N.Y.'s Spitzer linked to prostitution ring
The governor apologizes to his family and the public but does not discuss the basis of the report.
NEW YORK — Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who rode a steamroller of moral rectitude to New York's governor's mansion, apologized today after a report linked him to a prostitution ring.
At a televised news conference with his wife by his side, Spitzer did not deny the report but refused to discuss specifics.
"Today, I want to briefly address a private matter," he said. "I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and that violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong. I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public whom I promised better.
"I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself," he said. "I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family."
The New York Times was the first to link Spitzer to the prostitution ring. The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter who said they believe that Spitzer was identified in court papers as a client of the Emperors Club VIP, reportedly a high-end prostitution ring.
Four people allegedly connected to Emperors Club VIP were arrested last week. Prosecutors said the defendants arranged connections between wealthy men and more than 50 prostitutes in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami, London and Paris.
The website of the Emperors Club VIP displays photographs of scantily clad women with their faces hidden, along with hourly rates, depending on whether the prostitutes were rated with one diamond, the lowest ranking, or seven diamonds, the highest. The most highly ranked prostitutes cost $5,500 an hour, prosecutors said.
Spitzer, who was sworn in as New York's 54th governor on Jan. 1, 2007, set himself up as an example of probity, pledging ethics reform and an end the backroom deals that marked the usual modus operandi of Albany. He is a product of Ivy League schools and is married with three children.
Other politicians around the country have been named in sex scandals, but none has built a reputation of being purer than any other political figure and went so far as Spitzer to curry an image as a crime fighter. He was often called a "straight arrow," and compared to Eliot Ness, who brought down Al Capone. Time magazine named him "Crusader of the Year" when he was attorney general.
Because of that, today's announcement carries a large element of schadenfreude for the numerous enemies Spitzer has made among Albany politicians, his fellow Democrats and social elites across the state.
