Update on former NY Gov Spitzer and the prostitution ring

[AllardChardon]

Quoted from yahoo.com news:

No charges for ex-NY governor in prostitution case

By TOM HAYS and ADAM GOLDMAN, Associated Press Writers

NEW YORK – Federal prosecutors said Thursday that they will not bring criminal charges against Eliot Spitzer for his role in a prostitution scandal, removing a legal cloud that has surrounded the former New York governor since his epic downfall eight months ago.

U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said investigators found no evidence that Spitzer or his office misused public or campaign funds for prostitution. Investigators found that Spitzer solicited high-priced call girls, but federal prosecutors typically do not prosecute clients of prostitution rings.

"After a thorough investigation, this office has uncovered no evidence of misuse of public or campaign funds," Garcia said. "We have concluded that the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter."

The announcement by Garcia signals the end of the bombshell investigation of Emperors Club VIP and means that nine other men described in an indictment as clients of the lucrative prostitution service also have escaped charges. Those clients were never identified.

Legal experts said that local authorities technically could still charge Spitzer as a john, but that it would be highly unlikely.

A remorseful Spitzer issued a statement in which he expressed relief that he will not face charges.

"I appreciate the impartiality and thoroughness of the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the conduct it disclosed," he said. "I resigned my position as Governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official. I once again apologize for my actions."

Spitzer was out of town and unavailable for further comment.

He resigned in March after it was disclosed he was referred to in court papers as "Client-9," who spent thousands of dollars on a call girl at a swanky Washington, D.C., hotel on the night before Valentine's Day.

Garcia said that Spitzer later revealed to investigators that on multiple occasions he arranged for women to travel from one state to another state to engage in prostitution.

The scandal ruined a promising political career for Spitzer, who won a landslide election in 2006 with a vow to clean up corruption. He has remained out of the spotlight since his shocking resignation, spending time with his wife and three daughters, working for his father's real estate business and occasionally being photographed running in Central Park.

He also assembled a high-powered team of lawyers who made an intense behind-the-scenes lobbying effort with the U.S. attorney's public corruption unit. His legal team included former prosecutors.

But prosecutors' options were limited once they found he didn't violate campaign finance rules.

Authorities could have charged Spitzer with violating the Mann Act, a federal law that bans carrying women or girls across state lines for "prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." But the legal experts say the law is rarely used to prosecute johns.

"I would have been more surprised had he been charged," said Elkan Abramowitz, chief of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan in the 1970s. "Once they determined that he didn't use state or campaign money but apparently must have only used his personal money, I am not surprised they decided not to prosecute."

Another former federal prosecutor, Brad Simon, said other factors, including lobbying by Spitzers' attorneys, might have influenced the decision.

Prosecutors "have discretion, and they used it," Simon said.

The lawyer for Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the former call girl whose tryst with Spitzer sparked the investigation, said she's glad the matter is resolved.

"She's going to move on with her life," attorney Don D. Buchwald said.

Four people pleaded guilty in recent months to running the prostitution operation that led to Spitzer's political demise.

Michael C. Farkas, the lawyer one of the escort service's booking agents, blasted the decision not to prosecute Spitzer. His client, 36-year-old Tanya Hollander, pleaded guilty and admitted to helping run the ring, and she is scheduled to be sentenced this month.

"She still faces a jail sentence, while some other more infamous actors in this matter do not. It would be a sad injustice if that were to occur," Farkas said.

Murray Richman, lawyer for the 62-year-old operator of the escort service, Mark Brener, said prosecutors "did the proper thing." He said he could not "perceive how Spitzer was involved in any criminal conduct," noting that the governor did pay a price for his choices.

The lesson of the case "is that if you're a public official, you can't be a private person," he said.

Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.


**Is anyone surprized that the other johns were not indentified or charged either? NO!

 

[Liar]

**Is anyone surprized that the other johns were not indentified or charged either? NO!

How big of a crime IS soliciting a prostitute anyway, legally? A summary offence? A felony? Akin to jaywalking? A sex crime?

 

[AllardChardon]

I don't know NY laws regarding prostitution, but it is the providers of the service that will suffer not the consumers. Leave those consumers completely alone, so they can spend more on those same services somewhere else.

 

[epiphany65]

How big of a crime IS soliciting a prostitute anyway, legally? A summary offence? A felony? Akin to jaywalking? A sex crime?

In D.C. (where the crime was committed) solicitation is a misdemeanour, but he could have also been charged under The Mann Act, which makes it a federal offense to transport someone across state lines for the purpose of prostitution. He could have also been charged with structuring, which is basically concealing the nature or source of money transactions (which he did to pay the agency she worked for). I think he was treated fairly. He's not the first person, or even the first politician or lawyer to hire a hooker. I have lawyer friends who've done it -- not that they're any better or worse -- but I don't think he should be treated any more harshly simply because this case gained national attention. That in itself is probably punishment enough, or that's how I look at it anyway.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/could-spitzer-lose-his-law-license/

 

[CheekyGiRL07]

Actually, I think prostitution should be legal. There is no reason why people shouldn't have the right not to have sex and pay for it. Making prostitution legal would probably be safer for both parties.

 

[Pure]

it was a set up by his political enemies. no, epi, he was not treated fairly. every out of towner that pays for a ho shouldn't be charged with a money offense.

that said, frequenting a ho is unwise for a high public figure!

the 'ring' thing is typical US hysteria/manipulation. every call girl operation or brothel is a 'ring'. gimme a break!

i'd prefer they shadow the jim bakkers and rush limbaughs, but i guess even a liberal is fodder for a good story!
==

i agree with the lawyer, Farkas:

Michael C. Farkas, the lawyer one of the escort service's booking agents, blasted the decision not to prosecute Spitzer. His client, 36-year-old Tanya Hollander, pleaded guilty and admitted to helping run the ring, and she is scheduled to be sentenced this month.

"She still faces a jail sentence, while some other more infamous actors in this matter do not. It would be a sad injustice if that were to occur," Farkas said.

 

[AllardChardon]

Correct me if I am wrong, please, but if a person knowingly receives stolen property (and pays for it), both the thief and the buyer are engaging in illegal practices. Is there a subtle distinction here, other than the law on the books?

 

[epiphany65]

it was a set up by his political enemies. no, epi, he was not treated fairly. every out of towner that pays for a ho shouldn't be charged with a money offense.

How do you feel he was treated unfairly? He's not facing prosecution. Tell me how that's unfair. The "money offense" he could have been charged with was because he wired funds across state lines to the agency's account. This is something that john's don't normally do. Usually it's a straight cash transaction. Your comparison has no relation to what actually happened in this instance.

 

[R. Richard]

How big of a crime IS soliciting a prostitute anyway, legally? A summary offence? A felony? Akin to jaywalking? A sex crime?

Soliciting and paying for sex is a misdemeanor in the District of Columbia (where the governor had a tryst with a prostitute on Feb. 13), as well as in New York State.

 

[lisa123414]

Hello? Is anyone listening to Allard? What I saw as sarcasm, maybe a few others saw as common sense.

I don't know NY laws regarding prostitution, but it is the providers of the service that will suffer not the consumers. Leave those consumers completely alone, so they can spend more on those same services somewhere else.

Why is it okay to prosecute the woman/women involved, but not Mr. Spitzer?

And yes, before anyone else brings up this point, he has suffered much here, I do not want to go after him. Just commenting on the unfairness of the prosecution/persecution.

 

[sr71plt]

I wrote a Lit. story about him and made him gay. So, he's suffered enough.

 

[epiphany65]

Hello? Is anyone listening to Allard? What I saw as sarcasm, maybe a few others saw as common sense.





Why is it okay to prosecute the woman/women involved, but not Mr. Spitzer?

And yes, before anyone else brings up this point, he has suffered much here, I do not want to go after him. Just commenting on the unfairness of the prosecution/persecution.

The prostitute that Spitzer hired wasn't charged, so from that perspective its eems to be a wash. Charging the pimp/madam in the case is a different matter since pandering and living off the avails of prostitution (and perhaps tax fraud or money laundering) charges are more severe. Traditionally pimps have been men and they often force young women and girls into prostitution, so ridding society of them will help put an end to the problem and help the problem of young women being victimized. I'm speaking of the general problem, which amounts to slavery, not just this case.

 

[Liar]

The prostitute that Spitzer hired wasn't charged, so from that perspective its eems to be a wash. Charging the pimp/madam in the case is a different matter since pandering and living off the avails of prostitution (and perhaps tax fraud or money laundering) charges are more severe. Traditionally pimps have been men and they often force young women and girls into prostitution, so ridding society of them will help put an end to the problem and help the problem of young women being victimized. I'm speaking of the general problem, which amounts to slavery, not just this case.

That's what I thought. The lady who got the law thrown on her here was the, well, in the spirit of equality, the pimp.

Even in countries where prostitution is legal, profiteering on prostitutes is often a serious crime.

 

[xssve]

That's what I thought. The lady who got the law thrown on her here was the, well, in the spirit of equality, the pimp.

Even in countries where prostitution is legal, profiteering on prostitutes is often a serious crime.

Human trafficking and sex slavery is big business, and it's big business in this country, the Gulf Coast and Texas are well supplied with slave brothels - Atlanta is said to be the child prostitution capital of North America.

Not even talking about prisons where sex slavery is simply to be expected.

Just like the war on drugs, supply and demand, it just makes people more desperate.

 

[AllardChardon]

The pimp or madam provide a service or a commodity to a very large market. The prostitute is usually better protected and cared for if she has a pimp or a madam. But the man or woman who decide to fill this societal need are punished, not the paying john or the earning whore. Seems very unfair to me.

 

[lisa123414]

But then again, if we legalized prostitution, we would probably be taking much of the fun out of it.

Kinda like getting married.

 

[xssve]

Fun? How many prostitutes do you actually know? Sorry, but I've known a few, they didn't do it for fun.

 

[lisa123414]

sorry, really

I have not been, or actually known any prostitutes. Or anyone who admits to being a john, however, I have had my ideas challenged. At one stage in my life I assumed that any woman who was a prostitute was coerced. I think now, that this profession has become choice for some. Its a job, like any other. I don't expect a woman to be satisfied or fulfilled at this profession any more than the short order cook or the clerk.

 

[rgraham666]

It would probably also be like working in a chocolate factory and put you off the product for life.

My mom worked in one when she was a young woman sixty years ago and still can't stand the stuff.

 

[xssve]

sorry, really

I have not been, or actually known any prostitutes. Or anyone who admits to being a john, however, I have had my ideas challenged. At one stage in my life I assumed that any woman who was a prostitute was coerced. I think now, that this profession has become choice for some. Its a job, like any other. I don't expect a woman to be satisfied or fulfilled at this profession any more than the short order cook or the clerk.

Maybe high priced call girls, like the one Spitzer was seeing - some girls pay their way through college that way. All the ones I've ever known were trying to keep their kids fed.

 

[Salvor-Hardon]

Its the danger of broad strokes versus reality. We talk of prostitutes in broad strokes but the reality is there is every thing from crack whores who will do anything to get their next fix, the run away who is lured into slavery by the pimps and chicken hawks, call girls and escorts and courtesans.

The idea has been around forever and regardless of legality will remain forever more. Even if the commerce were legalized, there would be the black market and the undocumented and unprotected who will never see the fruits of the labor. Those who prey upon and exploit those who feel helpless, they are the ones that should be hunted down and destroyed.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

Still, it should be legalized, so as to give competition to the pimps, raise revenue, and reduce the amount of money wasted on prosecuting the occasional show defendant selected by ambitious prosecutors seeking to win votes.

As for profiteering, depends on what you mean. It's okay in my book for the prostitute herself to make a profit, because she isn't using intimidation to acquire it. The pimp is a different story. Legalize prostitution, yes, but go after pimps with a vengeance. They are slaveholders, plain and simple.

 

[xssve]

Its the danger of broad strokes versus reality. We talk of prostitutes in broad strokes but the reality is there is every thing from crack whores who will do anything to get their next fix, the run away who is lured into slavery by the pimps and chicken hawks, call girls and escorts and courtesans.

The idea has been around forever and regardless of legality will remain forever more. Even if the commerce were legalized, there would be the black market and the undocumented and unprotected who will never see the fruits of the labor. Those who prey upon and exploit those who feel helpless, they are the ones that should be hunted down and destroyed.

You can start with Dynacorp.

 

[Liar]

Still, it should be legalized, so as to give competition to the pimps, raise revenue, and reduce the amount of money wasted on prosecuting the occasional show defendant selected by ambitious prosecutors seeking to win votes.

As for profiteering, depends on what you mean. It's okay in my book for the prostitute herself to make a profit, because she isn't using intimidation to acquire it. The pimp is a different story. Legalize prostitution, yes, but go after pimps with a vengeance. They are slaveholders, plain and simple.

Let me tell you how this works in some places with legal and fairly well regulated prostitution. This example comes from Switzerland, but I think it works roughly the same in several European countries.

You have your whores. Escorts, call-girls, pleasure professionals of whatever they want to call themseves. They are one man (or mostly woman) businesses, keep their own books and pay their own taxes. They are registered, licensed, and have to follow certain rules about health, safety and business conduct.

The laws that are there, are meant to protect prostitutes from unfair exploitation, and to protect people who don't choose it on their own, from becomnig prostitutes.

It's illegal to solicit prostitution from someone without a sex worker's license.

It's illegal to pressure someone who is not a sex worker to become one, and it's illegal to bring people into the country with the intent of them becoming sex workers. This is however hard to prove and do happen to a ceratin degree. But the law has been quite effective against more blatant attemptas at pimping and lots of trafficking.

It's illegal to employ people for the purpose of prostitution, because that would take away the control of who, when, how and how much, from the prostitute.

What many prostitutes do though, is buy the service of "organizers" or "agencies", who provide things like marketing, security, clerk services and sometimes even facilities. But it's the sex workers who are hiring them, not the other way around. For all intents and purposes, this can work as a brothel or "prositution ring". But the legality must be kept on the thin and narrow, so that the prostitutes have the upper hand.

So what's the effect of all this? Does it eliminate all problems? Of course not. But the positive effects are clear:

The world is of course not suddenly flooded with happy hookers, it's still a job that most choose out of a dire need for quick money rahter than because of a genuine interrest. But those who do choose the job can do it without the fear of arrest, and with some degree of safety.

The market for illegal prostitution as organized crime becomes much smaller. Most johns rather seek out the safe, clean and legal alternatives, even if it's more expensive. The penalties for soliciting sex from unlicensed women are pretty stiff, and it's considered a sex crime on par with attempted rape. So it's a risk that few are willing to take.

If the police wants to target an otherwise seemingly legit "agency" business that they suspect have sex workers that are forced into prostitution, or are in the country illegally, they have a much easier way to get at them, with an intricate framework of buerocracy and rules that they can make stick. people who break the big laws often don't bother with the small laws. The same way that Al Capone was taken down on tax charges and not murder.

All in all, a much better way of battling the problems surrounding prostitution. If not the phenomena of prostitution itself.

 

[SlickTony]

That's been very educational--it answers a question I was going to ask.

They're talking about decriminalizing prostituion in San Francisco. Naturally this has a lot of people there worried--suppose, they're saying someone a few houses up from them is operating a prostitution business; how can they call the police and report it if it's no longer illegal?

It would seem to me that legalization would have to be followed by zoning. If I spend the afternoon, in my suburban, strictly residential neighborhood replacing the brakes on, or tuning up, my car, in my own garage or driveway, that's one thing. If I operated a car repair business out of my home, and had people bringing their cars to be worked on all day, my neighbors would have a right to complain and probably would. (As it is, the people in the unit next to me are in some phase of the construction biz, and keep two portable cement mixers at the head of their driveway on a regular basis; at least they load them in their trucks and drive off with them in the morning).

That said, you probably cannot take prostitution out of a patriarchal culture any more than you can take the egg out of a cake when you've already mixed it up.