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The Real Prostitutes in the Elliot Spitzer Sex Scandal.
By now, major new services, columnists and just about every blogger have made us aware of every titillating fact, conjecture and opinion associated with former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer’s involvement with a high class escort service. The details of Spitzer’s involvement with call girls will undoubtedly increase business for The Emperors Club (the escort service that Governor Spitzer was a client of), become a financial windfall for Ashley Alexandra Dupré (the prostitute involved with Spitzer) and give the “talking heads” something to talk about until the next high profile individuals fall from grace. On February 7,2009, Mark Brener, the driving force behind the Emperors Clubs was sentence to 2.5 years in prision.
Well Spitzer may finally get some vindication. Wall Street madame, Kristin Davis alledges that CEO's, investment bankers, Wall Street lawyers and media execuitives used their companies corporate credit cards to pay for sex with shareholders money. At least former Governor Spitzer used his own personal money (about $8,000 over 5 years) rather than the obscene amounts spent by those who had fiduciary responsibilities to their investors. Since Ms. Davis's elite corporate clients requested to be billed for other services (construction, consulting, etc.) rather than sex, they should face additional criminal charges including fraud.
The most disgusting part of the Spitzer affair is the reaction on Wall Street. According to published reports, Wall Street traders were so thrilled by Spitzer’s demise that they actually stood up at their trading desks to applaud and cheer. They were also quoted as saying that this event provided the best entertainment since the O.J. Simpson trial. Apparently greed, animosity and avarice is still alive and well on Wall Street and in the financial community. The grossly overpaid members of the financial service industry still have an axe to grind with the man who gave them a black eye and a rap across the knuckles. Rather than learning from the misdeeds that resulted in the loss of billions to investor’s retirement plans and pension funds they still harbored contempt at Spitzer’s crusade to expose the criminal activity that made them millions.
There is little doubt that the success of Spitzer’s political career was largely built on his zeal to uncover and expose the financial corruption of public traded companies and Wall Street in general. His motives for doing this are irrelevant. Spitzer’s one man crusade against Wall Street malfeasance may not have put money back in the pockets of the working people who lost their hard earned money but it did tarnish a few halos and punish some for their criminal behavior. Fines levied against fraudulent companies went directly into New York States pocket and ultimately benefited the residents of the state of New York.
Elliot Spitzer has no one but himself to blame for his political nightmare. By soliciting the services of a prostitute he committed a crime and broke the law. Spitzer’s political success was built on making sure Wall Streets financial practices were beyond reproach so the general public expected the same behavior from him.
Washington,New York and especially Wall Street are bastions of power and money. It is highly unlikely that he is the only political figure that solicits prostitutes. Kennedy and Bill Clinton both had extramarital affairs while in public office and neither was forced to resign. While their political enemies may have gloated in private they did not have the nerve to stand up and cheer like the workers on Wall Street. Their behavior speaks volumes. Wall Streets big money players have been waiting for Spitzer to make a mistake. They wanted their revenge and they finally got the chance to extract their “pound of flesh”.
To think that Spitzer was accidentally caught up in prostitution sting is possible but seems unlikely. Elliot Spitzer had made many powerful enemies. Is it outside of the realm of possibility to think that those well moneyed powerful corporate leaders planted Spitzer’s dirty little secret in the right ears? Several members of House Financial Services Committee including Democratic Representatives Barney Frank and Michael Capuano are looking into the possibility that the Spitzer investigation was politicially motivated. The Committee will begin looking into these allegations in early 2009. This was not just about destroying the ex governor of New York’s political career, it was character assassination. Wall Street wanted the general public to think Spitzer was just as deceitful and dirty as they are.
Media loves a good sex scandal involving a high profile political figure, especially one who had built his political success on morality. Wall Street owns the media. It has already embraced Ashley Alexandra Dupré, the escort who brought Spitzer’s political career to an end. Her so called musical career has already been well documented by the same media that brought Spitzer down and she has already posted her music video on MySpace. Was this whole affair just a well orchestrated business plan financed and developed by big business and Wall Street movers and shakers?
Elliot Spitzer and his family have paid dearly for his transgression but the real prostitutes in this sordid affair seem to be the media and Wall Street business people who control it.
