Here's "Kristen", the call girl worth $4,300:
Posted on 03/12/2008 3:36:54 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim
NEW YORK (AP) - Eliot Spitzer probably doesn't need to get a day job when he leaves the governor's office next week.
The scion of a wealthy Manhattan real estate developer, Spitzer is a millionaire who could easily live off his share of his father's real estate business.
But that doesn't mean there won't be financial wrinkles ahead for Spitzer, who announced his resignation Wednesday after becoming ensnared in a prostitution scandal.
If he were to lose his law license, his ability to return to private law practice might be compromised. There's also the possibility that his wife could divorce her cheating husband and walk away with a chunk of the family fortune.
"Any judge who is going to decide this case is going to bend over backward to give her a break, considering what she's been through," said Albert Momjian, a prominent Philadelphia divorce lawyer.
Silda Wall Spitzer gave up a lucrative career in corporate law in the year that her husband made his first run for public office. Since then, she has worked unpaid jobs in philanthropy and founded a charity called Children for Children.
Spitzer's fall may have one indirect financial benefit. He will probably have to give up what appears to be his most expensive vice: high-priced prostitutes.
Before news broke that Spitzer had shelled out $4,300 to a call girl the night before Valentine's Day, the governor's Mr. Clean image extended to his spending, too.
The governor's staffers always boasted that their millionaire boss was a frugal guy who owned only a few pairs of shoes and drove a minivan.
"He was certainly not free with the dollars. He was very, very careful," said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York political consultant who worked on Spitzer's first two campaigns. "This is not the kind of guy who would take $50,000 out of his own bank account one weekend and blow it in Atlantic City."
That reputation only added to the surprise when an FBI wiretap recorded Spitzer arranging thousands of dollars in payments to an escort service. A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that Spitzer may have spent as much as $80,000 on call girls over several years.
Spitzer could afford it. He reported $1.9 million in income to the IRS in 2006, according to his last publicly available tax return.
Not including last year, his earnings have been $14.9 million since and that total only hints at his family's wealth. His father, Bernard Spitzer, is said to be worth at least $500 million.
Spitzer's tax returns show that a majority of his income comes from rents collected on apartments and shops owned by the family. As governor, he earned $179,000 a year.
After years of spending weekends in a modest, rented home in Colombia County, the Spitzers recently paid $4 million to buy the entire 160- acre property.
The family's main residence continues to be a luxurious Fifth Avenue apartment in a tower built by his father in 1968. Spitzer lives there rent-free, courtesy of his father, who owns at least 10 such apartment towers.
When his three children were younger, Spitzer shelled out nearly $50,000 a year for nannies. Now the kids attend the Horace Mann School, where tuition exceeds $29,000 per student—nearly $100,000 in education expenses alone.
Spitzer and his wife have also given generously to charity, donating $474,509 between 2000 and 2006.
All of those spending habits pale in comparison to what Spitzer spent on politics: He financed his losing 1994 and winning 1998 campaigns for state attorney general with millions of dollars in personal loans. Much of that debt was retired when the governor sold his share of a family owned apartment building back to his father.
If there is a divorce, Silda Spitzer would likely be entitled to half of whatever assets the family acquired during their 20-year marriage—although discussion of a split may be premature.
Silda stood next to her husband when he announced his resignation Wednesday and some observers said they believe the marriage may survive.
"She has grounds for 50 different divorces here," said Raoul Felder, a divorce lawyer and state judicial board chairman who lived in Spitzer's apartment building for 19 years, and later feuded with the governor over an off-color book he co-wrote with the comic Jackie Mason.
"But will she stick? I think she will," Felder said. "She's stood by him so far."
he can always hit the college lecture circuit. They’ll love him.
Here's "Kristen", the call girl worth $4,300:
How much is that an hour?
If you read the NYT article, it says she was a 3 diamond (bottom of the barrel) hooker who got only $1,000. Go figure.
Bit of a beak on that babe.
Sounds to me that Elliot and the Mrs. have BOTH passed the test to run for President on the Democrat ticket.
Flavor Fav is getting REAL old on MTV. I say let the Spitz take over Flav’s show and see what he could do. I think the Spitz has an even better eye than the Flav man.
Hard to tell, what with the way the photo’s cropped, but looks like she’s wearing one of those little “French maid” costumes.
Gee, ya think?
YA THINK?!!!
Spitzer is a New Yorker, after all...
She stuck by him while she thought he might try to stay in office. I lost any sense of feeling sorry for this woman when I heard she was pushing him not to resign. It's obviously all about the power for her and now that he's resigning it's a whole new ball game. She may dump him like a hot potato.
What else did the "Nannies" do?
Spitzer will obviously spend the rest of his life watching daytime TV in his underwear while drinking beer.
I hope they’ve sealed his office and taken away his computer. He probably wanted until Monday to try to hide his tracks in other things.
No way that’s worth $5,000.
If we disbarred every attorney who has ever hired a hooker, it would be a good start.
What’s the diff between a hooker and a lawyer? None. They both screw people for a living.
Spitzer: “Whatever happens we are going to be alright” and if his wife stays with him, she deserves whatever she gets but first she needs to get checked out by a doctor.
So what’s Caruso trying to do - smooth the landing pad for this fascist POS?
Yeah, he probably used OUR (us taxpayers) money! Creep!!!
Well, if they worked for me we'd start with some dress-up games,
move on to "let's pretend."
and finish with Simon Sez....
yeah and they could change the name from “Flavor of Love” to “Spitz er Swallows”
i’d hit it.
sometimes that’s kind of cute.
I think the paper is underrating the guy. They have great vocational programs in prison.
Gee, ya think?
The only problem with that is that Eliot's fortune is tiny compared to his family. He could basically give her every penny he has and she would end up with a few million while he eventually ends up with hundreds.
ABSOLUTELY WRONG---THAT'S THE PHONY STORY SPITZER SPREAD THAT COVERS-UP HIS CAMPAIGN ILLEGALITIES. HERE'S THE REAL STORY.
BACKSTORY
Spitzer’s daddy, his immediate family, and other financiers, pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into Eliot's campaigns since his first losing bid for attorney general in 1994.
The Spitzer family tax-exempt charity has donated at least $140,000 to groups led by his political allies - a practice that some have questioned. Bernard Spitzer also lent his son $5 million to pay for early campaigns when Eliot was largely unknown.
Through Spitzer has little trouble raising money now, his relatives have continued to do their part. He reported $19 million in his campaign coffers in January, with his parents and brother Daniel, a neurosurgeon, donating $326,000, records show.
The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust - on which Eliot, Daniel and their parents are board members - gave a total of $66,000 in 2004 to NARAL Pro-Choice New York, an abortion rights group; the Drum Major Institute, a think tank; and the Progressive America Fund, a voter mobilization effort. The groups, whose leaders back Spitzer for governor, received $75,000 from his charity between 2000 and 2003. Donations to his allies were a fraction of the $2.6 million the foundation awarded in 2004.
REFERENCE The Bernard & Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust Inc.
(Formerly: The Bernard & Anne Spitzer Foundation Inc.)
730 5th Ave----Suite 2202
New York, NY 10019-4105
Telephone: (212) 765-5170
Bernard Spitzer, President; Anne Spitzer, Treasurer. Board members--Eliot and his brother Dr Daniel Spitzer.
Type of foundation: Independent Fiscal Date: 12/31/05
Assets: $35,115,418 Total Giving: $578,663
EIN:137298842
Most Recent IRS Filing: View 0990 FORM http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:l2QSwTcRe2YJ:foundationcenter.org/cgi-bin/ffindershow.cgi%3Fid%3DSPIT004
0990 FORM FINDER http://dynamodata.foundationcenter.org/990s/f990_pdf?idx=13&ein=137298842&fd=123105&fn=The%20Bernard%20%26amp%3B%20Anne%20Spitzer%20Charitable%20Trust%20Inc.%3Cbr%3E730%205th%20Ave.%2C%20Ste.%202202%3CBR%3ENew%20York%2C%20NY%2010019-4105%3CBR%3E&a.pdf
=====================================================
For his two campaigns, Spitzer spent a total of about $12M, mostly personal funds and bank loans. Spitzer borrowed about $5M from his father to help settle loans, and was earning $200,000 a year consulting for his father. Between 2000-2004, the charity gave $101,000 to NARAL's foundation. NARAL also has given $10,500 to Spitzer's two campaigns and endorsed him.
The Spitzer trust invests in hedge funds, including some whose managers donate to Spitzer. Lawrence Golub, Spitzer's high school friend, and his wife, Karen Finerman, gave a total of $100,200 to Spitzer's bid for governor. Both have been managers in Bedford Falls Investors Lp, and he is a founder of Golub Capital Partners. The Spitzer trust had allegedly invested $4.8M with those groups in 2004.
Lawrence Golub, Founder and President
Golub Capital Partners IV, LP
TELE (212) 750-6060
TELE (212) 660-7272
EMAIL lgolub@golubcapital.com
New York Office
551 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022
Lawrence Golub TELE 212.660.7272
EMAIL lgolub@golubcapital.com
David Golub
TELE 212.660.7277
EMAIL dgolub@golubcapital.com
TELE 212.750.6060 (phone)
FAX 212.750.5505 (fax)
===================
During Spitler's 1998 AG campaign, he indignantly denied allegations by his GOP opponent, Dennis Vacco (Vacco is a top-notch pro-life conservative), that Spitler's wealthy father had provided millions in loans to his AG campaign. Candidate Spitzer insisted he was using only his own money (family members are limited by law to $110,000 in total contributions) and accused Vacco of "smearing" his father.
Not until he'd actually taken office did Spitzer admit that Dennis Vacco had been correct, after all. In fact, it turned out Spitzer, despite earlier denials, had done the exact same thing during his unsuccessful 1994 run for AG.
That's why we have free-market competition among lawyers.
There is a divorce lawyer somewhere in Manhattan, right now, with a plan to get the Spitzer family fortune down to the last dime.
I'd start with the fact that Daddy Spitzer has been providing Mrs. Spitzer with a rent-free penthouse at 79th and Fifth.
Surely he will have to continue this service for the rest of her life...
But then, when I suggest the idea of a 3-way with Richard Simmons...
they get all creeped out.
They don't return my calls, nothing, not a word.
I've got cooties? I'm doing something wrong?
Why should she divorce him now and get perhaps $15 million, when she could wait until he croaks and collect perhaps $1 billion?
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