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Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer will not be charged with any crime for his patronage of a prostitution ring, federal prosecutors announced on Thursday.
Spitzer announced his resignation in March after the New York Times reported he had used the services of a high priced escort service. Spitzer had prosecuted similar services in the past.
The statement from Mr. Garcia read:
"Eliot Spitzer has acknowledged to this office that he was a client of, and made payments to, the Emperors Club V.I.P.," the statement said. "Our investigation has shown that on multiple occasions, Mr. Spitzer arranged for women to travel from one state to another state to engage in prostitution. 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 relating to the withdrawal of funds for, and his payments to, the Emperors Club V.I.P.
"In light of the policy of the Department of Justice with respect to prostitution offenses and the longstanding practice of this office, as well as Mr. Spitzer's acceptance of responsibility for his conduct, we have concluded that the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter."
Mr. Spitzer, in a statement, said: "I understand the office of the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York has decided that it will not bring criminal charges against me. I appreciate the impartiality and thoroughness of the investigation by the U.S. attorney's office, and I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the conduct it disclosed.
"I resigned my position as governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official. I once again apologize for my actions, and for the pain and disappointment those actions caused my family and the many people who supported me during my career in public life."
Spitzer also played an active role in prosecuting online gambling enterprises during the early part of the decade.
Under a settlement agreement with the state of New York under Spitzer's tenure as Attorney General, PayPal - a leading processor of online gambling transactions at the time - agreed not to process payments from New York customers to Internet casino websits and to pay $200,000 to New York State in disgorged profits, costs of investigation, and penalties.
"This agreement continues the work of my office to enforce the law prohibiting illegal gambling, online or off line" Spitzer said at the time. "This case shows that we intend stop any company who facilitates illegal gambling transactions."
Spitzer previously announced a settlement with Citibank, which agreed to block illegal online gambling transactions attempted through its MasterCard and Visa accounts.
