Ex-Governor Spitzer - Unfinished Business

By Frank Hyland

Much has been made of the family aspects and the political aspects of the Eliot Spitzer fall from power. Now that the laughter over “The Luv Gov” has died down on the late night TV shows as they move on to new fodder, there are two other aspects of the known case that are potentially far more serious and that deserve a much closer look than apparently has been the case thus far. One aspect has been mentioned but merely in passing; the second has escaped at least public mention. The two additional aspects combine to suggest at least the possibility of a serious breach. That is, this country and other nations have been subjected to the efforts of an espionage ring masquerading as a prostitution ring.

The first aspect is the international nature of the “Escort Agency,” the Emperors Club VIP (ECV). ECV is said to have been based in New York from its alleged inception in approximately August of 2004 until being shut down (at least by that name) in March of 2008. ECV is believed to have used other names such as “QAT Consulting Group” and “QAT International, Incorporated” on its bank accounts. It was those accounts and money transfers into them that led to the downfall of Governor Spitzer. Aside from passing mention of ECV being “New York-based” and “international,” scant attention has been paid to other mention, for example that ECV could supply clients in London and Paris with women. Little notice has been paid on this side of the Atlantic, but the British tabloids have run extensive coverage of ECV clients there, one of whom is described as holding a high position in the UK military establishment. The ECV woman, Zana Brazdek (from Lithuania, by the way) alleges that her client bragged about his connections within the UK Military and about his inside knowledge. Ms. Brazdek, known within ECV as “Shanna,” reported that her client told her that Usama Bin Ladin was in hiding in a village in Pakistan. While it is certainly true that statements to that effect have been made publicly in a large number of cases, in this instance it was made by someone with access to UK-classified information and it becomes confirmatory.

The second aspect worthy of deeper investigation is the “why” we should be concerned that the former New York Governor used the services of ECV. Governors are the “presidents” of their states and as such, they are privy to a great deal of sensitive (including “Law Enforcement Sensitive”) information and classified information by virtue of the chair they occupy. Meetings with federal, state, and local officials during which discussions take place and briefings are conducted happen on a virtually daily basis. In the case of New York State, its role in Terrorism and CounterTerrorism (CT) matters was a large one even before 9/11. FBI Field Offices, for example, play large roles in a variety of subject areas. The New York Field Office (NYFO) has a preeminent part in Bureau CT investigations, including those involving locations beyond the boundaries of New York State. The NYFO is in regular receipt of Bureau information coming from a number of the Legal Attaches (LEGATT) abroad. Further, the network of Bureau-hosted Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) across the country provide the NYFO investigatory results on a regular and frequent basis. The New York JTTF was the first of such groups, having been established in 1980. Even a brief glance at the website of the Bureau’s Albany Division reveals the “web”, of interorganizational relationships that exists. At the top of the list of participating agencies is the Central Intelligence Agency.

The New York City Police Department, even closer to the Governor and even more under his aegis (read budgetary thumb), has arguably the largest CT organization of any police department in the US, including even that of Los Angeles. NYPD actually has CT officers stationed abroad in places like London. NYPD’s intelligence-related subset is large enough that it hired a former CIA Deputy Director for Operations (DDO), David Cohen, to head it. NYPD’s former Deputy Commissioner for CT was Michael Sheehan, formerly of a lengthy list of positions, including that of the US State Department’s Ambassador at Large for CT. Upon taking the NYPD position, Mr. Sheehan was responsible for overseeing NYPD’s CT operations as well as partnering with the FBI JTTF.

The existence of the interorganizational relationships, I should hasten to add, is a plus for the US, one that has played perhaps the single biggest role in the prevention of another attack on the country. Protection of the information within that apparatus is paramount to continued US national security.

So - we have 1) an organization (ECV) that is undeniably international in character, with little about it that at least has been revealed publicly beyond a few names, a number of which are acknowledged to be false names; 2) a Client (Number 9) who by his own admission carried out illegal activities - making him vulnerable to blackmail by ECV; and 3) a client who likely has been privy to a great deal of sensitive and possibly classified information on Terrorism and US and allied CounterTerrorism. Overall, this is strongly suggestive of the architecture of an espionage organization and a recipe for disaster. It is also an organizational profile that is a classic one in espionage circles, with historical examples being rife. CTB readers can be certain that, even though reporting on the investigation has declined somewhat in the public arena, the scramble behind the scenes to produce voluminous “Damage Assessments” is ongoing and consuming hundreds, if not thousands, of personnel hours at taxpayer expense.

Before concluding, there is an important reason to raise the questions herein. More than a few commentators on this subject have amply demonstrated their abject ignorance by raising the issue of “consensual” sex and “victimless” crime before the investigation has been completed. Even aside from the lasting effects of Governor Spitzer’s debacle on his wife and two daughters, the issue of the possibility of ECV being a front for an espionage organization headquartered who-knows-where points to the absurdity of the commentators’ claims.

Finally, we know of Client 9 and the near-term results of his exposure, but what of other clients - governors, state-level staffers, federal officials and staffers, law enforcement officials, and on and on?

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