Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal
[6][7] Governor Spitzer, referred to as "Client 9" in an affidavit filed in US Federal Court,[8] arranged to meet at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on February 13, 2008, with a prostitute named "Kristen".
The IRS Criminal Investigation Division then began a probe, initially fearing that Spitzer was the victim of either extortion or identity theft.
[21][22] Prosecutors charged the four people operating the escort service with violations of the Mann Act several days prior to the revelations of Spitzer's involvement.
[24] On March 7, 2008, The New York Times reported that the federal government had arrested four people in connection with an international online prostitution ring run by Emperors Club VIP.
[25] On March 10, the Times reported that Spitzer had been "caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel".
[34][35] 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.
[37] According to Nell Minow, a corporate-governance expert, Wall Street reaction to the scandal was largely positive, due to a general dislike of Spitzer amongst investment professionals.
[38] Governor Spitzer made his rise to victory in New York City politics promising "ethics and integrity to be the hallmarks of [his] administration."
While Obama toiled unknown in Illinois, the Bronx-born Spitzer won himself a national reputation as the "Sheriff of Wall Street".
He was New York's tough-talking attorney-general, who fought banking corruption, enforced environment law and won rights for low-paid workers.
Spitzer could have made history.Instead he left office in disgrace three years ago amid a flood of tabloid headlines that recounted salacious details from his repeated use of a high-end escort service.
[42]"Kristen", 22, was an aspiring pop recording artist living in Manhattan whose professional stage name is Ashley Dupré.
[45] Overseas, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster was a high-profile casualty of the scandal when Emperors Club prostitutes alleged that he had been a client.
[46] Both Spitzer and Kristin M. Davis, another madam caught in the prostitution scandal but unaffiliated with the Emperors Club VIP, ran for New York City Comptroller in 2013.
