N.Y. Governor Apologizes After Link to Prostitution Ring

Originally posted Monday March 10, 2008 03:30 PM EDT

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer spoke out Monday afternoon after a shocking New York Times story reported that he's been linked to a prostitution ring.

Neither admitting guilt nor saying he would resign – or remain in office – Spitzer said: "I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family ... I apologize first, most importantly, to my family, I apologize to the public," said Spitzer, with his wife, Silda, standing at his side.

"I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family," he also said, adding he would not be taking any questions.

He did not state whether he would step down as governor, but said he would be "reporting back in short order" on what he intended to do.

The Times, citing an administration official, reported that Spitzer informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, as was determined by a wiretap recording in a Washington, D.C., hotel room. The governor, in turn, had been told of his implication last Friday.

CNN, citing the Associated Press, said that in court papers Spitzer was identified as a client of the ring, which is being described as upscale and expensive. CNN quoted a price of $3,000 an hour.

Spitzer, 48, has been married since 1987 to Silda Wall. They have three children: Alyssa, 18, Sarabeth, 15, and Jenna, 13.

Spitzer graduated Princeton University and Harvard Law School, became a federal law clerk and an assistant district attorney in Manhattan before entering private practice. He was elected attorney general in 1998 after a campaign financed by his family's real-estate fortune.

Elected Democratic governor in 2006, he entered office as New York's 58th chief executive, promising sweeping ethics reforms.