New York governor in prostitute scandal 'should quit'

New York governor Eliot Spitzer – known as a crusader against corruption and the “Sheriff of Wall Street” – faced mounting calls for his resignation today after he apologised following reports of his involvement in a worldwide prostitution ring.

The 48-year-old father of three teenage daughters, who is a Democratic superdelegate in support of former first lady Hillary Clinton’s bid for the US presidency, was caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, the New York Times reported.

Mr Spitzer was one of the clients of the international Emperor’s Club VIP operation, which was smashed by FBI agents last week.

Today, editorials in the New York Daily News and New York Post joined the call for the resignation of the man referred to by FBI agents as “Client 9”.

“Hit the road, John... and make it quick!” the Daily News said, while the Post labelled him “NY’s naked emperor”.

Documents filed with the US district court in the Southern District of New York exposed the details of his involvement in the ring, which also ran prostitutes in London.

“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 court papers said.

US reports said the case started when banks noticed the frequent transfers from several accounts and filed suspicious activity reports with the Internal Revenue Service.

The accounts were traced back to Mr Spitzer, prompting public corruption investigators to open an inquiry, when the link to the prostitution ring was uncovered.

A man and three women have been arrested, accused of running the ring for at least the last three years, US Attorney Michael Garcia said.

Mr Spitzer built his political reputation on rooting out corruption, including several headline-making battles with Wall Street while serving as attorney general.

He entered the governor’s office in 2006 with a historic share of the vote, vowing to continue his no-nonsense approach to fixing one of the nation’s worst governments.

In 2004, he was part of an investigation of an escort service in New York City that resulted in the arrest of 18 people on charges of promoting prostitution and related charges.