Spitzer uses call-girl ring over eight times

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhuanet) -- New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer, who is amid call-girl scandal, had used an international call girl ring at least eight times in recent months, according to CNN reports.

Sources familiar with the investigation into Spitzer's relationship with the ring said that the liaisons between Spitzer and a number of different prostitutes occurred around the country, including in Washington, D.C., and Florida.

Spitzer ended up as the subject of an investigation into the prostitution because his bank branch in Manhattan turned him in to the Internal Revenue Service as someone who might be engaged in suspicious currency transactions, according to the source.

The call girl at the center of the prostitution scandal that prompted Spitzer to resign in disgrace has been identified as a 22-year-old aspiring musician, Ksristen, from New York.

Kristen, the prostitute who had a rendezvous with Spitzer on Feb. 13 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, made a brief appearance in federal court. She is expected to be a witness in the case against four people charged with operating a prostitution ring called the Emperor's Club V.I.P.

Spitzer announced his resignation Wednesday, two days after news broke that he was a repeat client of a high-end prostitution ring.

The resignation became effective March 17. His deputy, Lt. Gov. David Paterson, will take over to become the state's first black governor.

Flanked by his wife, Spitzer told a press conference in his Manhattan office that he will leave public life. "I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me. To every New Yorker, to those who believed in what I tried to stand for, I sincerely apologize."

(Agencies)

NEW YORK, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York State resigned Wednesday, two days after news broke that he was a repeat client of a high-end prostitution ring.

The resignation becomes effective March 17. His deputy, Lt. Gov. David Paterson, will take over to become the state's first black governor. Paterson, who lost most of his sight after an infection at the age of three months, will also be the first legally-blind governor in the United States. Full Story

NEW YORK, March 10 (Xinhua) -- New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer, who was reportedly involved in an upscale prostitution ring, made a public apology on Monday to his family and the public.

"I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better," for acting "in a way that violates my obligations to my family, that violates my or any sense of right and wrong," Spitzer said at a news conference on Monday afternoon. Full story

BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhuanet) -- New York Lieutenant Governor David Paterson would take over if State Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns for the prostitution scandal, according to media reports Tuesday.

Paterson is considered as a competent, amiable politician and a powerful orator who understands the mechanisms of state government as well as anyone. But his lack of executive experience and the absence of a political mandate by the voters of New York State make the taking over unclear. Full story

BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhuanet) -- New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's political future was clouded abruptly Monday with his admission that he had violated the trust of his family and the public in the wake of reports that a federal investigation had linked him to a prostitution ring, according to media reports Tuesday.

Spitzer, 48, who rose to prominence as a hard-charging attorney general was known for rooting out corruption within Wall Street and on the streets. Full story

BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhuanet) -- New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer who built his career on rooting out public corruption as New York attorney general got involved with upscale prostitution ring, according to media reports Tuesday.

The prostitute, identified as "Kristen," worked for the Emperors Club, which charged between 1,000 and 5,500 U.S. dollars an hour. Spitzer's alleged involvement with the ring was caught on a federal wiretap when the club was broken up by the New York authorities last week.