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Wiretaps reveal tawdry details of 'Client 9'

BY ANTHONY M. DESTEFANO and BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA | tony.destefano@newsday.com and rocco.parascandola@newsday.com

11:32 PM EDT, March 10, 2008

Gov. Eliot Spitzer made the fateful telephone call four weeks ago that not only implicated him in the suspected dealings of a high class international call girl ring but also wrecked his political career, according to court records and law enforcement sources.

It was Feb. 11 when Spitzer was overheard on a federal wiretap talking to one of the managers of the ring, trying set up a date with a prostitute named "Kristen" in Washington and add money to the account he had with the elite sex business known as Emperors Club VIP, according to records.

While Spitzer isn't mentioned by name in the affidavit of FBI agent Kenneth Hosey, a man identified as "Client 9" refers to Spitzer, according to a New York City law enforcement official who has been briefed on the situation.

Prosecutors from the public corruption unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan are leading the probe.

According to the affidavit, federal investigators in late 2006 received information from a former prostitute who worked for the ring and managed to have an undercover agent set up dates -- costing thousands of dollars each -- with prostitutes through the Emperors Club, according to the affidavit.

Last week four people, including suspected ringleader Mark Brener, 62, of New Jersey, were arrested on charges of prostitution and money laundering. Brener, who is legally authorized to represent taxpayer clients before the IRS, is being held without bail.

After the undercover agent gathered enough evidence about crimes allegedly committed by those involved in the Emperors Club, authorities secured wiretaps beginning last October. It was a result of the taps, as well as text messages, that the investigation picked up evidence that Spitzer had been using the club's services, court records indicated.

On Feb. 11, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, 32, sent a text message to Emperors Club coworker Cecil Suwal, 23, asking if money Spitzer -- again identified only as "Client 9" -- had sent had arrived to top off his account with the club, according to the affidavit.

The next day, Lewis had a series of telephone calls, first with Kristen and later with Spitzer about a potential date in Washington and problems receiving money from the governor, the affidavit stated. Spitzer didn't like to use wire transfers and apparently preferred to send cash, according to the affidavit.

Other telephone calls, apparently on Feb. 13, followed in which Spitzer learned that his money had arrived and that he responded "great, OK, wonderful" when he learned that his date would be with Kristen, according to court papers.

Kristen, described in the affidavit by Lewis as "American, petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet, 5 inches, and 105 pounds," went to a hotel room where Spitzer left the door open, according to the affidavit.

On Feb. 14, Kristen telephoned Lewis to say that her date went "very well," that "she liked him" and had collected $4,300, court papers stated.

Kristen had known that Client 9 had a history of making "unsafe" requests but told Lewis she had a way of dealing with that, according to the affidavit.

"I'd be like, 'Listen, dude, you really want the sex?' ... You know what I mean," said Kristen.

Court records show that Kristen took a train back to New York on Valentine's Day.

Daniel Edward Rosen contributed to this story.