This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
This week, America’s attention was directed away from a tight presidential race and troubled economy. The nation watched the fall from power of a politician widely considered a hero.
The news of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s use of prostitutes shocked many because of his image as an aggressive crime fighter. He resigned Wednesday, two days after reports linked him to a high-priced sex service.
Last week, the government charged four people with operating Emperors Club V.I.P. Court papers say it operated in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington, as well as London and Paris.
Federal law enforcement officials say the governor was known as "Client Nine" and was recorded on telephone wiretaps. They say he paid to have a twenty-two-year-old woman travel from New York to meet him at a Washington hotel last month.
A century-old law, the Mann Act, makes it a federal crime to bring people across state lines for immoral purposes. But if Eliot Spitzer faces any charges, legal experts say they would more likely involve how the services were paid for, not the services themselves.
Federal officials say they began investigating him after two banks last year reported suspicious activity in the way he was moving large amounts of money around. That investigation, they say, led them to the Emperors Club, where reports say he may have spent tens of thousands of dollars.
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