http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/1/06/AR2008110602176.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7714547.stm
N.Y. Prosecutors Will Not Charge Eliot Spitzer
By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 6, 2008; 3:52 PM
Former New York Gov. Eliot M. Spitzer (D) will not face criminal charges for his role in the prostitution scandal that drove him from office this year, prosecutors announced this afternoon.
Spitzer, a hard-driving scion of a Manhattan real estate family, was exposed in March as a customer of the Emperors Club VIP, a pricey call girl ring busted by federal authorities. He used the ring's services repeatedly, sometimes traveling to Washington's Mayflower Hotel and other locations for liaisons with women that cost as much as $4,000.
The uproar over the payments prompted a crisis in New York state government that ultimately chased Spitzer out of the governor's seat. While Spitzer retired from public life, joining his father's real estate investment company, the investigation by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York continued.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia said today that his office had uncovered no evidence that Spitzer used public or campaign funds in a series of payments to a shell company, QAT Consulting.
"We have determined that there is insufficient evidence to bring charges against Mr. Spitzer for any offense relating to the withdrawal of funds for, and his payments to, the Emperors Club VIP," Garcia said in a prepared statement.
Justice Department policy generally discourages bringing criminal charges against customers who purchase the services of prostitutes or transport them across state lines. Lawyers for Spitzer had argued that prosecutors would need to indict all of the services' clients, not just Spitzer, to prove they were not singling out the controversial New York Democrat.
Spitzer released a statement saying that "I understand the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has decided that it will not bring criminal charges against me. 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.
"I resigned my position as Governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official. I once again apologize for my actions, and for the pain and disappointment those actions caused my family and the many people who supported me during my career in public life."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7714547.stm
N.Y. Prosecutors Will Not Charge Eliot Spitzer
By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 6, 2008; 3:52 PM
Former New York Gov. Eliot M. Spitzer (D) will not face criminal charges for his role in the prostitution scandal that drove him from office this year, prosecutors announced this afternoon.
Spitzer, a hard-driving scion of a Manhattan real estate family, was exposed in March as a customer of the Emperors Club VIP, a pricey call girl ring busted by federal authorities. He used the ring's services repeatedly, sometimes traveling to Washington's Mayflower Hotel and other locations for liaisons with women that cost as much as $4,000.
The uproar over the payments prompted a crisis in New York state government that ultimately chased Spitzer out of the governor's seat. While Spitzer retired from public life, joining his father's real estate investment company, the investigation by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York continued.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia said today that his office had uncovered no evidence that Spitzer used public or campaign funds in a series of payments to a shell company, QAT Consulting.
"We have determined that there is insufficient evidence to bring charges against Mr. Spitzer for any offense relating to the withdrawal of funds for, and his payments to, the Emperors Club VIP," Garcia said in a prepared statement.
Justice Department policy generally discourages bringing criminal charges against customers who purchase the services of prostitutes or transport them across state lines. Lawyers for Spitzer had argued that prosecutors would need to indict all of the services' clients, not just Spitzer, to prove they were not singling out the controversial New York Democrat.
Spitzer released a statement saying that "I understand the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has decided that it will not bring criminal charges against me. 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.
"I resigned my position as Governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official. I once again apologize for my actions, and for the pain and disappointment those actions caused my family and the many people who supported me during my career in public life."
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