Standing next to his wife Silda, Eliot Spitzer - the one-time ‘Sheriff’ of Wall Street - apologised to his family and the public after reports linked him to a high-class prostitution ring
Eliot Spitzer, the crusading New York governor and scourge of Wall Street, is under intense pressure to resign after reports linked him to prostitution and he admitted wrongdoing that violated the trust of his family and the public.
His admission came after a report on the New York Times website linked him to a high-class prostitution ring that is the subject of criminal charges.
In brief remarks – with wife Silda by his side – Mr Spitzer offered no detail about the nature of his transgression and said nothing about whether he planned to stay in office.
“I have acted in ways that violated my obligation to my family, that violates my, or any, standards of right or wrong,” Mr Spitzer said. “I apologise first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologise to the public.”
He added: “I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good and doing what is best for the state of New York. I must now dedicate some time to regaining the trust of my family... I will report back to you in short order.”
Mr Spitzer, who is 48 and has three children, gained national attention as attorney-general of New York by holding some of the most powerful figures on Wall Street to a high ethical standard. While attorney-general he also prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state’s organised crime task-force.
In one case in 2004, Mr Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-class prostitution ring out of Staten Island. “This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multi-tiered management structure,” he said at the time. “It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.”
Federal prosecutors last week charged four people for their role in organising and managing a global prostitution and money laundering ring called the Emperors Club VIP. The prostitution ring allegedly operated in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Paris, among other cities.
The New York Times report cited a source saying Mr Spitzer was the unnamed “Client-9” listed in the official criminal complaint. According to the complaint, “Client-9” arranged to pay for a prostitute from Emperors Club VIP to travel from New York to meet him at a hotel in Washington on the evening of February 13, which coincides with a trip Mr Spitzer made to Washington to testify before Congress the next day.
Transporting a woman across state lines for “immoral purposes” violates the federal Mann Act, passed in 1910 and often invoked in prostitution cases.
Mr Spitzer rose to national prominence in 2002 when he launched a probe into alleged conflicts of interest in Wall Street equity research.
He won more than $1.5bn in settlements from a dozen banks and put in place guidelines aimed at separating banking from research.
He has earned many enemies at Wall Street banks. As the news broke, cheers were heard on the New York Stock Exchange floor on Monday.
Mr Spitzer has spent the past few weeks in behind-the-scenes efforts to secure fresh capital to bail-out bond insurer Ambac.
Additional reporting by Deborah Brewster, Aline Van Duyn, Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Christopher Grimes
