Posted on 03/10/2008 2:49:51 PM PDT by neverdem
Updated Monday, 4:30 PM
Gov. Spitzer apologized to his family and the state Monday after a swirl of shocking reports surfaced that he was a regular at high-class prostitution ring that charged upward of $5,500-an-hour for its high-end hookers.
I acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family...Ive disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself, he said.
His wan-faced wife, Silda, stood by his side at a tense press conference at his Manhattan office called within an hour of the New York Times breaking the story.
I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family, Spitzer said. I will report back to you in short order.
He took no questions.
Spitzer, 48, who left the room arm-in-arm with his wife, 50, has three teenage daughters and a carefully honed reputation for rectitude.
Last week, the feds busted the Emperors Club VIP, an international prostitution ring that charged upscale clients up to $5,500 an hour.
An official briefed on the investigation told the Daily News that Spitzer is the man described in great detail by prosecutors as Client 9 - a regular patron of the prostitution ring who was known to request unsafe sex acts.
WNBC reported the feds have text messages from the governors phone to the hooker bookers.
In an FBI affidavit filed March 5 in Manhattan Federal Court, prosecutors described complex discussions about a payment for sending a hooker named Kristen on the train to Washington to meet Client 9 in a hotel on Feb. 13 - the night before Valentines Day. Sources said Spitzer was Client 9.
Spitzer was in Washington to testify the next day at the House Financial Services Committee about troubles in the bond market. A column he wrote appeared in the Feb. 14 Washington Post.
According to the affidavit, the managers of the hooker ring complained that his payment - a deposit of money sent by mail - had not arrived.
The client said he had made his payment same as in the past no question about it. The money was to cover Kristens train and cab fare plus her services and whatever she wanted out of the mini-bar.
When the money arrived, Kristen boarded the 5:39 p.m. out of Penn station and arrived at the Washington hotel at about 9:30 p.m.
The client had left a key to room 871 for her with the concierge.
The client was told he had about $500 left on his account and would owe a balance of $2,721.41. He was asked to give Kristen an extra $1,500 or $2,000 to avoid future payment problems.
He did not know if he could get to a machine to do that, but he would see, said the affidavit.
Then he asked, what does she look like?
The reply: An American, petite, very pretty brunette, 5-feet-5 inches and 105 pounds.
Kristen reported back just after midnight on Feb. 14 to her booker that she had spent about two hours with him and that she thought it went very well and that he handed her $4,300.
In the taped conversation, she reported that she liked him and said, I dont think hes difficult.
I mean, its just kind of like...whatever...Im here for a purpose. I know what my purpose is. I am not a....moron, you know what I mean? So maybe thats why girls maybe think theyre difficult, she is quoted as saying in the affidavit.
Her booker in New York said that the client was known to ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe, you know.
She responded: I have a way of dealing with that...Id be like, listen dude, you really want the sex?...You know what I mean?
According to prosecutors, the hooker ring recruited women from across the globe, in New York, Miami, London and France, prosecutors said.
The club used a rating system of diamonds for each of the models whose lingerie-clad bodies were advertised on their Web site. A three-diamond model went for $1,000, and a seven-diamond prostitute fetched $3,100.
Iron Club members won access to the most highly prized prostitutes for $5,500 an hour, prosecutors said.
Agents from the Internal Revenue Service found more than $600,000 in cash in the Cliffside Park, N.J., home of 62-year-old accused ringleader Mark Brener.
As a crusading attorney general, Spitzer went after at least two similar prostitution rings.
Last year, Spitzer roared into the governors office on a landslide of popularity, promising that everything changes on Day One. But he frittered away his popular support in a series of scandals and missteps.
By last fall, his approval rating was at 30% and polls showed New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg would defeat him handily if he ran for governor.
Spitzers wife, Silda, is founder of Children for Children, a non-profit organization that fosters social responsibility in young people.
Too bad.....so sad....
I can almost hear the cheering and laughing in the board rooms of a few corporations Spitzer terrorized....
Payback can be a bixxh, and revenge so gratifying.
McGreedy, Corslime, and Spitzer PERFECT TOGETHER!
Let’s see if the State bar moves to disbar him.
I don’t know why these idiots think they won’t get caught.
They SAY it’s $5,500 an hour. Yeah, right. More like 3 minutes!!!!
I think the moderators deleted 4-5 duplicates.
Sounds kinky.
And the Rat governor of Illinois tied to pay for play, ditto Rat “Diamond Jim Doyle” in Wi.
I saw at least that many get the ax. There will be probably a dozen more this evening.
If this creep had been a Republican, there would have been calls from all the newspapers for him to resign. He’s a dumocrat, and so he gets to stay.
Let’s see. Craig is arrested for moving his foot too close to a copdecoy, and is disgraced.
Maybe it’s because dumocrats have no shame, and expect this sort of behavior from each other, while Republicans actually have the quality called “shame”.
“As a crusading attorney general, Spitzer went after at least two similar prostitution rings.”
Getting rid of the competition? Wonder if that earned him a discount with this outfit.
Did he pay state taxes for services rendered?
Not the NY Daily News account with the same title. This says he was a "regular patron of the prostitution ring who was known to request unsafe sex acts."
Surely. If craig had been a democrat, he’d be where obama is today.
Carvell's defense of Spitzer was pathetic. He must fear losing a super delegate for Hillary.
Just so happens my Dad is a "hooker booker!"
And just for kicks, when I was in aircraft maintenance us specialists used to call the crew chiefs, "Booger Hooker's"
that is all...........
The Democrats close to Mr. Spitzer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private views in the governors camp, made the point of saying that Mr. Spitzers politics, background and generational outlook were closely aligned to those of Mr. Obama of Illinois.
An endorsement of Mr. Obama would have been dangerous for the governor of Mrs. Clintons adopted home state, however, and Democrats said Mr. Spitzer had never seriously considered backing Mr. Obama.
Clinton advisers said privately on Tuesday that they were pleased to have the endorsement, and declined to comment on the views within the Spitzer camp.
Was Mr. Spitzer wavering??? Hmmmmm.
The reversal of his endorsement would've been a large blow to the Clinton camp... I guess they won't have to worry about that now.
Tied to Prostitue Ring. Perchance Lady Heather's S&M?
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