We may never know why the federal government prosecuted DC Madam Deborah Jean Palfrey . Prostitution is not a federal crime . Apparently it started out as a tax investigation. But it turned out that Miss Palfrey always paid her taxes. So then they got her on racketeering and money laundering charges —her independent contractors would use the US mail to send money orders. But the big question is why. It is unlikely there was a vast conspiracy . Having spent more time than I would have liked... Read Full Story
The DC Madam may be bluffing on how many of the high and haughty are in her little black book, but there is no doubt the first john has tripped . Randall Tobias , a high ranking official in the State Department, whom President Bush lauded for his success in promoting abstinence education, resigned for "personal reasons." "Personal reasons" can mean many things. In this particular case it means Mr. Tobias has been dipping his wick in a hooker's honey pot. However, since this guy is one of... Read Full Story
In the end, it was a punishment that definitely didn’t fit the crime. Deborah Jeane Palfrey, also known as the D.C. Madam for running a high-priced call girl ring in the nation’s capital, faced up to 55 years in jail. She was scheduled to be sentence this summer. But Palfrey, defiant to the end over her prosecution, was determined not to give in to the Feds. So, sometime yesterday, she walked out to a shed behind her mother’s house near St. Petersburg, Fla , and based on a preliminary... Read Full Story
A federal jury has convicted Deborah Jeane Palfrey of running a high-end prostitution ring that catered to members of Washington's political elite on Tuesday afternoon.
Palfrey has repeatedly denied the escort service engaged in prostitution, and that any sex acts happened without her knowledge.
Palfrey caused a buzz last year when she announced that she would sell her phone records to news outlets to pay for her defense.
The trial didn't reveal many new details about the service or... Read Full Story
“First, allow me to say how genuinely sorry I am for Mr. Tobias, his family and his friends,” Deborah Jeane Palfrey said to the deputy of secretary of state, Randall Tobias, who resigned on Friday after confirming that he received massages from Ms. Palfrey’s escorts. A few moments later, she revealed frustration with his “refusal to come forward until now” to back her case that nothing illegal happened. Read Full Story
ABC News' Brian Ross styles himself a gumshoe of the old-school, and his network calls him "one of the most honored and respected journalists in the country." So why is he wrong so often? Ross is the guy who breathlessly announced that he had the phone records of Deborah Jeane Palfrey—a.k.a. the Washington Madam—only to come up with the names o 22 Vote(s)
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A Northern California woman convicted last month of operating a high-end prostitution ring that catered to Washington's elite was found dead today after apparently hanging herself at her mother's property in Florida, CNN reported. Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 52, who ran the Pamela Martin & Associates escort service and was known as the "D.C. Madam," vowed last year to kill herself rather than return to prison. She left several suicide notes to that effect, police in Tarpon Springs, Fla., said... Read Full Story
Who will be named next? That is the big question this week. Deborah Jeane Palfrey has threatend to release to the press the names of several high profile political clients of her prostitution business, Pamela Martin and Associates. Tabloids are swarming at the chance to break a true Washington DC sex scandal. The client list is still confidential and may remain so...but that seems unlikely. Keep an eye out for news about leaks and releases... Read Full Story
The "DC Madam list" now resides in the hands of the ABC correspondent, Brian Ross, who released this: Also on Palfrey’s list of customers who could be potential witnesses are a Bush administration economist, the head of a conservative think tank, a prominent CEO, several lobbyists and a handful of military officials.” A full report is planned for Friday’s edition of 20/20. Read Full Story
