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Saw this on the news last night,,, I was laughing like a school girl,, Our Great Leader,,, Crime and Gun Hater Elliot Spitzer,, caught with his "Hand" in the "Cookie Jar" I LOVE IT!!!!!! Prick!
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-stspit0311,0,7514809.story
BY JAMES T. MADORE | [email protected]
12:00 AM EDT, March 11, 2008
ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer faced a chorus of calls for his resignation Monday as he was engulfed by a sex scandal involving his alleged hiring of a high-priced prostitute last month.
Neither Spitzer nor his potential successor, Lt. Gov. David Paterson, were in the Capitol late Monday as rumors swirled about their future, though political experts doubted Spitzer would survive. While he may try to tough it out, they said he looked like a hypocrite after prosecuting prostitution rings as attorney general and lecturing lawmakers on ethics as governor.
"Spitzer is gone ... it's a sad thing when a guy as capable as he is screws up," said pollster Maurice Carroll of Quinnipiac University, who has been watching state government since the late 1970s. "Paterson will come in, and he's a likable, knowledgeable guy who will be able to get things done for awhile -- there will be a period of calm after this."
At a news conference in Manhattan, a grim-faced Spitzer, with his wife, Silda Wall, by his side, issued a public apology for what he called a "private matter," defended his reformist agenda and hinted at leaving the Executive Mansion after only 14 months. But he hadn't stepped down as of late Monday night.
The last time a New York governor resigned in the wake of a scandal was in 1913. There was bipartisan shock when the news broke about Spitzer Monday.
"I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and that violates my or any sense of right and wrong," said the Democratic governor and father of three daughters. "I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public whom I promised better."
He said he believed politics wasn't about individuals but ideas and doing what's in the public interest. "But I've 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 ... I will report back to you in short order," he said.
Republicans and Independence Party members weren't prepared to wait, pressuring Spitzer to resign immediately. Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R-Schenectady) said, "We're all public figures here, and when you break the law, that becomes a public matter ... He must resign his position. "
Most devastating to Spitzer was a transcript of wiretap conversations where he allegedly arranged for the Emperors Club V.I.P. to send a prostitute from New York City to the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington, where he planned to stay Feb. 13 before testifying to a congressional committee. The transcript is part of a federal complaint.
Federal sources said Spitzer is referred to as "Client 9" in the conversations. The tapes reveal that a woman named "Kristen" who is described as being "petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet five inches, and 105 pounds" took Amtrak from Manhattan's Pennsylvania Station to Washington to meet Client 9. Their meeting was supposed to last four hours, but only took about two.
After leaving Client 9, the prostitute called her boss, Temeka Rachelle Lewis of Brooklyn, to report collecting a fee of $4,300 from Client 9. The prostitute said she liked Client 9 and didn't find him difficult as others had.
Federal agents arrested Lewis and three others linked to the Emperors Club last Thursday, charging them with running the online prostitution service that catered to millionaires around the globe. The business took in more than $1 million in profits over four years, according to federal authorities.
Spitzer has not yet been charged and prosecutors declined to comment Monday.
As attorney general in 2003, Spitzer spoke with revulsion about prostitution after he brought suit against a Queens company suspected of planning sex tourism trips to Asia. The agency, Big Apple Oriental Tours, had been accused of arranging tours for men seeking sex with prostitutes, some underage, in the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia.
"The company purports to be a traditional travel agency, but through its actions promotes prostitution and the abuse of young women," Spitzer said.
It was such crusading prosecutions, particularly of Wall Street financiers, that propelled Spitzer to the governor's office in January 2007 after receiving a historic 69 percent of the vote. He burnished his reformist credentials by getting lawmakers to enact tough new rules on lobbying and governmental ethics.
But Spitzer sparked controversy by proposing that driver's licenses be offered to illegal immigrants and when his aides attempted to generate negative publicity about Senate Republican Leader Joseph Bruno.
His entanglement in a sex scandal comes at a dicey time for the state with only 21 days before a new budget must be in place. It also imperils Democrats' dream of taking over the Republican-controlled Senate, the only part of state government not in their hands.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-stspit0311,0,7514809.story
BY JAMES T. MADORE | [email protected]
12:00 AM EDT, March 11, 2008
ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer faced a chorus of calls for his resignation Monday as he was engulfed by a sex scandal involving his alleged hiring of a high-priced prostitute last month.
Neither Spitzer nor his potential successor, Lt. Gov. David Paterson, were in the Capitol late Monday as rumors swirled about their future, though political experts doubted Spitzer would survive. While he may try to tough it out, they said he looked like a hypocrite after prosecuting prostitution rings as attorney general and lecturing lawmakers on ethics as governor.
"Spitzer is gone ... it's a sad thing when a guy as capable as he is screws up," said pollster Maurice Carroll of Quinnipiac University, who has been watching state government since the late 1970s. "Paterson will come in, and he's a likable, knowledgeable guy who will be able to get things done for awhile -- there will be a period of calm after this."
At a news conference in Manhattan, a grim-faced Spitzer, with his wife, Silda Wall, by his side, issued a public apology for what he called a "private matter," defended his reformist agenda and hinted at leaving the Executive Mansion after only 14 months. But he hadn't stepped down as of late Monday night.
The last time a New York governor resigned in the wake of a scandal was in 1913. There was bipartisan shock when the news broke about Spitzer Monday.
"I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and that violates my or any sense of right and wrong," said the Democratic governor and father of three daughters. "I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public whom I promised better."
He said he believed politics wasn't about individuals but ideas and doing what's in the public interest. "But I've 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 ... I will report back to you in short order," he said.
Republicans and Independence Party members weren't prepared to wait, pressuring Spitzer to resign immediately. Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R-Schenectady) said, "We're all public figures here, and when you break the law, that becomes a public matter ... He must resign his position. "
Most devastating to Spitzer was a transcript of wiretap conversations where he allegedly arranged for the Emperors Club V.I.P. to send a prostitute from New York City to the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington, where he planned to stay Feb. 13 before testifying to a congressional committee. The transcript is part of a federal complaint.
Federal sources said Spitzer is referred to as "Client 9" in the conversations. The tapes reveal that a woman named "Kristen" who is described as being "petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet five inches, and 105 pounds" took Amtrak from Manhattan's Pennsylvania Station to Washington to meet Client 9. Their meeting was supposed to last four hours, but only took about two.
After leaving Client 9, the prostitute called her boss, Temeka Rachelle Lewis of Brooklyn, to report collecting a fee of $4,300 from Client 9. The prostitute said she liked Client 9 and didn't find him difficult as others had.
Federal agents arrested Lewis and three others linked to the Emperors Club last Thursday, charging them with running the online prostitution service that catered to millionaires around the globe. The business took in more than $1 million in profits over four years, according to federal authorities.
Spitzer has not yet been charged and prosecutors declined to comment Monday.
As attorney general in 2003, Spitzer spoke with revulsion about prostitution after he brought suit against a Queens company suspected of planning sex tourism trips to Asia. The agency, Big Apple Oriental Tours, had been accused of arranging tours for men seeking sex with prostitutes, some underage, in the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia.
"The company purports to be a traditional travel agency, but through its actions promotes prostitution and the abuse of young women," Spitzer said.
It was such crusading prosecutions, particularly of Wall Street financiers, that propelled Spitzer to the governor's office in January 2007 after receiving a historic 69 percent of the vote. He burnished his reformist credentials by getting lawmakers to enact tough new rules on lobbying and governmental ethics.
But Spitzer sparked controversy by proposing that driver's licenses be offered to illegal immigrants and when his aides attempted to generate negative publicity about Senate Republican Leader Joseph Bruno.
His entanglement in a sex scandal comes at a dicey time for the state with only 21 days before a new budget must be in place. It also imperils Democrats' dream of taking over the Republican-controlled Senate, the only part of state government not in their hands.
