15,000 for their services. Federal agents had him under surveillance twice in 2008.[15][16][17] According to published reports, investigators believe Spitzer paid up to $80,000 for prostitutes over a period of several years — first while he was attorney general, and later as governor.[18][19][20]

Screenshot of the website of Emperors Club VIP.

The investigation was purportedly initiated after North Fork Bank[21] reported suspicious transactions to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as required by the Bank Secrecy Act. According to Newsday, Spitzer wanted to transfer more than $10,000 to what turned out to be a front for the prostitution ring. However, he broke up the transactions into smaller slices due to federal law requiring the reporting of any transfer of $10,000 or more. When he tried to get his name taken off the wires, the bank refused, saying that the money had already been wired out and that it would be improper to do so in any case. The IRS's Criminal Investigation Division then started a probe, initially fearing that Spitzer was the victim of either extortion or identity theft.[22]

Screenshot of the website of Emperors Club VIP showing list of prices for escort services.

North Fork's report in July 2007 went largely unnoticed until HSBC in the fall filed a report that the transactions were going to QAT International and QAT Consulting Group, which were offshore shell companies operating as a front for the Emperors Club VIP.[23]

Later, the IRS contacted the FBI to investigate possible political corruption. The investigation led Federal authorities to link the money transfers to the Emperors Club.[24][25] Prosecutors charged the four people operating the escort service with violations of the Mann Act, a week prior to the revelations of Spitzer's involvement.[26]

On November 19, 2007, Republican operative Roger Stone sent a letter to the FBI saying that Spitzer "used the service of high-priced call girls" while in Florida. Stone provided detail saying that Spitzer wore calf-length black socks while performing the sex act.[27]

Spitzer announced on March 12 that he would resign his post as Governor effective March 17, amid threats of his impeachment by state lawmakers.[28]

"I cannot allow for my private failings to disrupt the people's work," Spitzer said at a news conference in New York City. "Over the course of my public life, I have insisted — I believe correctly — that people take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor."[18]

Reactions

After Spitzer's initial press conference, New York State Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco and Republican New York Congressman Peter King separately called for his resignation. Tedisco later announced that he would initiate impeachment proceedings in the State Assembly if Spitzer did not resign.[29] Spitzer's office and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to comment,[11][30][31] except to say that "There is no agreement between this office and Gov. Eliot Spitzer, relating to his resignation or any other matter."[32] After being under investigation on the prostitution scandal Governor Eliot Spitzer federal security clearance was revoked.

"Kristen" revealed on March 13, 2008 she had gone without sleep since the scandal broke three days prior, and said she did not want to be thought of as a monster.[33]

The real George Fox, who is a close friend and campaign donor of Spitzer, issued a statement denying any connection to the scandal beyond the unauthorized use of his name.[34] He said that he was "disappointed and distressed" that Spitzer had used his name as an alias, and confirmed that Spitzer privately apologized to him.[35]

According to Nell Minow, a corporate-governance expert, Wall Street reaction to the scandal has been largely positive, due to a general dislike of Spitzer amongst investment professionals.[36] Governor Spitzer made his rise to victory in New York City politics promising "ethics and integrity to be the hallmarks of [his] administration." He had prosecuted several prostitution rings in his career,[37][38][39][40] and his connection with a prostitution ring was felt as a betrayal by some women's rights and anti-human trafficking groups that had previously worked with him.[41]

In an editorial reflecting on the scandal, political philosopher Martha Nussbaum wrote "Spitzer's offense was an offense against his family. It was not an offense against the public. If he broke any laws, these are laws that never should have existed and that have been repudiated by sensible nations."[42]

"Kristen"

Main article: Ashley Alexandra Dupré

"I just don't want to be thought of as a monster," the 22-year-old Dupré,[43] an aspiring pop recording artist living in Manhattan, told the New York Times, "This has been a very difficult time. It's complicated."[6] Dupré was the subject of intense media coverage in the days after her role in the scandal became public. On March 15, the New York Post published an extensive photo shoot showing Dupré in provocative poses.[44] As of October 22, 2008 (2008 -10-22), Dupré's profile on MySpace.com had received nearly 12 million page views.[45]

Dupré had reportedly been offered $1 million by Hustler to pose nude for the magazine, and has received unofficial offers from Penthouse, among others.[46] Afterwards, she agreed to pose for Playboy in the May 2010 issue.[47]

Impact

Spitzer announced on March 12, 2008 that he would resign his post as Governor effective March 17 at noon amid threats of his impeachment by state lawmakers.[2] Lt. Gov. David Paterson succeeded him on March 17, 2008.

By resigning as governor, Spitzer lost his status as a superdelegate in the 2008 Democratic nomination for president, depriving Hillary Clinton, whom he supported, of a superdelegate vote. This also reduced the total number of superdelegate votes available. Though David Paterson, the Lieutenant Governor of New York at the time and Spitzer's eventual successor, is also a Democrat and a supporter of the Clinton campaign, Paterson already had a super delegate vote because of his status as a member in the Democratic National Committee and cannot vote twice.[48] Spitzer discussed his status as a superdelegate on The Colbert Report on February 12, 2008, the day before Spitzer met his escort at the Mayflower Hotel.[49]

Kristin M. Davis, a competing madam who was involved in the scandal, served four months of jail time on Rikers Island as a result of the scandal, and later announced a run for Spitzer's old seat in the New York gubernatorial election, 2010. Davis finished in last place among those on the ballot.

Documentary

The scandal was the subject of Alex Gibney's 2010 documentary Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer. A rough cut of the film was first shown on April 24, 2010 at the Tribeca Film Festival[50] and the final version was screened at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

On fictional television

  • The animated sitcom South Park episode "Major Boobage" parodies the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. The episode originally aired on March 26th, 2008.
  • The Law & Order episode "Excalibur" was based on the scandal[citation needed]. The episode aired originally on May 21, 2008.
  • The episode "Hell Hath No Fury" of the ABC series Castle was based on the scandal[citation needed]. The episode aired originally on March 30, 2009.
  • The law drama The Good Wife, which premiered in September 2009, is inspired in part by the scandal[citation needed].

See also

References

  1. ^ Feuer, Alan (2008-03-07). "Four Charged With Running Online Prostitution Ring". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/nyregion/07prostitution.html. 
  2. ^ a b "Spitzer to step down by Monday". CNN. 2008-03-12. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/12/spitzer/index.html. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
  3. ^ United States of America v. Mark Brener, Cecil Suwal, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, and Tanya Hollander (pdf). United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. 2008-03-05. Federal complaint.
  4. ^ Schecter, Anna; Ross, Brian (2008-03-11). "Escort: 'I'm Not THAT Kristen'". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4429408&page=1. 
  5. ^ Gaskell, Stephanie; Hutchinson, Bill (2008-03-13). "Jersey girl is revealed as 'Kristen'". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/03/12/2008-03-12_jersey_girl_is_revealed_as_kristen.html. [dead link]
  6. ^ a b Kovaleski, Serge F.; Urbina, Ian (2008-03-13). "Woman at the Center of Governor's Downfall". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/nyregion/12cnd-kristen.html?ref=nyregion. 
  7. ^ Westfeldt, Amy (2008-03-10). "NY Governor Linked to Prostitution Ring". Associated Press. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gvseu7uDYI9vGyMHJCo51IdS-4twD8VAS8R80. [dead link]
  8. ^ Newspaper identifies Spitzer's 'Kristen' CNN.com, March 12, 2008
  9. ^ Kennedy, Helen (2008-03-11). "Details of how Eliot Spitzer told the prostitute to meet him in the Washington hotel room for tryst". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/03/11/2008-03-11_details_of_how_eliot_spitzer_arranged_a_.html. 
  10. ^ "Affidavit: Client 9 and Room 871". New York Times. 2008-03-11. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/nyregion/11night.html. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
  11. ^ a b Zambito, Thomas; Benjamin, Elizabeth; Kennedy, Helen (2008-03-10). "Gov. Spitzer tied to prostitution ring". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/03/10/2008-03-10_gov_spitzer_tied_to_prostitution_ring.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10. 
  12. ^ "Spitzer As Client 9: Read Text Messages From Spitzer To Prostitute". The Huffington Post. 2008-03-10. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/10/spitzer-as-client-9-read_n_90787.html. 
  13. ^ "Spitzer apologizes to family, public". WNBC. 2008-03-10. http://www.wnbc.com/news/15555281/detail.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10. 
  14. ^ "Online Hooker Ring Busted". The Smoking Gun. 2008-03-06. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0306082emperor6.html. 
  15. ^ "Sources: Spitzer used call-girl service at least 8 times". CNN. 2008-03-12. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/12/spitzer.investigation/index.html. Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
  16. ^ Kessler, Robert. "Eliot Spitzer met with call girls 7 or 8 times". Newsday. March 11, 2008.[dead link]
  17. ^ "GOP Pol: Resign Or Else". WNBC. March 11, 2008.
  18. ^ a b Alberts, Sheldon (2008-03-12). "Spitzer resigns amid sex scandal". Canwest News Service (The Gazzette). http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=1722ada9-2541-4484-912a-b41d794f063f. 
  19. ^ Disgraced NY Governor Won't Need New Job, Associated Press, March 12, 2008[dead link]
  20. ^ 80G 'Addicted to Love' Gov", NY Post, March 12, 2008
  21. ^ FBI Watched Spitzer Before February Incident-Washington Post-March 11, 2008
  22. ^ Kessler, Robert E. (2008-03-11). "Eliot Spitzer's bank turned him in to the IRS". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-stspitzerbank0312,0,4637246.story. Retrieved 2008-03-11. 
  23. ^ Spitzer Fall Began With Bank Reports - New York Times - March 13, 2008
  24. ^ Ross, Brian (2008-03-10). "It Wasn't the Sex; Suspicious $$ Transfers Led to Spitzer". http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4424507&page=1. 
  25. ^ Arena, Kelli (2008-03-11). "Sources: Money transfers spurred Spitzer probe". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/11/spitzer.money/index.html. Retrieved 2008-03-11. 
  26. ^ Weiner, Eric. "The Long, Colorful History of the Mann Act". NPR. March 10, 2008.
  27. ^ SPITZER TIPSTER A GOP 'SWINGER' TOLD FBI OF HOOKER HABIT BACK IN NOV, New York Post, March 23, 2008
  28. ^ "'Deeply sorry,' Spitzer to step down by Monday". CNN. 2008-03-12. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/12/spitzer/index.html. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
  29. ^ "Republicans Set Deadline For Governor's Ousting: 'I've Asked Him To Resign'". WCBS-TV. March 11, 2007.[dead link]
  30. ^ Santora, Marc (2008-03-10). "NY Assembly Minority leader says Gov should resign". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1035862420080310. Retrieved 2008-03-10. 
  31. ^ "Spitzer Scandal Reaction". Associated Press. 2008-03-10. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gfqKr_IoWbnHxJ0qAJMDT4tQVBrgD8VAR7E80. Retrieved 2008-03-10. [dead link]
  32. ^ "U.S. Attorney Says There Is No Deal With Spitzer". The New York Times. 2008-03-12. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/us-attorney-says-there-is-no-deal-with-spitzer/. 
  33. ^ "Spitzer's 'call girl': I'm no monster". CNN. 2008-03-13. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/13/spitzer.kristen.intl/index.html. Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
  34. ^ Chan, Sewell (2008-03-11). "George Fox, Spitzer Supporter and Alias, Responds - City Room - Metro - New York Times Blog". cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/george-fox-spitzer-supporter-and-alias-issues-statement/. Retrieved 2008-03-17. 
  35. ^ Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Reuters, Spitzer's friend Fox upset his name used as alias, Reuters, 2008-03-11.
  36. ^ Blaine, Charley; Strott, Elizabeth (2008-03-11). "Stocks soar after Fed acts". MSN Money. http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/080311markets.aspx. Retrieved 2008-03-11. 
  37. ^ "Sources: Spitzer Resignation Expected: Lt. Gov. David Paterson Could Be Sworn In Within 48 Hours, Spitzer Retains Powerful Manhattan Law Firm". WCBS-TV. 2008-03-12. http://wcbstv.com/breakingnewsalerts/spitzer.prostitution.ring.2.673848.html. [dead link]
  38. ^ Bovzar, Chris; Pressler, Jessica (2008-03-10). "Report: Governor Spitzer Involved With 'Prostitution Ring'". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/03/report_governor_spitzer_involv.html. 
  39. ^ "Operators of "Escort Services" Indicted: Authorities Say the Business Was a Front for a Massive Prostitution Ring" (Press release). Office of the New York State Attorney General. 2004-04-07. http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2004/apr/apr7a_04.html. [dead link]
  40. ^ Rashbaum, William K (2004-04-08). "18 Arrested in Lucrative Prostitution Ring out of Staten Island". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E1D91438F93BA35757C0A9629C8B63. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
  41. ^ Bernstein, Nina (2008-03-12). "Foes of Sex Trade Are Stung by the Fall of an Ally". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/nyregion/12prostitute.html?ex=1363060800&en=62e2c73b61a86fa8&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink. Retrieved 2008-03-15. 
  42. ^ Martha Nussbaum, "Trading on America's puritanical streak", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 14 March 2008
  43. ^ One report claims 32. "Eliot Spitzer’s ‘Kristen’ — Actually 32?". New York Magazine. 2008-03-14. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/03/is_eliot_spitzers_kristen_actually_32.html. 
  44. ^ OMG! I JUST DID THE GOVERNOR! SPITZ HOOKER'S DC DISCOVERY New York Post, March 15, 2008. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.
  45. ^ Ashley Dupré Myspace.com Page Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  46. ^ Prostitute In Spitzer Scandal Scores Million Dollar Offer To Bare All
  47. ^ Eustachewich, Lia (2010-04-13). "Ashley Dupre, Eliot Spitzer's former call girl, strips down for Playboy". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/04/13/2010-04-13_ashley_dupre_gov_eliot_spitzers_former_call_girl_bares_it_all_in_8_pages_of_play.html. 
  48. ^ Amira, Dan, Spitzer’s Sex Scandal Sullies Superdelegate Status, New York magazine
  49. ^ Gov. Eliot Spitzer, The Colbert Report[dead link]
  50. ^ "Spitzer Documentary Premieres at Tribeca Film Festival", Associated Press via Yahoo News (April 25, 2010)

External links

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