The Hockey Mom Madam has copped a plea.
Anna Gristina today pleaded guilty to a single count of promoting prostitution in exchange for six months in prison — which will essentially amount to time served.
“Your honor, I would gratefully like to accept the plea,” Gristina told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan — as prosecutors admitted they didn’t have much of a case against her — outside of a straight-forward pandering case.
Prosecutor Charles Linehan told Merchan they were unable to find any evidence to substantiate Gristina’s claims — caught on wiretaps as long as four years ago — that she had connections and protection from law enforcement.
“Over the years, the defendant made numerous claims that she had connections and influence in any number of city, state and federal agencies, including the NYPD, the FBI, the DA’s office, the governor’s office and Customs, among others,’’ Linehan said.
“We have spent time investigating the defendant’s claim, and we have not found evidence to support any of those claims.
“We are left with a straightforward promoting-prostitution case — a defendant who ran a brothel for many years and who profited from the sex trade, that is all.’’
The judge signed off on the deal — but not before lambasting the madam mom for bringing her 9-year-old son to court previously and today.
“I have to say, I am actually not pleased with some of Ms. Gristina’s conduct during … this case,’’ Merchan said. “ I am not happy that Ms. Gristina’s young child is in the courtroom today. I think that is very poor judgment.’’
Gristina had faced a maximum of up to seven years prison if convicted at a trial that had been scheduled for next month — during which she would have been confronted with incriminating testimony from a bevy of three of her gorgeous alleged former escort-service workers.
Sources have told The Post that the risk was strong that she would have received that maximum sentence if convicted.
Her plea deprives New York of what promised to be a sensational trial, offering salacious details and a rare glimpse into what the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office described as a multimillion-dollar prostitution ring catering to some of the richest men in the world.
Gristina had until now steadfastly maintained she ran nothing more than a high-end matchmaking service, hooking up wealthy clients with beautiful single women.
She had previously refused to entertain a plea deal, saying she preferred to roll the dice with a jury trial. But in recent weeks, Gristina had been wavering, as prosecutors pushed her to rat out just one man, whom she will not identify.
She never ID’d the man for them.
The sole charge against Gristina was that she and accused fellow madam Jaynie Mae Baker brokered a two-hooker sex show for an undercover cop posing as a client. Her lawyer, Norman Pattis has called it, “a $2,000 peep show for a cop on the taxpayer’s dime.”
It is still not clear whether the Scotland-born Gristina would face deportation under the plea deal. Deportation had been a near certainty if she had gone to trial and lost.
Gristina was arrested in February to much fanfare, with prosecutors claiming she ran the big-bucks hooker ring out of an Upper East Side apartment.
They claimed that a five-year probe by the DA’s public corruption unit turned up hundreds of hours of wiretaps and that the well-connected Gristina laundered millions of dollars while boasting of her ties to top officials and law enforcement. They said she also had minors involved in her operation.
But as the months dragged on, the case seemed to lose steam.
No high-placed pals were identified or arrested — despite investigators’ early demands that Gristina give information on alleged clients that included a real-estate tycoon with connections to a pro sports team, a socially and politically connected developer and a prominent international banker, among others.
Gristina has never been indicted for laundering those alleged millions, despite five-plus years of cooperation by her accused money launderer, Jonas Gayer and a raid on the downtown office of Manhattan lawyer and business associate David Jaroslawicz.
Alleged co-madam Baker and accused hookers Katherine DeVries and Mhariangela “Moz” Bottone cut deals early on and stayed out of jail.
Gristina had spent four months on Rikers Island, with Merchan refusing repeated applications to lower her sky-high $2 million bail. She was finally freed in June after an appeals court granted a bail reduction.
laura.italiano@nypost.com