Eliot Spitzer Prostitution Ring Documents Unsealed

by Tina Kells | February 19, 2009 at 03:57 pm

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US Federal Judge Jed Rakoff has ruled that documents linking former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to a prostitution ring must be unsealed. The information in the once sealed documnets is expected to shed more light on the prostitution scandal that forced Spitzer to resign.

Spitzer's involvement with organized crime and the prostitution ring has remained a source of controversy about protectionism in government and the unwillingness of the courts to hold corrupt politicians accountable. Although his ties to the prostitution ring were significant enough to warrant a resignation Spitzer was never charged with a crime.

Spitzer's lawyer tried to stop the documents from being unsealed. Four people who organized the prostitution ring were charged and convicted in the case.

Judge Jed Rakoff ruled on Thursday that the public's right to know about an investigation that led to the resignation of the governor outweighed any privacy concerns, especially since the names of other clients were to be redacted.
The materials to be unsealed were affidavits and other documents that prosecutors filed in support of their request to wiretap. They must be released by Tuesday, the judge said.

They do not include transcripts or recordings of any conversations, said David McCraw, a lawyer for The Times. The newspaper had asked for everything in the file and was told the wiretaps did not produce any material that warranted going in the file, McCraw said.

Spitzer was forced to resign last March shortly after The Times reported he was a client of the prostitution ring under investigation.