Spitzer prostitution wiretap documents to become public

A U.S. federal judge on Thursday ordered the unsealing of documents in an investigation that linked former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to a prostitution ring, possibly shedding more light on the scandal that forced Spitzer to resign.

The ruling was a result of a request by The New York Times to unseal documents that outlined the prosecutors' probable cause for wiretapping two cell phones belonging to the prostitution ring.

Judge Jed Rakoff ruled that the public's right to know about an investigation that led to the resignation of the governor outweighed any privacy concerns, especially since the names of other clients were to be redacted.

The materials to be unsealed are affidavits and other documents that prosecutors filed in support of their request to wiretap. They must be released by Tuesday, the judge said.

They do not include transcripts or recordings of any conversations.

The New York Times had asked for everything in the file, but Judge Rakoff said the wiretaps did not produce any material that warranted going into the file.

Spitzer resigned last March shortly after The New York Times reported he was a client of the prostitution ring under investigation.

The resignation of the Democratic governor pleased and shocked many in Washington and on Wall Street, where Spitzer had created enemies through his aggressive investigation of fraud cases in his previous post as attorney general of the state of New York.

Spitzer was never charged with a crime. Four organizers of the prostitution ring were charged and pled guilty, putting an end to the criminal case.

D. Brian Blackwell