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Craigslist to crack down on ads
HARTFORD, Conn. - Under the watchful eye of law enforcement in 40 states, Craigslist pledged Thursday to crack down on ads for prostitution on its Web sites. As part of Craigslist's agreement with attorneys general around the country, anyone who posts an "erotic services" ad will be required to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card. The Web site will provide that information to law enforcement if subpoenaed. Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist's CEO, said the deal will allow legitimate escort services to continue advertising, while providing a strong disincentive to companies that are conducting illegal business. "We don't view it as a penalty, we view it as raising the accountability," he said. "A legitimate business should have no problem with that. They should have no problem providing a phone number or credit card credentials." Craigslist filed lawsuits this week against 14 software and Internet companies that help people who post erotic service ads to circumvent the Web site's defenses against inappropriate content and illegal activity. Craigslist, which posts 30 million ads every month for everything from apartment rentals to jobs in hundreds of cities, will also begin using new search technology in an effort to help authorities find missing children and victims of human trafficking. Police across the country have been arresting people for using Web sites like Craigslist to advertise the sexual services of women and children. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who brokered the agreement, said his office contacted Craigslist after receiving several complaints from users late in 2007 about photographs depicting nudity on the site. He said Craigslist cooperated fully and there was never a need to threaten legal action against the company. "The dark side of the Internet must be stopped from eclipsing its immense potential for good," Blumenthal said. He added: "I am fully convinced that Craigslist wants to stop this activity as much as we do." Buckmaster said the agreement does not cover Craigslist's personal ads, where prostitutes have been found advertising for "dates." But he said the San Francisco-based company has been working with authorities on that issue and on cutting down on the sale of stolen merchandise on its sites. "We are experimenting with telephone verification in those sections," he said. "We don't have any plans to use credit card verification in that section currently. But this partnership is going to be active in that area as well, anywhere where crime does or could occur." The agreement was joined by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "The criminals engaged in the sexual trafficking of children no longer parade them on the streets of America's cities," said the center's chief executive, Ernie Allen. "Today, they market them via the Internet." The states that signed the agreement are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam also joined.
No charges for Elliot Spitzer
No charges for ex-NY governor in prostitution case NEW YORK - Federal prosecutors said Thursday that they will not bring criminal charges against Eliot Spitzer for his role in a prostitution scandal, removing a legal cloud that has surrounded the former New York governor since his epic downfall eight months ago. U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said investigators found no evidence that Spitzer or his office misused public or campaign funds for prostitution. Investigators found that Spitzer solicited high-priced call girls, but federal prosecutors typically do not prosecute clients of prostitution rings. "After a thorough investigation, this office has uncovered no evidence of misuse of public or campaign funds," Garcia said. "We have concluded that the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter." The announcement by Garcia signals the end of the bombshell investigation of Emperors Club VIP and means that nine other men described in an indictment as clients of the lucrative prostitution service also have escaped charges. Those clients were never identified. Legal experts said that local authorities technically could still charge Spitzer as a john, but that it would be highly unlikely. A remorseful Spitzer issued a statement in which he expressed relief that he will not face charges. "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," he said. "I resigned my position as Governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official. I once again apologize for my actions." Spitzer was out of town and unavailable for further comment. He resigned in March after it was disclosed he was referred to in court papers as "Client-9," who spent thousands of dollars on a call girl at a swanky Washington, D.C., hotel on the night before Valentine's Day. Garcia said that Spitzer later revealed to investigators that on multiple occasions he arranged for women to travel from one state to another state to engage in prostitution. The scandal ruined a promising political career for Spitzer, who won a landslide election in 2006 with a vow to clean up corruption. He has remained out of the spotlight since his shocking resignation, spending time with his wife and three daughters, working for his father's real estate business and occasionally being photographed running in Central Park. He also assembled a high-powered team of lawyers who made an intense behind-the-scenes lobbying effort with the U.S. attorney's public corruption unit. His legal team included former prosecutors. But prosecutors' options were limited once they found he didn't violate campaign finance rules. Authorities could have charged Spitzer with violating the Mann Act, a federal law that bans carrying women or girls across state lines for "prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." But the legal experts say the law is rarely used to prosecute johns. "I would have been more surprised had he been charged," said Elkan Abramowitz, chief of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan in the 1970s. "Once they determined that he didn't use state or campaign money but apparently must have only used his personal money, I am not surprised they decided not to prosecute." Another former federal prosecutor, Brad Simon, said other factors, including lobbying by Spitzers' attorneys, might have influenced the decision. Prosecutors "have discretion, and they used it," Simon said. The lawyer for Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the former call girl whose tryst with Spitzer sparked the investigation, said she's glad the matter is resolved. "She's going to move on with her life," attorney Don D. Buchwald said. Four people pleaded guilty in recent months to running the prostitution operation that led to Spitzer's political demise. Michael C. Farkas, the lawyer one of the escort service's booking agents, blasted the decision not to prosecute Spitzer. His client, 36-year-old Tanya Hollander, pleaded guilty and admitted to helping run the ring, and she is scheduled to be sentenced this month. "She still faces a jail sentence, while some other more infamous actors in this matter do not. It would be a sad injustice if that were to occur," Farkas said. Murray Richman, lawyer for the 62-year-old operator of the escort service, Mark Brener, said prosecutors "did the proper thing." He said he could not "perceive how Spitzer was involved in any criminal conduct," noting that the governor did pay a price for his choices. The lesson of the case "is that if you're a public official, you can't be a private person," he said. Track adds: "The other lesson is the Golden Rule - enough Gold, you make the rules...."
Not that Track: Rumor Control
I am not the son of the sitting Governor of Alaska and presumptive Republican Nominee for Vice-President of The United States of America. I am many years his senior. I am even a few years her senior. I do wish him a safe and uneventful tour of duty in Iraq.
Chicago Valentine, R.I.P. Viva Naughtyteacherdaphne!
Daphne's Back!
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