Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer won’t face charges in
connection with the hooker scandal that prompted his resignation, the US attorney’s
office for the Southern District of New York said Thursday.
A statement released by the US Attorney Michael Garcia says,
“this office has uncovered no evidence of misuse of public or campaign funds,”
after months of “thorough investigation.”
Spitzer reportedly came to the attention of prosecutors
because he was moving money from a bank account in a suspicious manner. IRS and
FBI officials said Spitzer might have spent a total sum of $80,000 on trysts
with high-priced call girls.
Spitzer resigned as governor in March after the media
reported he was a client of the Emperors Club VIP. The FBI secretly recorded
conversations between Spitzer and Temeka Rachelle Lewis, in which a Feb. 13
tryst was arranged with a prostitute named “Kristen” in Washington. The 22-year-old prostitute was
later identified as Ashley Dupré. She was never charged in the case.
Lewis, 32, was one of the four people charged with running
the Emperors Club VIP, the expensive prostitution ring that was closed down
earlier this year. The other three defendants in the prostitution case were
Mark Brener, 62, of Cliffside Park, N.J.; Tanya Hollander, 36, of Rhinebeck, N.Y.;
and Cecil Suwal, 23, who lives with Brener. They all pleaded guilty to money
laundering or promotion of prostitution offenses.
Court documents detailed arrangements between Client 9 (as
Spitzer was identified) and “Kristen” at the Mayflower hotel in Washington in February. Garcia
said that Spitzer revealed to investigators that on multiple occasion he
arranged for women to travel from one state to another state to engage in
prostitution thus 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.” However, the law doesn’t call for charging the clients
of prostitutes, Garcia said. He also added that the way Spitzer accepted his
responsibility for his conduct was another reason not to pursue criminal
charges.
In response to the Court’s decision, Spitzer issued a
remorseful statement saying he is relived that he won’t have to face charges.
“I appreciate the impartiality and thoroughness of the
investigation by the US.
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.”
Spitzer and his wife, Silda, are the parents of three
teenage daughters. Following his resignation, David Paterson, a Democrat
from Harlem filled out the remaining three
years of Spitzer’s term.
A lawyer for Dupre said the former call girl said she’s glad
the matter is solved.
“She’s going to move on with her life,” attorney Don D.
Buchwald said.
