He’s gone from “Client 9” to Cloud 9.
Disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer escaped prosecution yesterday for a sensational hooker scandal that forced him to resign, despite admitting to investigators – and for the first time publicly – that he was a john of the Emperors Club VIP.
“I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the conduct it disclosed,” he said of the federal investigation. “I resigned my position as governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official.”
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US Attorney Michael Garcia said Spitzer “has acknowledged to this office that he was a client of, and made payments to, the Emperors Club VIP,” an international prostitution ring busted in March.
After the bust of the high-end brothel, it was disclosed that Spitzer was the person identified in the criminal complaint as “Client 9,” who arranged multiple high-priced trysts while in Washington, DC, and Florida.
Spitzer – who resigned on March 12 after 14 turbulent months in office – was spared the added humiliation of trial after a “thorough investigation” by the IRS and FBI found no evidence he misused public or campaign cash, the feds said.
Garcia said there was also “insufficient evidence” to charge Spitzer, heir to a real-estate fortune, for withdrawing the money he used to pay the Emperors Club for his illicit high jinks.
The only other potential charges would stem from violating the Mann Act, which forbids bringing people across state lines for sex.
Garcia would not comment beyond the statement, but sources said the feds don’t typically go after johns and they weren’t going to change their practice for Spitzer.
The Mann Act, sources said, is designed to target people who run prostitution rings, and suggests prosecuting johns when the victims are minors, the sources said.
A red-faced Spitzer left office after news broke that he paid $1,000 an hour for sexcapades with stunning call girl Ashley Dupre at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington.
The married father of three daughters carried out the tawdry tryst the night before Valentine’s Day – and had been caught on a federal wiretap making the arrangements.
Among the warnings Dupre was given by her madam was that Spitzer would be “difficult” – including not wanting to wear a condom.
A second Spitzer hooker had said he liked to use sex toys for his own pleasure and was fond of wearing socks in bed, according to a law-enforcement source.
Spitzer had never publicly come clean about his use of the Emperors Club’s services until yesterday.
Dupre’s lawyer, Don Buchwald, would only say: “Ashley is pleased that this matter is behind her. She just intends to move on with her life.”
It is unclear what will become of the other numbered clients of Emperors Club, who have never been publicly identified.
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Sources said the Spitzer case came down to a few key factors for federal investigators, who were immersed in the case for nine months.
The primary question was whether Spitzer dipped into either taxpayer or campaign funds to satisfy his sexual needs, the sources said.
They were also looking for evidence of bribery and blackmail, but found none.
“If we’re just left with a john case, there’s no federal offense,” said a source close to the investigation.
Elkan Abramowitz, formerly chief of the criminal division for the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office, said he wasn’t surprised by Garcia’s announcement – only that it took so long.
“I think what he did was consistent with the longstanding practice of the federal government as opposed to the state government,” said Abramowitz, now a high-powered defense lawyer. “Prostitution is generally a state crime, not a federal crime.”
Aside from the Emperors Club, Spitzer has also been linked to an escort service called Wicked Models. Its former ringleader, Kristin Davis, said last month that Spitzer was a client, but said she never personally serviced him.
Davis has pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to promoting prostitution.
District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said yesterday his office would not pursue state charges against Spitzer.
“The governor lost his job and apologized and was publicly embarrassed,” he said. “I don’t see any purpose in kicking someone when they’re down.”
When asked why johns are rarely prosecuted, the longtime lawman explained, “You have to get an undercover female police officer who is prepared to pose as a prostitute and they don’t like to do that.”
Additional reporting by Kati Cornell, Laura Italiano and Fredric U. Dicker
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