Spitzergate : cui bono cui bono ?

To those uninformed - Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer allegedly patronized a very expensive Escort service while staying in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington in February 2008 (just a month ago). He was nabbed in a federal wiretap of his private cell phone as federal agencies were investigation this prostitution ring. Rumor has it that a resignation is imminent. An ardent Clinton supporter, this could've not been more embarassing. Or could it ?

Few people genuinly like Mr. Spitzer. Unfortunately, the high moral ground he used in such macchiavellian manner time after time didn't do much to veil the inner being - an opportunist with gargantuan ambitions, often a bully and a narcissist. That said, his successful career as a prosecutor - if high profile convictions and constant dealing from the bottom of the deck is a success - had most people assume that he does get the job done; he's as sharp as lawyers get and it's better to have him as a Governor than in the prosecutorial chair. Many scandals of various calibers have came and past, yet Spitzer was holding the Albany fort and was largely considered Hillary's man. Much hated on Wall Street for non sensical, biased and unfair handling of many high profile cases, he still manages to maintain Robin-Hoodesque aura of simple man's man etc etc.

But this, of course, isn't about Mr. Spitzer. This scandal reeks from such blatant conspirantism that the first thought is that "they" would never do something so brazen and in so much public eyesight.

Still, let's rehash. Born to a family of basically non-religious Austrian Jews, Eliot scored 1590 on his SAT and attented Princeton undergraduate college. After getting a perfect LSAT - not an easy feat, I hear - young Elion went on to Harvard Law, where he picked up his JD and his wife of 21 years by now. After a brief stint with a private law firm, Spitzer worked for Morgenthau's office (Manhattan District Attorney) for about two years. He made a name in a few very high profile Mafia cases, went back to work for the most important law firm in the US whose name I'm afraid to mention, and ultimately in 1998 became New York State Attorney General.

The list of matters handled by him as an AG is too long to bring up here. In 2006, he was elected as a Governor of the NYS with 69% of the vote. And it seems now that his career is over because of an expensive phone hooker.

Sum it up. The Man : We have a gentleman here who was some of the sharpest minds in Harvard Law and elsewhere. A man who spent most of his career working with wiretaps, wiretapped subjects, surveillance evidence, warrants, data mining and prosecuting prostitution and other organized crime feats, as well as high profile Wall Street "crooks" with questionable lifestyles. A man who has more rich, mighty enemies then probably even Giuliani. A man with a weakness - publicly known high moral standards, often used as a prop for whatever agenda needs to be pushed.

Time - about the most heated segment of US Primaries in the most uncertain election year EVER, with Democract candidates locked in dead heat and hurling feces at each other so that baboons want to take classes. "Republicans in the office" status quo assures us that getting anything tossed out on a simple phone call is just unviable.

Place - the Mayflower Hotel. Some of the most notoriously upscale, VIP-diplomat-lobbyist kind of stomping ground, which is probably under a constant uninterrupted surveillance of every conceivable government, state and local agency with means; where I have no doubt that every room has at least a capability of filming from six hidden camera angles. Hotel where you have to peel surveillance bugs off if you want to install your own.

And the Deed. Allegedly, Mr. Spitzer disguised as "George Fox" and "Client 9", on Valentine's Day called (!) on his cell phone(!!) a wiretapped "Emperor's Club"; he further conducted detailed "business" over SMS (!!!, knowing how much easier it is to store, retain and retrieve all text messages) . Federal affidavit alleges that he spent at least $4,300 (he basically "kept all the receipts" by SMS-ing every little detail). He was to pay for everything - train tickets, cab fares, miin bars, travel time - you name it. Apparently, on the February 12th he didn't have "enough credit" with this institution (a mere $500 left), so they refused his business until some more dough was coughed up.

With all the tips squeezed out of him, The Governor left behing $4,300 in US Currency, and a few dozen SMS messages that are so obvious that a conviction would only entail establishing that Client-9 is indeed his ugly mug.

This goes beyong "how stupid can he be". This goes deeply into the area of "why was it done this way?". I am almost certain of one thing - unless he's in some very deep psychiatric abyss, this story has more to it then you would like to know.