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N.Y. Governor Eliot Spitzer at the press conference held on Monday where he apologized to the public, as his wife looks on. (Reuters) Last update - 17:12 11/03/2008 N.Y. Gov. Spitzer in sex scandal; pimp said to hold Israel passport By The Associated Press Tags: Eliot Spitzer  New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, touted in the past as the first potential Jewish U.S. president, found his political career on the brink of collapse Monday after he was accused of paying for a romp with a high-priced call girl, in a prostitution ring allegedly led by a man found with an Israeli passport at his home. The Associated Press reported that U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger ordered Mark Brener, 62, of Cliffside Park, N.J., to be held without bail after the passport and $600,000 in cash were found in his apartment. Brener's lawyer, Jennifer Brown, said her client was a U.S. citizen who had lived in the United States for 20 years. Advertisement The scandal Monday drew immediate calls for his resignation after a news conference in which a glassy-eyed Spitzer, his shell-shocked wife at his side, apologized to his family and the people of New York. "I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself," said the 48-year-old father of three teenage girls. "I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family." He did not discuss his political future and ignored shouted questions about whether he would resign. And he gave no details of what he was apologizing for. Spitzer, a son of Jewish Eastern-European parents, grew up in Riverdale, N.Y., and was a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law. Spitzer was clearly examining his legal options following the break of the scandal; a spokesman said the governor had retained the Manhattan law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, one of the nation's biggest. Spitzer was caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet in a Washington hotel room the night before Valentine's Day with a prostitute from a call-girl business known as the Emperors Club VIP, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still going on. The governor has not been charged, and prosecutors would not comment on the case. But an affidavit based on the wiretap told of a man identified as Client 9 - Spitzer, according to the law enforcement official - paying $4,300 in cash, some of it credit for future trysts, some of it for sex with a petite brunette, 5-feet 5 inches (127 centimeters), and 105 pounds (48 kilograms), named Kristen. The scandal came 16 months after Spitzer stormed into the governor's office with a historic margin of victory, vowing to root out corruption in New York government in the same way that he took on Wall Street executives with a vengeance while state attorney general. But his first year in office was marred by turmoil, and the latest scandal raised questions about whether he would make it through the week. Lawmakers call on Spitzer to resign "He has to step down. No one will stand with him," said Rep. Peter King, a Republican congressman from Long Island. "I never try to take advantage or gloat over a personal tragedy. However, this is different. This is a guy who is so self-righteous, and so unforgiving." Democratic Assemblyman John McEneny said: "I don't think anyone remembers anything like this - the fact that the governor has a reputation as a reformer and there is a certain assumption as attorney general that you're Caesar's wife. It's a different element than if you were an accountant." Democratic Lt. Gov. David Paterson would become New York's first black governor if Spitzer were to resign. The allegations were outlined in papers filed in federal court in New York. A defendant in the case, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, told a prostitute identified only as Kristen that she should take a train from New York to Washington for an encounter with Client 9 on the night of Feb. 13, according to the complaint. The defendant confirmed that the client would be paying for everything - train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini bar or room service, travel time and hotel. The prostitute met the client in Room 871 at about 10 p.m., according to the complaint. When discussing how the payments would be arranged, Client 9 told Lewis: "Yup, same as in the past, no question about it - suggesting Client 9 had done this before. According to court papers, an Emperors Club agent was told by the prostitute that her evening with Client 9 went well. The agent said she had been told that "the client would ask you to do things that ... you might not think were safe ... very basic things, according to the papers, but Kristen responded by saying: I have a way of dealing with that ... I'd be, like, listen dude, you really want the sex?" The next day, Spitzer testified before a congressional subcommittee about regulations on the bond industry. The ring arranged sex between wealthy men and more than 50 prostitutes in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Paris, prosecutors said. Four people accused of helping to operate the ring were arrested last week. The club's Web site displays photos of scantily clad women with their faces hidden. It also shows hourly rates, with prices set according to each woman's ratings, which range from one to seven diamonds. The highest-ranked prostitutes cost $5,500 an hour, prosecutors said. "I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong," Spitzer said at the news conference. "I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better." The case began as a financial investigation by Internal Revenue Service agents, and at some point was referred to the public corruption unit of the U.S. Attorney's office, authorities said. It was not clear from the authorities whether Spitzer was a target of the investigation from the start, or whether agents came his across his name by accident. Prosecutors compiled statements from a confidential source and an undercover officer and examined more than 5,000 telephone calls and text messages and more than 6,000 e-mails, as well as bank, travel and hotel records. The four people arrested were charged with violating the Mann Act, a 1910 federal law against crossing state lines for purposes of prostitution. Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, noted that prostitution customers are often not charged, and said charges against Spitzer might be unlikely. "Especially if he resigns, he may just be left alone. It may be that the public is satisfied by his resignation as governor," Tobias said. Spitzer clashed with Wall Street executives throughout his two terms as attorney general. Among other things, he uncovered crooked practices and self-dealing in the stock brokerage and insurance industries and in corporate board rooms, and went after former New York Stock Exchange chairman Richard Grasso over his $187.5 million compensation package, calling it unreasonable. He soon became known as the Sheriff of Wall Street. Time magazine named him Crusader of the Year, and the tabloids proclaimed him Eliot Ness. His campaign slogan during his run for governor was Day One Everything Changes. But his term as governor has been fraught with problems, including an unpopular plan to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and a plot by his aides to smear his main Republican nemesis. Spitzer had been expected to testify in front of a state commission he had created to answer for his role in the scandal, in which his aides were accused of using the state police to compile travel records to embarrass Senate GOP leader Joseph Bruno. His cases as attorney general included a few criminal prosecutions of prostitution rings and tourism involving prostitutes. In 2004, he took part in an investigation of an escort service in New York City that resulted in the arrest of 18 people on charges of promoting prostitution and related charges. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Good Avraham Hunting An ex-security guard solves a problem that has baffled mathematicians for decades. A better place Some 2,400 African refugees have entered Israel via Egypt since January.   1.   At least he has good taste in hookers 11:06  |  Dror 11/03/08   2.   Prostitution and (boundless) U.S. hypocrisy 11:28  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/03/08   3.   $5500 ? that is way too much 11:34  |  Dror 11/03/08   4.   Wifey wifey 11:44  |  Sam 11/03/08   5.   come to Israel you will be in good company here 11:46  |  SJ 11/03/08   6.   Shoot...no time to run back to the safety of Israel 12:07  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   7.   Question for Sam #2 12:10  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   8.   Numbers 32:23 12:22  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   9.   clickdick actually made me laugh 12:27  |  Dror 11/03/08   10.   Barely a woman 12:29  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   11.   attorney general 12:51  |  eddie 11/03/08   12.   If we were muslim.... 12:53  |  cir 11/03/08   13.   Have fun in the ME this week, guys... 12:53  |  Aphemia 11/03/08   14.   Big or small, no big difference as long as they are not minors 12:54  |  Dror 11/03/08   15.   ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIM AND YOU IS, 12:54  |  petra 11/03/08   16.   New Jersey-N. York... 13:06  |  Buzaglow 11/03/08   17.   #10 Clickfool: Now We KNow Where YOUR Mind Spends Its Time 13:23  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 11/03/08   18.   Elliot blew it 13:26  |  oh well 11/03/08   19.   Stupid Elliot 13:38  |  amalia 11/03/08   20.   Please Do NOT Remove #10 Clickfool Talkback 13:43  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 11/03/08   21.   #10: Petite Women Need Not Apply, For Sex, in Clickfool`s World 13:48  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 11/03/08   22.   Mark Brener as the Emperor 13:59  |  Yaakov Sullivan 11/03/08   23.   Ovadiah 14:02  |  Dror 11/03/08   24.   Spitzer`s Israeli Connection 14:03  |  new_york_loner 11/03/08   25.   Big Deal 14:08  |  rich 11/03/08   26.   Eliot blew it #15 14:09  |  JoJo 11/03/08   27.   For Ovadiah ben Avraham # 14, # 17 and # 18 14:09  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   28.   For Ovraham again # 18 14:12  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   29.   A New Yorker surprises us all # 23 14:18  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   30.   CFOOL Actually Israel&USA have an extradition treaty signed 1963 14:21  |  PETER SM 11/03/08   31.   #26: Always, When Caught Out, Smile Foolishly and Deflect 14:28  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 11/03/08   32.   #24 14:31  |  Hal 11/03/08   33.   Wheres the ADL 14:32  |  Jim 11/03/08   34.   My hard work for the likes of Clickfool 14:36  |  Warren 11/03/08   35.   Goodbye and Good Riddance to an Arrogant SOB 14:37  |  MIKE 11/03/08   36.   NY LONER People having outside sex only with Israeli connections? 14:43  |  PETER SM 11/03/08   37.   #27: "Protesting Too Much" 14:44  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 11/03/08   38.   Apparently Emperor Brner Didnt Expect 14:44  |  Yaakov Sullivan 11/03/08   39.   No Cigar for Spitzer 14:45  |  Klaudia 11/03/08   40.   For Ovadiah ben Avraham again # 31 14:53  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   41.   Jim on Foxman, the ADL and anti-semitism 14:57  |  Yaakov Sullivan 11/03/08   42.   #28Clickfool: "Touched a Nerve"? No, I Nailed You 14:58  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 11/03/08   43.   Surronded by JOHNS 15:00  |  Mary 11/03/08   44.   Only Difference 15:02  |  JBYRD 11/03/08   45.   Thanks for the chuckle, Warren, supposedly in London # 34 15:05  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   46.   Advice for Ovadiah, stop digging the hole # 41 15:10  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   47.   prostitution, drugs, corruption: Israel`s leading role 15:12  |  Moise 11/03/08   48.   honey trap 15:16  |  al 11/03/08   49.   NY LONER the "Mayflower" madam was an Israeli spy? Right? 15:20  |  PETER SM 11/03/08   50.   to NY Loner and Dror 15:22  |  Aphemia 11/03/08   51.   Clickfool & Ovadia=Punch & Judy 15:24  |  Dani Reiss 11/03/08   52.   No need for Spitzer to come to Israel, he can consult w. Billary 15:29  |  Genuine Tosefta 11/03/08   53.   What an idiot !!!! 15:33  |  Avrum 11/03/08   54.   Spitzer did not commit terrorism, nor physical violence 15:35  |  Genuine Tosefta 11/03/08   55.   By the way, the name "Spitzer" in German..... 15:39  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/03/08   56.   Moise, unfortunately, this is often true 15:39  |  Yaakov Sullivan 11/03/08   57.   THE SARSSUR WHO CAME IN FROM THE HOLY LAND 15:40  |  Iskander 11/03/08   58.   PETER SM on the other "Revelations" 15:43  |  Yaakov Sullivan 11/03/08   59.   For Dani Reiss # 51 15:46  |  Clickfool 11/03/08   60.   To clickfool 15:50  |  Jeff 11/03/08   61.   #44 Clickfools Dark Undercurrents (All I have to Do Is Quote You) 15:50  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 11/03/08   62.   To moise 15:55  |  Jeff 11/03/08   63.   MOISE corruption?? go no further than the Pals 15:58  |  PETER SM 11/03/08   64.   #51 Danni Reiss: Disgusted With Both of Us = My Success 16:01  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 11/03/08   65.   Ha Ha Ha.... The Guy Has What it Takes To Do All This 16:07  |  Eli 11/03/08   66.   Hash, hash widespread prostitution exists in all Islam countries 16:12  |  Genuine Tosefta 11/03/08   67.   SULLIVAN What has that got to do with obligatory Israel bashing 16:14  |  PETER SM 11/03/08