USA: Spitzer resigns, others worry

Eliot Spitzer is now alleged to have spent USD80,000 on prostitution services in recent years. And it was his cash transfers that brought investigators to his door, say some reports - although others say it was as a result of wiretaps on the phones of "bookers."

But New York society is now either quaking in its boots or watching with bated breath to see who else the indictment identified only as "client x."

So far, it has not come to light as to how Spitzer was "outed" as "Client 9" but given that the broadcast media have shown the outside of the hotel he used in February this year and what purports to be the door of the room, it is not difficult to imagine how the identity of the occupant of that room could have been discovered.

After all, in Malaysia earlier this year a senior minister was filmed during a liaison in a small hotel in a provincial town. Getting information in Washington may be even easier.

So the details of the other "clients" is now a matter of interest to the press.

But just up the road in Connecticut, the jurisdiction next to the one Spitzer ran as New York District Attorney, is another aspect of the story. There, on 5th March, 29 year old Jerome Hargrove was sentenced to 15 months in jail as a result of his involvement in a organising a prostitution ring. Although the two rings are not alleged to have been connected, there are several similarities in the stories. Although there is one glaring difference - in Connecticut, the price of the girls was just 10% of that paid for those from the Emperors Club VIP.

But the Connecticut case demonstrates how many agencies worked together to get that relatively small time crook, raising the question as to how much effort went into the Emperors Club investigation - and therefore how much more information remains to come out. For Hargrove was not the organiser of the ring - he was just the driver who took the girls to their venue for the assignation. The two who organised the ring are awaiting sentencing.

The following is courtesy of the US Attorney's Office in Hartford.

On August 21, 2006, HARGROVE pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to use an interstate facility to promote prostitution.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, between November 2003 and September 2005, Dennis Paris and Ronald Martinez operated prostitution businesses and used cellular telephones to promote their businesses by, among other things, making appointments for customers (“johns”) with their prostitutes (“girls”), and communicating with their drivers and with each other. Paris and Martinez concealed their prostitution businesses by calling them “escort services,” which were then advertised in area newspapers and telephone book yellow pages under various names. When calls were received from johns, Paris and Martinez instructed the johns to go to a specific motel room wherein the girls were to meet them for an “in-call” or instructed the drivers to take the girls to the johns’ chosen location for an “out-call.” The girls would then engage in sexual acts with johns in exchange for money, normally charging between $125 and $300. This payment was either charged on a credit card or paid in cash.

Between November 2003 and September 2005, HARGROVE was employed as a driver for Dennis Paris. HARGROVE transported girls to locations requested by johns and collected payment from the johns. HARGROVE was paid $50.00 for each trip and often used a cell phone to receive his instructions from Paris.

On June 14, 2007, a federal jury found Paris guilty of four counts of sex-trafficking, including the trafficking of minors, one count of conspiracy, 13 counts related to the use of interstate facilities to promote and conduct a prostitution business, and three counts of money laundering. On August 22, 2006, Martinez pleaded guilty to several charges related to his involvement in this prostitution conspiracy. Paris and Martinez await sentencing.

U.S. Attorney O’Connor commended the work of the federal task force that has been investigating this matter. The task force consists of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Hartford Police Department and the Windsor Police Department.

And it's not just on the East coast: on 12 March 2008, in San Antonio, Timothy Michael Gereb was sentenced to 10 years in jail and lifetime supervision for his part in a prostitution ring that included producing a girl of under 18 years to take part. The following is courtesy of the US Department of Justice.

During his guilty plea hearing on Feb. 25, 2008, Gereb admitted that he recruited a Mexican girl under the age of 18 years to engage in prostitution in San Antonio. Additionally, Gereb admitted that he conspired with others to transport at least three illegal aliens across the border between the United States and Mexico for the purpose of establishing a prostitution business.

“This defendant preyed on a young girl who was brought into the United States illegally, far from home, and unaware of the U.S. legal system,” said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Today’s sentencing is the result of the Justice Department’s ongoing commitment to prosecuting human trafficking and vindicating the rights of vulnerable women.”

Three of Gereb’s co-defendants, Isabel Ochoa, Pilar Ochoa and Maria Ochoa pleaded guilty to related charges on Oct. 18, 2007. No trial date has been set for Gereb’s remaining co-defendant, Brent Stephens.