On Jan. 1, 2007, Eliot Spitzer was sworn in as governor of New York State. He had previously been state attorney general and had earned the nickname “sheriff of Wall Street’ for his crackdown on white collar crime. A little more than 14 months later the New York Times (March 10, 2008)  broke this story:

“Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation.

“An affidavit in the federal investigation into a prostitution ring said that a wiretap recording captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a hotel room. The person briefed on the case identified Spitzer as Client 9.”

Follow up news stories had further details of Spitzer’s patronage of the Emperors’ Club VIP escort service and the amount of money he dropped on $1,000-an-hour call girls. Two days after the story broke, Spitzer resigned.

Spritzer never faced charges for his activities. ABC News (Nov. 6 2008) quoted U.S. attorney Michael J. Garcia: “After a thorough investigation, this office has uncovered no evidence of misuse of public or campaign funds. In addition we have determined that there is insufficient evidence to bring charges against Mr. Spitzer for any offense related to the withdrawal of funds for, and his payment to, the Emperors’ Club VIP.”

You would think being disgraced publicly would cause you to lay low for a bit. Not Spitzer. He headed for the TV cameras. He made some guest appearances on CNN and showed up as a substitute anchor on MSNBC. In October 2010, CNN paired him with conservative commentator Kathleen Parker in a show named Parker Spitzer. Parker’s name came off the marquee in February when she quit. The renamed show, “Arena,” lasted until it was canceled in July 2011. So Spitzer’s TV show didn’t even last as long as his spell as governor. 

During his resignation, Spitzer’s wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, stood with him on the podium. Five years later, she was out. “We regret that our marital relationship has come to an end, and we have agreed not to make any other public statement on this subject,” Spitzer spokeswoman Lisa Linden said in a statement released on behalf of the couple. (CNN Dec. 24, 2013)

Like several other politicians in his situation (see for example Richard Weiner), Spitzer thought he could make a comeback. In 2013 he ran for state controller. He told CNN (July 7, 2013): “I accepted responsibility for what I did. I spent five years of working, doing useful things, and I hope the public will offer me an opportunity.” He got the thumbs down, losing the Democratic primary to Scott Stringer by a 52-48 margin.

Erratic behavior has seemed to follow Spitzer. This report is from NBC News on Feb. 14, 2016: 

“Authorities are investigating allegations that disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer assaulted a woman at a Manhattan hotel, sources told NBC News. A spokeswoman for Spitzer denied the report.

“Spitzer, who resigned from office in 2008 following revelations of his involvement in a prostitution ring, is accused of choking a woman in her mid-20s at the Plaza Hotel.”

There was a surprising twist to this story. 

“A Russian woman who was accused of blackmailing the former New York governor Eliot Spitzer over an affair was released from jail on Monday after she pleaded guilty to defrauding a second man.

“The plea in State Supreme Court in Manhattan brought to a close a case that began when the woman, Svetlana Travis Zakharova, 27, called the police in February 2016 and said Mr. Spitzer had choked her during a meeting at the Plaza Hotel.

“Five months later, the former governor sued her, claiming she had threatened to ‘ruin his life’ by revealing their relationship if he did not pay her thousands of dollars.

“She was arrested in October 2016 during a visit to the United States and charged with forgery and grand larceny. Prosecutors said she engaged in a ‘systematic and protracted extortion scheme’ against Mr. Spitzer, squeezing $400,000 from him over a year and a half to keep their relationship a secret.” (New York Times, Oct. 2, 2017)

Wow! She was more expensive than the Emperors’ Club VIP.

Three months later came this report on NBC News (Jan 15 2018):

“Detectives with the New York Police Department are looking into a man’s claim that disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer threatened to stab him during an irate interaction in a Manhattan restaurant, police said Sunday.

“Authorities said Jamie Antolini filed a complaint on Friday regarding an argument earlier in the month.

“Antolini said in his complaint that he was having dinner Jan. 2 when Spitzer came in the Upper East Side restaurant and became angry at hearing Antolini loudly praise someone Spitzer had publicly fought with during his years in the public sector.

“The NYPD said Antolini accused Spitzer of threatening him with bodily harm, including stabbing him with a knife, and making statements that he would kill him.”

No information about whether Spitzer was having an affair with someone in the restaurant.

So where is all this money coming from? Spitzer’s father Bernard was a New York real estate tycoon. He grew up in Riverdale, an affluent section of the Bronx. Eventually he turned to his father’s business. 

“Mr. Spitzer has found himself unexpectedly embracing a role he has largely sought to avoid all his life: assuming stewardship of Spitzer Enterprises, the family real estate business. 

“Politics is in ‘my rearview mirror,’ Mr. Spitzer said in an interview on June 10, his 56th birthday. ‘This,’ he said after a pause, ‘is exciting.’ (New York Times, June 15, 2015)

One of his first projects was on the Williamsburg waterfront. Three residential towers were designed to look like an asymmetrical stock of boxes. Just last year he received approval to replace a Upper East Side residential tower his father built in 1970 with a new 19-story building.

When you read the story of Eliot Spitzer it is hard not to think of the comparison with another New York real estate developer. Shouldn’t we not use the world disgraced in front of Donald Trump’s name the way it is used with Spitzer? Trump has paid off a porn star to hush up an affair, been caught on tape admitting to be a sexual abuser and was found by a judge to be a rapist.

How does that compare with dropping a few thousand as Client #9?