Tammany Hall II Bangs NY Gov (MORE, CLICK HERE)

GOV NAILED IN HOOKER SHOCK
New York Post by MURRAY WEISS, TOM LIDDY and CHUCK BENNETT

March 11, 2008 -- Gov. Spitzer, who crafted a national reputation as a crusader against corruption, was exposed yesterday as the penny-pinching client of a $1,000-an-hour hooker.
The bombshell allegations against Spitzer - referred to as Client-9 in an explosive criminal complaint against the operators of the prostitute's ring - triggered a series of fast-moving events from Albany to Wall Street to Capitol Hill.

After a brief news conference in which Spitzer - his pale, grim-faced wife standing stunned at his side - offered little more than a vague apology, speculation swirled that he'd resign after working out a deal with law-enforcement authorities. A spokesman said the governor had retained the Manhattan law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind Wharton & Garrison,

"I apologize first and most importantly to my family," said the governor - who had run a campaign ad urging voters to "bring some passion back to Albany" - at his brief press conference. "I apologize to the public, who I promised better. I don't believe politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas and the public good and doing what is best for the state of New York."

Spitzer had vowed things in Albany would change from "Day One." But the biggest changes came on Day 435 of his troubled governorship, with an extraordinary series of events and revelations:

* An irregularity in one of Spitzer's bank accounts - from which he allegedly paid the prostitute - triggered the federal probe of the hooker ring.

* Wall Street traders cheered the public fall of a man who had taken special delight in bringing down financial titans.

* Wiretaps revealed Spitzer haggling over the price of a hookup that took place at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, on the eve of Valentine's Day.

* The hooker, identified in the complaint as a pretty, petite brunette named Kristen, said she didn't find "Client-9" very "difficult" - the word a madam had used to describe him.

* Spitzer paid for Room 871 at the Mayflower under the name George Fox - a friend and political donor.

* The wiretaps indicated Spitzer was a previous client of the alleged ring - Emperors Club VIP -and kept a "balance on account."

* Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who would succeed Spitzer, reached out to state and city leaders.

In his apology, Spitzer, the 48-year-old father of three teenage daughters, said, "I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family." The governor has not been arrested - and it was unclear last night what charges he might face. Johns are not usually arrested, but the federal Mann Act makes it a crime to bring someone across state lines for the purposes of prostitution.

Still, sources said it's more likely Spitzer's legal liability lies with his financial shenanigans - money from the account allegedly hid both the source and the real purpose of the payments. The IRS first noticed some irregularities in a nonpersonal bank account that appeared to have some political or governmental link, according to the sources.

IRS agents then called in the FBI, whose investigators quickly determined the account was owned, operated and signed by Spitzer, according to the sources. The investigators at first speculated they might find evidence of campaign-law violation and were as surprised as anyone to learn they had stumbled into a prostitution probe.

The investigation determined that several thousands of dollars from the account were winding up at QAT - an alleged shell company of Emperors Club VIP, the sources said. A prostitute who was a confidential source in a previous case - and who once worked for Emperors - told investigators how the shell company worked, according to the complaint and sources.

The complaint said Spitzer was a regular client of Emperors, an upscale escort service that offered well-heeled johns "expensive fashion models, pageant winners and exquisite students" for up to $5,500 an hour. The women were ranked on a three- to seven-diamond scale based on brains, beauty and education.

The governor was caught on an FBI wiretap making arrangements to have a "very pretty brunette" delivered to his Washington hotel room in the late evening of Feb. 13. His official reason for being in Washington was to testify the next day before a congressional subcommittee.

Reaction was swift. "This is a guy who is so self-righteous, and so unforgiving . . . He has to step down. No one will stand with him," declared Rep. Peter King, a Republican from Long Island.

Spitzer, who is slated to be a superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention, did receive some sympathy from political ally Hillary Rodham Clinton. "I obviously am sending best wishes and thoughts to the governor and to his family . . . Let's wait and see what comes out of the next days. Right now, I don't have any comment. I think it's appropriate to wish his family well and see how things develop," she said.

Paterson made a slew of emergency phones calls to Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver shortly after the scandal broke. Just last year, when Spitzer promised to be the reformer of Albany, he was being talked about as the nation's first Jewish president, with a shot at the 2012 election.

Last Thursday, Emperors Club - which was based out of an apartment in Cliffside Park, NJ, and allegedly made a profit of at least $1 million over four years - was busted by federal agents. Both the governor's and the prostitutes' cellphone calls with the managers of the call-girl ring were caught on federal wiretaps. Details of the tryst were outlined in a federal complaint filed last week against the principals of the club.

On Jan. 28, investigators recorded a conversation between Temeka Rachelle Lewis, one of the ring's "bookers" and Cecil "Katie" Suwal, the No. 2 of the organization, about arranging a date for Client-9 at the Mayflower. Kristen, "an American, petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet 5 inches, and 105 pounds" according to the complaint, was to meet Client-9 at a hotel in Washington, DC, for a four-hour date that was discussed in subsequent phone calls.

Suwal told Kirsten that Client-9 "would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe - you know . . . I mean that . . . very basic things." But, Kirsten said she could handle him and said she actually liked him. "I have a way of dealing with that . . . I'd be like, 'Listen, dude, you really want the sex?' " she said.

Client-9 also had more demands than typical clients, according to the complaint. He couldn't pay the fee through the wire transfers and mailed a deposit to Emperors Club that didn't arrive on time, causing an extended back-and-forth between the ring and Client-9. At the same time, he insisted he had a $400 credit from a previous transaction with the flesh peddlers. He also balked at leaving a key for the prostitute with the hotel concierge because he didn't want her to say his name at the front desk.

Eventually, he decided to just leave his hotel room, which was booked under Fox's name. He left the door slightly ajar so Kristen could come to the room directly, according to the complaint. "Client-9 would be paying for everything - train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini bar or room service, travel time, and hotel," the complaint said. In all, he paid $4,300 for the encounter, which included "credit" for future dates.

Additional reporting by Gemma Jones and Tom Topousis     murray.weiss@nypost.com