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Eliot Spitzer, Mr Law & Order

ElkiElki get busyModerator, ClubPA mod
edited March 2008 in Debate and/or Discourse
Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring

NY Times wrote:
Gov. Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning.

Mr. Spitzer, who was huddled with his top aides early this afternoon, had hours earlier abruptly canceled his scheduled public events for the day. He is set to make an announcement about 2:15 this afternoon at his Manhattan office.

Mr. Spitzer, a first-term Democrat who pledged to bring ethics reform and end the often seamy ways of Albany, is married with three children.

Just last week, federal prosecutors arrested four people in connection with an expensive prostitution operation. Administration officials would not say that this was the ring with which the governor had become involved.

He had a difficult first year in office, rocked by a mix of scandal and legislative setbacks. In recent weeks, however, Mr. Spitzer seemed to have rebounded, with his Democratic party poised to perhaps gain control of the state Senate for the first time in four decades.

Mr. Spitzer gained national attention when he served as attorney general with his relentless pursuit of Wall Street wrongdoing. As attorney general, he also had prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state’s organized crime task force.

In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.

“”This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure,” Mr. Spitzer said at the time. ”It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.”

Albany for months been roiled by bitter fighting and accusations of dirty tricks. The Albany County district attorney is set to issue in the coming days the results of his investigation into Mr. Spitzer’s first scandal, his aides’ involvement in an effort to tarnish Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, the state’s top Republican.
Who saw this coming? As disappointing as this is, I can't help but find it amusing.

I'm still waiting for the announcement from him, but it looks like any national ambitions he had are now dead.

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Elki on
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    HozHoz Cool Cat Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    I don't have the imagination to picture how that even works.

    Hoz on
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    kildykildy Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    "man, those prostitution rings are vile things! I bet I could run one better!"

    Seriously, how does this come to pass?

    kildy on
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    ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited March 2008
    NY Times wrote:
    In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion, anger and profound jealousy after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.

    Fix'd, apparently.

    ElJeffe on
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    DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Yea, I kinda liked him until he proved to be a pretty big failure as a governor. He's failed in pretty much everything he's tried worth a damn. So, NYS politics as usual.

    DevoutlyApathetic on
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    werehippywerehippy Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Can anyone remember a governor being such a catastrophic failure in so short a time? Admittedly, this is in my backyard so I might just be noticing it more, but Spitzer seems physically incapable of not putting his foot in something every five minutes.

    werehippy on
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    DracomicronDracomicron Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    He should have just legalized prostitution so that what he's accused of doing wouldn't be illegal.

    Seriously, the only bad thing about prostitution is that its illegality contributes to the spread of disease and other crimes, such as abuse of women.

    Dracomicron on
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    Brian888Brian888 Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    kildy wrote: »
    "man, those prostitution rings are vile things! I bet I could run one better!"

    Seriously, how does this come to pass?


    He's not accused of running one, only of availing himself of the services of one.

    Admittedly it would be cooler if the Governor of NY was secretly the biggest Vice Boss on the Eastern Seaboard.

    Brian888 on
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    DracomicronDracomicron Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Brian888 wrote: »
    kildy wrote: »
    "man, those prostitution rings are vile things! I bet I could run one better!"

    Seriously, how does this come to pass?


    He's not accused of running one, only of availing himself of the services of one.

    Admittedly it would be cooler if the Governor of NY was secretly the biggest Vice Boss on the Eastern Seaboard.

    That's totally an action movie waiting to happen.

    Dracomicron on
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    EmperorSethEmperorSeth Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    werehippy wrote: »
    Can anyone remember a governor being such a catastrophic failure in so short a time? Admittedly, this is in my backyard so I might just be noticing it more, but Spitzer seems physically incapable of not putting his foot in something every five minutes.

    Well, I do live in Illinois, where we and Blagoyavich (or whatever,) are trying to come close.

    EmperorSeth on
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    HozHoz Cool Cat Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    The number of African-American Governors in America is about to double!

    Hoz on
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    MalkorMalkor Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Wow. Hypocrites are the best. At least the prostitute wasn't an illegal immigrant and she wasn't looking to get a driver's license. Ugh.

    Malkor on
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    kildykildy Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Brian888 wrote: »
    kildy wrote: »
    "man, those prostitution rings are vile things! I bet I could run one better!"

    Seriously, how does this come to pass?


    He's not accused of running one, only of availing himself of the services of one.

    Admittedly it would be cooler if the Governor of NY was secretly the biggest Vice Boss on the Eastern Seaboard.

    That's totally an action movie waiting to happen.

    See, all I ask is that if you have a scandal, can it be interesting/funny?

    "I hired an escort" is just lame on the scandalometer.

    kildy on
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    tallgeezetallgeeze Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Politicians participating in the activities they fought so diligently to stop? Not possible.

    Isn't this is like the 5th or 6th phony to be exposed within the past year? I wonder how they gonna spin this.

    tallgeeze on
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    DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    So it looks like I need to learn a new name to figure out who my governor is.

    Edit: A first read through his Wiki page is pretty positive. Any politician who actually calls into sports talk shows to talk about sports can't be all bad.

    DevoutlyApathetic on
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    DaedalusDaedalus Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    So at first I was rooting for Spitzer; he'd done some great work as AG and I figured he had to be better than Pataki. I didn't even care much about the infighting with Joe Bruno, because Bruno is a bit of a dick. (I live near his upstate NY house. Motherfucker had the state department of transportation put roadbumps in the middle of a fucking pubic road just to make sure nobody went past his house at faster than five miles per hour or anything like that).

    But, really, what the fuck is he doing here? I mean, Democrats in state positions in NY already took a big hit after the Alan Hevesi scandal. Republicans are going to spin this as "at least Pataki could keep it in his pants", and everyone knows they thrive on meaningless sex "scandals."

    I swear, if Bruno ends up as Governor from this mess, I'm moving to fucking Pennsylvania.

    Daedalus on
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    nexuscrawlernexuscrawler Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    werehippy wrote: »
    Can anyone remember a governor being such a catastrophic failure in so short a time? Admittedly, this is in my backyard so I might just be noticing it more, but Spitzer seems physically incapable of not putting his foot in something every five minutes.

    He sure as hell rode a huge wave of support at the start. Then he bungled it all within a year. Pretty impressive crash and burn there.

    nexuscrawler on
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    galenbladegalenblade Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Welp, now we're getting into the dirty details.
    ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation.

    galenblade on
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    DaedalusDaedalus Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    It looks like all he's guilty of is having a hooker ordered up to his hotel room while in Washington. Not good, or legal, but not a huge deal.


    If he was the governor of Nevada, nobody would care. :P

    Daedalus on
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    nexuscrawlernexuscrawler Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    The Bruno thing was arguably worse but this does not look good for him

    nexuscrawler on
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    NerissaNerissa Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Daedalus wrote: »
    It looks like all he's guilty of is having a hooker ordered up to his hotel room while in Washington. Not good, or legal, but not a huge deal.


    If he was the governor of Nevada, nobody would care. :P

    Pretty much, yeah.

    In the 20 min it took me to go pick up my kid from school, NPR played his statement like 4 times. Basically, he apologized to his wife (as well he should, but I don't think it need have been public), and to the people of New York, and said that he had done something he felt was morally wrong, and that he wasn't taking any questions.

    Nerissa on
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    DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited March 2008
    Daedalus wrote: »
    It looks like all he's guilty of is having a hooker ordered up to his hotel room while in Washington. Not good, or legal, but not a huge deal.


    If he was the governor of Nevada, nobody would care. :P

    Actually they would. The governor of Nevada is just one scandal away from resigination. Shit, Dawn Gibbons is divorcing him!

    Unknown User on
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    ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited March 2008
    werehippy wrote: »
    Can anyone remember a governor being such a catastrophic failure in so short a time? Admittedly, this is in my backyard so I might just be noticing it more, but Spitzer seems physically incapable of not putting his foot in something every five minutes.

    It doesn't seem to be his foot that's the problem.

    ElJeffe on
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    DracomicronDracomicron Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Daedalus wrote: »
    It looks like all he's guilty of is having a hooker ordered up to his hotel room while in Washington. Not good, or legal, but not a huge deal.


    If he was the governor of Nevada, nobody would care. :P

    Well, they'd care that he was cheating on his wife (because that's totally everyone's business, as we found out in the late '90s :roll:), but it wouldn't be "resign"-level of scandal.

    The main thing is that this guy had prosecuted escort services before, so he's a hypocrite. Makes me wonder if one of the girls from one of his buts, ahem, "cut a deal" and he continued to call her up when he was travelling.

    Dracomicron on
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    DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Well, they'd care that he was cheating on his wife (because that's totally everyone's business, as we found out in the late '90s :roll:), but it wouldn't be "resign"-level of scandal.

    The main thing is that this guy had prosecuted escort services before, so he's a hypocrite. Makes me wonder if one of the girls from one of his buts, ahem, "cut a deal" and he continued to call her up when he was travelling.
    I don't think prosecuting them made him a hypocrite. Your job can give you responsibilities you don't personally agree with. Some of his comments casting them as horrible people for political resume padding, now that'd be pretty hypocritical.

    DevoutlyApathetic on
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    GyralGyral Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Considering how many industries he has decided to pursue litigation with, Spitzer has made a name for himself and this really punches a hole in his credibility.

    Gyral on
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    monikermoniker Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Wait, he was the one calling it in? Don't politicians have aides for the express purpose of picking up hookers and buying pot or whatever for them but with plausible deniability? Corruption in Hollywood always seem so much more thought out.

    moniker on
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    DracomicronDracomicron Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Well, they'd care that he was cheating on his wife (because that's totally everyone's business, as we found out in the late '90s :roll:), but it wouldn't be "resign"-level of scandal.

    The main thing is that this guy had prosecuted escort services before, so he's a hypocrite. Makes me wonder if one of the girls from one of his buts, ahem, "cut a deal" and he continued to call her up when he was travelling.
    I don't think prosecuting them made him a hypocrite. Your job can give you responsibilities you don't personally agree with. Some of his comments casting them as horrible people for political resume padding, now that'd be pretty hypocritical.

    Prosecuting them didn't make him a hypocrite, prosecuting them vigorously and then purchasing their services does, however. You said it yourself, he was pretty much bashing these high-class call girl outfits that probably didn't have much in the way of violent crime attached to them... he didn't have to make statements like that if he were just doing his job.

    It sounds like he did, in fact, pad his resume with these high-profile busts.

    Dracomicron on
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    DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    I wasn't saying he wasn't a hypocrite, just the reasons why he is.

    DevoutlyApathetic on
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    GungHoGungHo Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Wow... must suck to lose a political career over a piece of ass.

    Then again...
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    GungHo on
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    monikermoniker Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Marilyn Monroe was not just a piece of ass. Show some respect.

    moniker on
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    ElkiElki get busy Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited March 2008
    The problem for Spitz is that he built his political career on the clean and tough minded lawman image. Unlike the other gentlemen, his discretions will be front and center, and his performance over the past couple of years will definitely not save him. He's cooked.

    Elki on
    smCQ5WE.jpg
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    ElkiElki get busy Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited March 2008
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    werehippy wrote: »
    Can anyone remember a governor being such a catastrophic failure in so short a time? Admittedly, this is in my backyard so I might just be noticing it more, but Spitzer seems physically incapable of not putting his foot in something every five minutes.

    It doesn't seem to be his foot that's the problem.

    Hey-O!

    Elki on
    smCQ5WE.jpg
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    wawkinwawkin Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Elki wrote: »
    The problem for Spitz is that he built his political career on the clean and tough minded lawman image. Unlike the other gentlemen, his discretions will be front and center, and his performance over the past couple of years will definitely not save him. He's cooked.

    the silly goose.

    wawkin on
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    HozHoz Cool Cat Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    I find it suspicious when there's no humble trait in a politician that is supposedly so good. That's what I was thinking when I read about the dude in Time. We should all be wary of these political "fighters".

    Hoz on
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    nexuscrawlernexuscrawler Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Elki wrote: »
    The problem for Spitz is that he built his political career on the clean and tough minded lawman image. Unlike the other gentlemen, his discretions will be front and center, and his performance over the past couple of years will definitely not save him. He's cooked.

    He's manasged to look worse than Geroge fucking Pataki.

    nexuscrawler on
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    emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Just wondering, if you look up 'Escorts' in a NYC phonebook, how many pages does that section take up?

    emnmnme on
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    themightypuckthemightypuck MontanaRegistered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Utterly cooked. Although Americans love redemption stories. You just never know.

    themightypuck on
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    Rufus_ShinraRufus_Shinra Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Glad he's gone. He was doing terribly before this even broke.

    Also, the fact that he ran on cracking down on corruption makes this hilarious.

    Rufus_Shinra on
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    deowolfdeowolf is allowed to do that. Traffic.Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    So what do relatively young, disgraced former governors do with their time? I'm thinking 'consultant'.

    deowolf on
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    DracomicronDracomicron Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    deowolf wrote: »
    So what do relatively young, disgraced former governors do with their time? I'm thinking 'consultant'.

    He could start a legal brothel in Nevada.

    Dracomicron on
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