Let’s keep it real — there are a disproportionate number of secular Jews in the sex industry.<\/p>\n
Ron Kampeas writes for JTA<\/a>:<\/p>\n A fast-rising Democratic governor, an out-of-control sex drive and an Israeli enabler — it feels like deja vu all over again on the Hudson.<\/p>\n Just four years after the then-governor of New Jersey, James McGreevey, resigned amid revelations of an affair with his Israeli-born ex-homeland security chief, Golan Cipel, Americans again were treated to the spectacle of the governor of a large Northeastern state standing alongside a grim-looking wife and admitting he had erred.<\/p>\n Mark Brener, the alleged pimp at the center of the prostitution scandal engulfing Spitzer, is an Israeli.<\/p>\n Spitzer, a Jewish lawyer, built his career as an anti-crime, anti-corruption crusader. Most of his cases were high-profile Wall Street targets, but during his eight-year stint as state attorney general, Spitzer’s office also investigated at least two Jewish organizations, the National Council of Young Israel and the World Jewish Congress.<\/p>\n In both cases, Spitzer’s office found what it deemed examples of misused funds and reached an agreement limiting the future involvement of a longtime leader of the organization in question.<\/p>\n Of the four charged in the federal prostitution case brought last week, only Brener was denied bail. U.S. Magistrate Michael Dolinger cited the $600,000 in cash and the Israeli passport found in Brener’s home as proof of his flight risk.<\/p>\n Brener’s lawyer told the Associated Press that he has been a U.S. citizen for 20 years.<\/p>\n Brener allegedly ran the Emperors VIP Club, described by police as a high-priced prostitution ring in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and London. Clients rated the prostitutes with diamonds on the club’s Web site. Top-rated prostitutes could demand thousands, with the club taking more than 50 percent in commission fees.<\/p>\n In the case described in the warrant involving "Client 9" — reported by The New York Times to be Spitzer — the client requested a prostitute on Feb. 12. He was in Washington at a hotel; the service would send a prostitute down from New York.<\/p>\n Client 9’s account was low on cash — down to about $400, according to wiretaps cited in the warrant — suggesting that he had used the service before. He would pay an additional $2,600 for his time with "Kristen," an amount that apparently included her train fare and travel time, and give her some extra cash toward the next encounter.<\/p>\n According to the warrant, they met at the hotel the next night, Feb. 13. Sometime after midnight — in the first minutes of Valentine’s Day — Kristen called Temeka Rachelle Lewis, Brener’s alleged co-conspirator, to tell her the encounter had gone "very well."<\/p>\n Republicans already are calling on Spitzer, once touted as presidential material, to resign. Whether he does so depends on what Democrats say and whether he is charged in the case.<\/p>\n Two Republican U.S. senators recently embroiled in sex scandals have not resigned. David Vitter of Louisiana allegedly frequented a prostitute but was never charged. Larry Craig of Idaho pleaded guilty last year to soliciting gay sex in a bathroom but is now trying to reverse the plea.<\/p>\n McGreevey did resign and wrote a book about his experiences, aimed partly at encouraging other gays to come out. Cipel still denies that he is gay or that he was McGreevey’s lover; he claims the governor harassed him. <\/font><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let’s keep it real — there are a disproportionate number of secular Jews in the sex industry. Ron Kampeas writes for JTA: A fast-rising Democratic governor, an out-of-control sex drive and an Israeli enabler — it feels like deja vu … Continue reading