Ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer Dodges Law in Ashley Dupre Prostitution Bust

Source: http://www.theimproper.com/Template_Article.aspx?IssueId=7&ArticleId=2692

By TheImproper.com

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is dodging prosecution in the much heralded sex scandal with call girl Ashey Dupre that ruined his political career and forced him to resign from office in disgrace.

U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said today (Nov. 6) there was no evidence Spitzer used public money to pay for his liaisons with Dupre, which reportedly cost up to $4,800 an hour. Dupre also has escaped charges, but those who ran the prostitution ring weren’t so lucky.

Garcia said Spitzer’s public humiliation and the loss of his political career were punishment enough. The former governor comes from a wealthy New York family and he has returned to work in the family real estate business. His wife is still by his side.

“We have concluded that the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter,” Garcia said.

The news removes a huge legal cloud surrounding Spitzer, who was forced from office in March after it was revealed that he paid for high-priced call girls, according to the AP. A conviction would have likely cost Spitzer his license to practice law, although he could face sanctions for inappropriate behavior by the state bar association.

While the move effectively ends the case for Spitzer, the man accused of running the escort service that hooked (no pun intended) up Ashley with the former New York governor and led to one of the biggest sex scandals in New York History was forced to plead guilty in court. Others involved in the escort service have also pleaded guilty to various charges.

Mark Brener, 62, Ashley’s “Emperors Club V.I.P.” pimp, pled guilty in June in federal court in Manhattan as part of a plea deal. But the U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t cut him much slack. He reportedly looking at up to 30 months in jail on money-laundering and prostitution-conspiracy charges.

Cecil “Katie” Suwal, 23, who was Brener’s girlfriend and worked as his call-girl booker, pleaded guilty a week before Brener in a deal that includes a 21- to 27-month jail sentence. Brener ran the call girl ring with Suwal out of his New Jersey apartment. Suwal had no prior criminal record. In that regard, the sentence is considered stiff.

Hooker bookers Tanya Hollander, andTemeka Rachelle Lewis have also pleaded guilty. Lewis was reportedly the booker who arranged the date between “Kristen, “the name Dupre used, and a man identified in court papers as “Client-9,” who later turned out to be Spitzer. The Feds tracked Spitzer to Washington where he met up with Dupre on Feb. 13. Spitzer resigned in March.

Dupre reportedly cooperated with prosecutors from the start. The evidence in the case is said to have included phone records and taped conversations. The feds were particularly interested in determining where Spitzer got the money to pay for his trysts.

Dupre is the smallest fish in the bunch has disappeared from sight since she was seen cavorting with a married New Jersey neighbor in a Bridge and Tunnel romance in Manhattan. But the end of the case likely means she is free to pursue possible opportunities and generally get on with her life.