Paterson
Should New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resign because of his alleged involvement with a prostitute, he will be succeeded by Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson.
History would be made, as Paterson would become the first African-American governor in the state’s history.
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His persona was Dudley Do-Right, the squeaky-clean politician who championed ethics reform, and who was unrelenting as New York attorney general in going after Wall Street executives - and a prostitution ring or two.
But today, that reputation was in tatters and calls for his resignation mounted after New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer made a brief public statement in his Manhattan office, with his wife, Silda, by his side, apologizing for having “acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family and that violates my - or any -sense of right and wrong.”
Spitzer did not directly address a report on the website of The New York Times that quoted unnamed sources as saying he had been caught on a federal wiretap, arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington D.C. hotel.
In fact, he didn’t mention a prostitution ring at all. Nor did he signal his intentions about the future, even as Republican leaders in Albany began beating a steady drumbeat for him to step down.
Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his wife Silda
Photo credit: Office of the Governor
The New York Times report, posted early afternoon, referenced court papers filed in a federal investigation of an international prostitution ring. The papers describe a telephone recording of a man identified as Client 9 arranging to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a hotel room. The Times cites an unnamed source who identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9.
Spitzer, who has been married for 20 years and has three teenage daughters, declined to take questions, but said he would report back “in short order.” As he left the room, several reporters called out, “Are you resigning? Are you resigning?” He left the room without responding.
The Times reported that Spitzer, who has had a rollercoaster 14 months as governor, learned last Friday that he had been implicated in the investigation when a federal official contacted his staff.
The court papers unsealed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan last Thursday describe arrangements by a man called Client 9 to meet with a prostitute, named “Kristen,” in a Washington hotel on the night of Feb. 13. Spitzer testified before a congressional subcommittee in Washington on Feb. 14.
The man mentioned in the court documents is quoted as setting up the meeting through Emperor’s Club VIP, a prostitution ring busted last Thursday on charges of arranging call girl visits in cities from New York to London and Paris. The ring had 50 prostitutes and charged $1,000 to $5,500 an hour for their services, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint quotes the Emperors Club’s negotiations with Client 9 over the payment – he agrees to $3,600 and says he would consider an additional $1,500 – and then, after being told Kristen would meet him at his Washington hotel in Washington, he says, “Great. OK. Wonderful.”
The booker tells him that Kristen is American, petite, pretty, brunette, 5′5″, 105 pounds.
After the booking, the affidavit quotes Kristen as telling an Emperor’s Club: “I don’t think he’s difficult. … I’m here for a purpose. I know what my purpose is. I am not a moron, you know what I mean? … Let’s not get it twisted. I know what I do, you know.”
The agent says she has heard that Client 9 “would ask you to do things that like, you might not think were safe - you know - I mean that … very basic things.”
Kristen’s response: “I have a way of dealing with that. I’d be like, listen dude, you really want the sex?… You know what I mean.”
The affidavit notes that Client 9 paid the prostitute’s expenses to travel to Washington by train, but “would not do traditional wire transferring;”
Federal prosecutors rarely charge clients in prostitution cases. But the Mann Act makes it a crime to transport someone between states for the purpose of prostitution. The four defendants charged in the case were all charged with that crime, along with several others.
Federal authorities have offered no indication of whether they will charge Spitzer. To date, they have indicted four people.
Mark Brener, 62, of Cliffside, N.J. was described as the leader who delegated day-to-day business responsibilities to Cecil Suwal, 23, of the same address. According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Suwal controlled the bank accounts, took applications from prospective prostitutes and oversaw two booking agents, identified by the authorities as Temeka Rachelle Lewis, 32, of Brooklyn, and Tanya Hollander, 36, of Rhinebeck, N.Y.
The news of the prostitution ring connection prompted wall-to-wall coverage on cable television this afternoon, with many seeming to revel in the downfall of man who made his reputation as a crusader pursuing corporate misdeeds.
“There were whoops and yells when it was reported that he might resign. Mr. Spitzer has never been a very popular person down here,” CNBC correspondent Bob Pisani reported from the New York Stock Exchange, relating the hostile feelings between Wall Street and Mr. Spitzer.
As New York attorney general, Spitzer brought several cases against prostitution rings, including one case against a travel agency organizing sex tours to Southeast Asia.
“These defendants claimed to be operating a traditional travel agency. It is far from that,” he said in March 2004, when he busted the travel agency. Their actions “led to the systematic exploitation and suppression of young women.”
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