WASHINGTON — The Secret Service agent who set off the hooker scandal that has shaken the once-revered agency to its core was outed yesterday as Arthur Huntington.
He was “the guy who was too cheap to pay,” a source close to the Secret Service prostitution probe told The Post yesterday.
Huntington’s cheap streak was what allegedly sparked the early-morning fight by refusing to pay Dania Suarez for a night of fun at the Hotel Caribe in Cartagena, Colombia.
The fight — Suarez claimed Huntington owed her $800 but only offered $28 — led local police to contact the US Embassy and blew the lid off the Secret Service’s wild side.
Huntington, of Severna Park, Md., left the Secret Service after the scandal erupted two weeks ago.
Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan quickly launched an internal investigation and issued new strict rules yesterday to rein in agents’ bad behavior overseas.
The agency already ousted eight agents, punished another and cleared three who were accused of cavorting with prostitutes in Cartagena, while prepping for President Obama’s April 13 visit.
The new rules were titled “enhanced standards of conduct” and include:
* No foreign nationals, excluding hotel staff and official law-enforcement counterparts, are allowed in hotel rooms.
* Patronizing non-reputable establishments is prohibited.
* Alcohol to be consumed only in moderate amounts while off duty on a (temporary) assignment and alcohol use is prohibited within 10 hours of reporting for duty.
* Banning alcohol consumption at hotel once the protective visit has begun.