Equal justice for Spitzer?

I am a resident of the great state of NY and I don't want Spitzer as Gov . He was absolutely brutal in his quest to live up to his Elliot Ness image, and underneath it all he is a low life like the rest of them that he arrested. Of course he will never see jail time...actually he should because I bet those who he busted went to jail. But then again in the game of politics they think they are above the law and the money belongs to them and not the taxpayer.

Peg you are right on there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hypocrisy, infidelity and arrogance should not be prosecuted as federal offenses...but why do you ask? No law enforcement agency is attempting or even could prosecute him on those charges. Suspicious activity was investigated and the illegal act of soliciting a prostitute and transporting a person across state lines for purposes of prostituion was subsequently uncovered. Apparently Ex-Gov. Spitzer thought that taking advantage of the services of a prostitute deserve harsher treatment as he just raised the penalty for those found guilty of that crime.

Quote:
"it is difficult to imagine that most people would feel a compelling need to prosecute a “john”' UnQuote

Why would you assume that most people would NOT want to 'prosecute a 'john'"??????? I WOULD!

Why is it okay to prosecute the person who SUPPLIES the service and not the individual who creates the DEMAND for the service (i.e., PROSTITIUTION)?

Those who enforce the law should be held accountable for when they break the SAME law(s) – and should also be held to a higher standard due to their position. Just my opinion ....

Good point. I hadn't thought of it that way.

Spitzer should get the same "mercy' he has shown others...no; no less. His hypocritical ways should be examined by higher authorities...

I do agree with this article...why waste the time and money. Spitzer has resigned his position. Unless they find some type of fraud involved- he should not be charged with any federal crime. But I am very curious in regard to the prostitute... she has done this type of work for years and I would be very curious to see if she has paid any taxes on her earned money. I work and pay taxes... I have not seen any mention of this. Her previous boss (or John) spent two years in jail... and she continued to be a prostitute. I do believe she should be made to pay taxes on all the money she has earned.

Wasting Federal dollars to prosecute this creep is not necessary. Let him slither from public view forever and spend his time grovelling before his wife and daughters. A pariah is always a pariah. A courthouse would simply be fodder for the media and nothing more. His well-paid prostitute is now rich from her fame and the Gov is gone, replaced by yet another unfaithful politician. Ugh!

Why does anyone care about his tryst with a prostitute, other than the hypocracy? Is it morally wrong? If you believe it is wrong, why is it morally wrong to pay for services of a voluntary service provider, if that service is sex? This is obviously a guy who is a hyprocrit, and his hard on crime actions towards prostitution is hard to justify since he was a closet client all the while. For that, I am very dissapointed, but it is the norm, especially for the far right, especially for those who are most disgusted, they tend to be the same people who are actually involved in the same types of behavior. Case in point, Kenneth Star, who mercilessly prosecuted Clinton for his tryst, was simultaneously involved in his own affair, ultimately divorced his wife for the other woman. Spitzer is a human in a marriage, which was obviously in trouble; this is not a federal crime. Who put the feds onto this case? What powerful source of corruption knew about Spitzers secret habit, and what corruption activity are they glad to be covering up while Spitzer suffers the ultimate embarrassment and the ruin of his career? Kennedy, and many other politicians are guilty of the same, but corrupt criminals did not get away with getting the feds to investigate. Who was it, that is what we should be asking, and forget about Spitzer, and loosen up the prostitution laws. For heavens sake, if a woman wants to do this, for a living, let her do it legally and with safety and protection, don't force it under ground!

Trader J

I have mixed opinions on this topic as I both agree and disagree with the points made in this article. I do agree that taxpayer money should not be wasted trying to bring down a "John". As far as I'm concerned, prostitution a victimless crime. However, Mr. Spitzer campaigned on issues upon which he has been shown to be a massive hypocrite. Would seeing a prostitute affect his ability to govern? Well, the answer has turned out to be a blatantly obvious "yes". New Yorkers who voted for Spitzer didn't just flip a coin on election day. They agreed with the man's policies and felt that his views best reflected their own. As I see it, his entire gubernatorial campaign was based on a lie. For this reason, I believe that this matter should be investigated further. Perhaps this could be a stepping stone to make politicians think twice before running on hypocrisy.

Spitzer gets what he deserves, he was brutal on people who he charged and served time so why shouldnt he get some punishment? Now to the "call girl", only in America can you become a prostitute for the Gov. of NY and then become very famous....apparently she thinks she deserves more that $1 million to pose in Hustler. And then being 17 in Girls Gone Wild movies? It seems to me that the message this whole thing is getting across is that if you want to become famous quickly become a prostitute and that prostitution is an ok form of income. I feel bad for Spitzers wife.

I think many people are missing the point here. The reason the Feds were involved was because of a large money laundering operation being committed by the escort service. In the course of the investigation, wiretaps were obtained and that is how Spitzer was discovered. It also shows how he broke federal banking statutes by transferring small sums of cash (under 10k) around to avoid federal banking reporting laws. I have no problems with him using "escorts", but come on, he broke numerous laws and helped a criminal enterprise continue, whether knowingly or not. Believe me, if he was just a normal person, he would be in deep water because of the banking transactions alone.

If the "johns" are prosecuted instead of just the suppliers I guarantee that there will be a drop in demand. Prostitution is not a victimless crime. I have to deal with it everyday in my neighborhood. These women are beaten, drugged and raped on a daily basis and over half of "their earnings" taken by pimps.

There isn't much of a difference in the treatment of prostitutes by the escort services and their clients. The neighborhood where the deeds take place goes suburban and that is it. And who usually sets up an escort service? Mobsters and gang-bangers. If Spitzer paid the woman $80k at least $40k ended up in the hands of criminals.

I laughed hysterically on Friday morning when Robin Meade and the Morning Express told how Playgirl wanted to publish the governor in a nude pictorial. There are just some things that we don't need to know. The governor enjoyed $5K call girls when he was in office. Now he will have to deal with $50 hookers like other men. He and his call girl have now enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame. It's time to move on to the next story in his life... Spitzer versus Spitzer.

He should be paraded in handcuffs for the media.

Personally, I could care less about Ex-Gov. Spitzer's morals. That is between him, his wife and a Higher Power. What does bother me is, the hypocrisy of the entire ordeal. What is it: "Do as I say, not as I do"? None of us are perfect.

I have more respect for the newly appointed Gov. after he came forward with his indescretions. I agree. It happened, get over it, move on! I don't care what anyone does in their bedroom (or someone else's for that fact). What I do care about is portraying an image that is squeaky-clean when in fact, he is just like the rest of us. Human.

Hi, Good article,is his replacement any better? New Yorkers must be hard up for politicans.

Follow the dollars – who benefits most by Spitzer's embarrassment and ultimate departure from public life. A "real life sentence" for a politician. I have to wonder who has enough juice in New York to bring him down and get him out of the way and why. Spend tax payers dollars and media attention on the real news and leave the John to pay the price.

It is people like Spitzer and Patterson who demean the institution of marriage, not gays and lesbians. Heterosexuals, heal yourselves.

Prostitution is as old as civilization, a non-violent outlet for male sexual urges, conducted, certainly in this case, as a business transaction between consenting adults. The only crime against the state of any import would be the failure to declare the income and pay taxes. How many of the morally outraged have dodged their taxes?

HE WHO LIVES IN GLASS HOUSE SHOULD NOT THROW A STONE.

We are not talking about a 50 buck "john" here, doesn't anyone care that the money he was spending came from us? if this wasn't his first time and you can bet it wasn't, we could be talking 50,000 or even more! It is very obvious that without his high paying "job" he wouldn't have been able to afford this. WE prosecuted and persecuted Clinton for a little consentual playtime and no money changed hands there. In this time of recession, maybe we should be talking paycuts for all our polititions. This was a "working" trip for him and you can bet he would have tried to write this off on his taxes. Thus "screwwing us twice".

Spitzer is sorry because he got caught. He would have continued doing his 'thing' until that happened; perhaps in his arrogance, he never thought he would be caught. His behavior is typical of most politicians; they are not to be trusted, period. I can feel some sympathy for his wife, but then she must have seen the signs of his hypocrisy.

As a woman, I am disgusted by the celeb treatment that this offending prosititute has been given.
Last I heard, prostitution was illegal. Something is seriously wrong with this picture, and obviously there is a serious lack of morality in our society, for this to be allowed to happen.

I am embarrassed for the ex-Gov & his family, but I believe the prostitute should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. She is a blight upon womanhood.

I totally agree with this column. What a waste of time, money and energy! Everyone knows what he did - he's been publically humiliated - as he should be. But he shouldn't be prosecuted - or rather, we shouldn't waste the money. I do agree, however, that the prostitute's finances should be investigated. She should definitely have paid taxes as we are all required to do.

Jack,

Great take on the story. I wondered all along where in the DOJ structure the decision had been made to go after this investigation full bore. It struck me that this was a federal investigation with the primary purpose being to take down an arguably rising star in the Democratic Party. Sure, the marital infidelity is revolting, but you saw that as far back as your days in Monmouth County. (I know because we spoke about it and many other things at the time.) and they don't call the young lady's trade the "oldest profession" just because the phrase has a nice ring to it.

The interstate commerce spin does make for a potential federal crime for the people who ran the business as do the financial machinations they employed (See, the DC Madam case currently wending its way through the federal system in DC.). But, to make the case against the former governor as a federal prosecution for the way he managed the money transfers is, at best, a stretch.

This was a case of political vengance! Elliot Spitzer happened to play "hardball" with white collar criminals. The result was he paid for it! This whole case appears to be pure unadulterated cow manure! there is no excuse for Spitzer's actions, but this is gotcha politics at its worst!

I normally would think this is a private matter better left for husband and wife BUT Spitzer saw fit to put others' husbands, fathers, sons in jail for this crime, I expect him to get the same penalty. Nothing worse than a hypocrite politican. This will teach them to walk their cheap talk, imho*

What a creepy man this Spitzer character is. There he was, on TV, admitting to secret sexual acts with a prostitute, and there's his wife and teen daughters standing there. UURRAAGGHH!!! Young girls look to their fathers for direction. Young girls want a man like daddy for themselves.

If Spitzer broke the law then he should be prosecuted just like everybody else.