The Morgan Stanley broker who has been identified as the possible financial backer of an online prostitution business with the accused Upper East Side madam has been placed on administrative leave, a source told FOX Business Thursday.
David Walker, who works in the firm’s wealth management unit, will remain on leave until an investigation is concluded, the source said. The firm will wait until the investigation is finished before taking any further action.
According to the source, Walker said he had no knowledge of Anna Gristina’s alleged illegal activities and characterized his relationship with her as “social.”
Court records show that prosecutors, without naming Walker, said at Gristina’s Feb. 23 arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, “We picked her up yesterday with a Morgan Stanley banker who she counts a close friend and she had been present at his office for a meeting in which she was trying to solicit money to fund what we believe is another business venture on the internet that involves matching up male clients with female prostitutes.”
Morgan Stanley declined to comment Wednesday, saying the bank is still investigating the allegations that one of its employees had been meeting with Gristina, The Post reported.
Gristina, 44, operated her high-priced prostitution ring out of an Upper East Side apartment, and boasted “business contacts worldwide,” Manhattan assistant district attorney Charles Linehan told a judge at the alleged madam’s arraignment hearing.
Her “black book” included powerful politicians, top law enforcement officers, influential lawyers, bankers, entertainment execs and Fortune 500 businessmen, as well as several ultra-wealthy European clients, sources said.