Spitzer follows path of Martha Stewart, Nancy Grace

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has hired one of the best spinmeisters in the business to help him climb out of the pit of public disgrace.

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This week, several newspapers quoted Anna Cordasco as Spitzer’s new spokeswoman. Cordasco is a managing director at Sard Verbinnen & Co., with a particular specialty: resurrecting fallen public figures.

Her past clients have included Martha Stewart, the home-living doyenne who was convicted of lying to investigators about a stock sale and who served five months in prison, as well as Nancy Grace, the former prosecutor and talk show host who was condemned after one of her guests, Melinda Duckett, committed suicide after an interview concerning the disappearance of Duckett’s 2-year-old son.

Sard Verbinnen, a boutique public-relations firm with offices in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, advertises on its website that it does “strategic corporate, financial and crisis communications” for some of the biggest names in the corporate world.

It has represented such stalwarts as Morgan Stanley, IBM and the New York Times Company, but also controversial figures such as Joseph Jett, the bond trader accused of creating $339 million in phony trades at Kidder, Peabody & Co. Inc., and the corporate raider Bennett S. LeBow.

Will its message magic work for Spitzer? Stay tuned.

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