Super Delegate No. 9, Eliot Spitzer Resigns Effective Monday

politisite 
at 20:53 on March 11th, 2008

He is using resignation as a way to stay out of jail.  I am hearing a deal has been reached and he will resign Wed morning.  He must keep from having a felony conviction to keep his law license.  He may have conceided his law license for a few years as well. 

In the past few days I have begun to atone for my private failures with my wife Silda my children, and my entire family. The remorse I feel will always be with me. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for the love and compassion they have shown me. From those to whom much is given, much is expected. I have been given much, the love of my family, the faith and trust of the people of New York, and the chance to lead this state. I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me. To every New Yorker and to all those who believed in what I have tried to stand for, I sincerely apologize. I look at my time as governor with a sense of what might have been, but I also know that as a public servant that I and the people I work with have accomplished a great deal.

There is much more to be done, and I can't allow my private failings to disrupt this work. Over the course of my public life I have insisted, I believe correctly, that people, regardless of their position or power, take responsibility for their conduct. I can, and will, ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor. At Lieutenant Governor Paterson's request, the resignation will go into effect Monday, March 17, a date that he believes will permit and orderly transition.

I go forward with the belief, as others have said, that as human beings, our greatest glory lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. As I leave public life, I will first do what I need to do to help and heal myself and my family. Then I will try once again, outside of politics, to serve the common good, and move toward the ideals and solutions which I believe can build a future of hope for us and our children. I hope all of New York will join my prayers for my friend David Paterson as he embarks on his new mission, and I thank the public once again for the privilege of public service.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has decided to resign, completing a stunning fall from power after he was nationally disgraced by links to a high-priced prostitution ring, a top state official said Wednesday.

Spitzer is scheduled to announce his resignation at 11:30 a.m., according to a second top Spitzer staffer. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.

Spitzer would be replaced by Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who will become New York's first black governor.

The scandal erupted Monday when allegations surfaced that Spitzer, a 48-year-old married man with three teenage daughters, spent thousands of dollars on a call girl named Kristen at a swanky Washington hotel on the night before Valentine's Day.

"I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my - or any - sense of right and wrong," the governor said at a news conference with his wife, Silda, at his side. "I apologize to the public, whom I promised better."

ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer will resign today in Manhattan in the wake of a sex scandal that has engulfed him and much of state government, sources said this morning.

The sources were uncertain on when and where the second-year governor would step down but they said his decision came after agonizing deliberations with his wife, Silda, and top aides.

Eliot Spitzer was inaugurated as New York’s 54th Governor on January 1, 2007. In his inaugural address, Governor Spitzer said: "Every policy, every action and every decision we make in this administration will further two overarching objectives: We must transform our government so that it is as ethical and wise as all of New York, and we must rebuild our economy so that it is ready to compete on the global stage in the next century".  

Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician of the Democratic Party. He served as New York State Attorney General before becoming Governor of New York in 2007.

Spitzer was born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City. He attended Princeton University for his undergraduate studies and Harvard University for law school. It was there that he met his future wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, who later founded Children for Children, a non-profit organization. After earning his Juris Doctor degree, he joined the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Two years later, he joined the Manhattan district attorney's office, headed by Robert M. Morgenthau, to pursue organized crime. In 1992, he launched a successful investigation that brought down the Gambino family's control over Manhattan's garment and trucking industry. In the next six years, he worked at the law firms of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Constantine and Partners. In 1998, he defeated incumbent Republican Dennis Vacco by a slim margin to become elected as the New York State Attorney General.

As attorney general, Spitzer took cases relating to corporate white collar crime, securities fraud, internet fraud and environmental protection. He most notably pursued cases against companies involved in computer chip price fixing, investment bank stock price inflation, and the 2003 mutual fund scandal. He also sued Richard Grasso, the then-chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, who he claimed had violated his position after receiving an upwards of $140 million as a deferred compensation pay package.

In 2006, Spitzer was elected governor of New York after defeating Republican John Faso in the November election. During his time in office, he has proposed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in New York and issued an executive order allowing illegal aliens to be issued driver's licenses, which have both attracted controversy. In July 2007, he was admonished for his administration's involvement in ordering the State Police to record the whereabouts of State Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno. According to a November 2007 poll, Spitzer's approval rating as governor sits at a low 33%. In March 2008, Spitzer admitted to wrongdoing after The New York Times reported that he was linked to a prostitution ring under investigation by the federal government.

The Emperors Club VIP[1] was an alleged prostitution ring based in New York.[2] Eliot Spitzer, governor of New York State (US), has been accused of purchasing services from them.

The Emperors Club VIP was an international escort agency that solicited wealthy male clients via a web site that rated its girls on a scale from three to seven "diamonds" (and charged accordingly).[3] The ring had 50 call girls available for appointments in New York, Washington, Miami, London and Paris, according to a complaint unsealed in Federal District Court in Manhattan. The appointments, made by telephone or through an online booking service, cost between $1,000 and $5,500 per hour and could be paid by cash, credit cards, wire transfers or money orders.

Governor Spitzer, who said ""I have always stated that I want ethics and integrity to be the hallmarks of my administration." and prosecuted several prostitution rings in his career, is said to have been called "client #9" in the code of the Emperor's Club.

A girl who was top-rated (seven diamonds) could cost as much as $31,000 per day.[3] The alleged prostitute that Spitzer met at the Washington hotel was described as "Kristen", an "American, petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet 5 inches and 105 pounds.[4]

As of March 11, 2008, the Emperors Club VIP website, emperorsclubvip.com, has been shut down.