Current Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer, the 48-year-old successor to Republican Governor Pataki, fell from grace with a resounding thud, today, as he was implicated in a federal investigation into a prostitution ring operating in several international cities known as “The Emperor’s Club.”
“The Emperor’s Club” rated prostitutes in “diamonds,” and a day with one of the 7-diamond girls could cost you $31,000. Hourly rates for the 50 escorts who worked New York City, Washington, Miami, London and Paris ran from $1,000 to $5,500 an hour. Spitzer was supposed to have paid for the services of “Kristi” (who sounds as though she physically resembled his real-life wife, Silda Wall Spitzer) and left some additional money “on account.”
Not only did the service, owned and operated by 62-year-old Mark Brener of New Jersey, take credit cards, it also took cash and Euros.
Spitzer made his reputation in New York as a Governor crusading for better ethics. He alienated those in his own party by introducing unpopular bills, such as one legalizing same-sex marriage and the move to issue drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens that surfaced during a Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama debate.
Spitzer, born June 10, 1959, was a Jewish child of privilege born in the Bronx who attended Princeton, where he graduated in 1981. After Princeton, he scored a perfect score on the LSAT (Law School Aptitude Test) and entered Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. As an undergraduate at Princeton, Spitzer was elected chairman of the undergraduate student body, and it was widely reported that he hoped to become the first Jewish President.
On October 17, 1987 Spitzer married his wife Silda and they are the parents of three daughters, Elyssa, 19 (born in 1989), Sarabeth 16 (born in 1992) and Jenna 14 (born in 1994).
Four people were arrested last week for their connection(s) to the Emperors’ Club. Spitzer was caught on a wiretap interacting with the prostitution ring.
Spitzer, accompanied by his wife, gave a mid-afternoon press conference, in which he said, “I apologize, first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better. 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. But I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.”
It was rumored that Spitzer would resign at 7 p.m. but, as of this writing, there was no confirmation of that action.
In his short tenure as Governor, Eliot Spitzer alienated even his friends, after winning in the general election by 70%. A Siena College poll showed that, when asked if they would re-elect him Governor in 2010, only 25% said they would vote for him again, while 50% said that they would not. His ratings had sunk as low as 33% favorable, although the Siena College poll showed it to be 41% favorable, versus 46% unfavorable.
Spitzer allegedly paid $4500 in cash on February 13th…the day before Valentine’s Day… making the phone call himself to a 5’5″ petite brunette (105 lbs.) called “Kristi.” Spitzer had “Kristi” take a train to Washington, D.C. to the Mayflower Hotel. Some say the entire act by Spitzer showed a hubris that was self-destructive, but consistent with his arrogant personality. Bill O’Reilly, on his nationally-televised Fox network television show, “The O’Reilly Factor,” argued that Spitzer wanted to get caught.
David Paterson, Spitzer’s Lieutenant Governor, is both legally blind and African American. If Spitzer resigns, Paterson would become only the second African American Governor in the United States, along with Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. No word on whether he would be the only legally blind Governor serving, but we can conclude from Spitzer’s actions that “love is blind.”