NEW YORK (CBS) ― The man who ran the prostitution ring that supplied hookers to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer is set to plead guilty this week, bringing prosecutors closer to Spitzer himself.
For months the big question in political circles has been whether Spitzer's resignation would be enough to stop the feds from indicting him.
"The remorse I feel will always be with me," Spitzer said on the day he announced he'd be stepping down as the leader of New York.
The noose appears to be tightening. On Thursday Mark Brener, the man who ran the Emperor's Club VIP hooker ring, will plead guilty to money laundering, prostitution and conspiracy. The federal case against him is apparently so strong that Brener wasn't offered a plea deal. Experts say that doesn't bode well for Spitzer.
"It does appear that there's a continuing investigation," attorney Gerald Shargel told CBS Station WCBS-TV. "The manner in which the investigation is being conducted strongly suggests that Gov. Spitzer is a target."
Brener is the third person to plead guilty in a month. Last week it was his girlfriend, Cecil "Katie" Suwal, and before that booker Temeka Lewis struck a deal with prosecutors. They have plenty of evidence against the former governor.
Prosecutors have records of Spitzer's financial transactions with the escort service and secret FBI recordings of phone conversations of the former governor setting up a rendezvous in Washington.
The recordings allegedly capture Spitzer asking Lewis to have a prostitute, "Kristen," travel from New York to Washington to meet him in the Mayflower Hotel – a federal violation.
"Reasonable minds suggest this should be over," Shargel said.
Shargel insists Spitzer shouldn't be tried, but he says if the feds do go after Spitzer, Lewis' testimony will be important.
"They sure are acting like they are putting a case together against the former governor," Shargel said.
There was no comment Tuesday from the Spitzer camp, but sources close to the former governor point out that the feds have information about nine other clients in the hooker ring. They say it would be selective prosecution if Spitzer gets charged and the nine others don't.
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/eliot.spitzer.prostitution.2.745285.html
And that is the key to this case. Prosecutors would have to charged all 10 clients and not just Spitzer.
1 comment:
I can't wait to see what happens if these idiots go after Spitzer. Once the Defense Attorney ask the witness to name the other clients and then ask the Prosecutor why no other client has been named or charged. Nothing will be done to Spitzer it's just a way to keep his name in the headlines until Bush leaves office.
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