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Spitzer Prostitution Ring Has Middle Village Roots 3/13/2008 1:10:00 AM Source: Forum West
Gov. Eliot Spitzer has resigned amid sex scandal with roots in Middle Village
By Conor Greene MIDDLE VILLAGE - The high-end prostitution ring said to be favored by Gov. Eliot Spitzer charged clients thousands of dollars to be with its women, but got its humble start operating out of a three-family house on 60th Road. As the entire state waits to see when Spitzer will resign from his position, public records trace the prostitution ring back to a non-descript house in Middle Village, where the individuals listed as the company's administrative contact rented an apartment. The owner of the house said she suspected it was being used for prostitution, and evicted the tenants after just six months. Emperors Club VIP until this week ran its online operation from the Internet domain address emperorsclubvip.com. According to a search of domain records, the site is registered to Morgan Chang. The company's contact information lists a house on 60th Road in Middle Village, between Eliot Avenue and the Long Island Expressway. Problems After Renting Apartment The owner of the three-family house, Ling Yeng Yeung, said on Tuesday that the third-floor apartment was rented to Morgan Cheng and a woman named Chen Liang Hui until 2002. Yeung said that she immediately began to notice strange activity at the apartment, including various men who would stop by to pick up manila envelopes. One evening, Yeung heard a woman screaming from inside the apartment, and her son was able to peer inside and saw two men standing over Chen Liang Hui and beating her. The landlord also regularly saw Hui standing at the downstairs front door in a nightgown or robe greeting different men. Sometimes they would arrive before Hui could open the door for them and would mistakenly ring the landlord's doorbell. When the landlord questioned Cheng and Hui about the suspicious activity, they said that the men were "friends." Suspected Prostitution Many nights, the pair would leave the apartment at about 5:30 p.m. and return at 3 a.m., with various men accompanying them. This activity went on for about six months before Yeung began to suspect that the apartment was being used for a prostitution ring and asked Cheng and Hui to move out. The pair left Middle Village in February, 2003, telling their landlord they found an apartment in Flushing. A call to Morgan Cheng's listed cellphone revealed that the number has been disconnected. Years later, the ring that apparently has grown from its beginnings in western Queens has now captivated the attention of residents throughout the state. Since news of Spitzer's ties to the ring broke on Monday, media outlets have reported every angle of the story from how the investigation unfolded to details of Spitzer's alleged meeting with a call girl in Washington, D.C the day before Valentine's Day this year. It now appears that what began in the Middle Village apartment as a local, small-time operation grew over the years into a source of sexual pleasure for clients across the globe. Using a diamond system, each girl was priced accordingly to how attractive she is. For example, an hour with a girl ranked as three diamonds costs $1,000, compared with $3,100 for an hour with a seven-diamond girl. On Tuesday, citing an unnamed source, the New York Post revealed that Spitzer has been paying for high-priced prostitutes for at least six years, and possibly for a decade. The sources told the paper that insiders in the city's sex-for-sale industry were not surprised by the revelation that Spitzer is "Client 9" named in court papers. Instead, Spitzer was among "an elite group of powerbrokers and attorneys that regularly paid for dates at top escort agencies," the paper reported. Spitzer, who made his political career by taking powerful groups such as Wall Street financiers, has a history battling prostitution in Queens. In 2003, as Attorney General, he filed a lawsuit against a Bellerose-based travel company accused of arranging tours of Asia for men seeking sex with prostitutes, including some underage women. "The company purports to be a traditional travel agency, but through its actions promotes prostitution and the abuse of young women," Spitzer was quoted as saying at the time about the company, Big Apple Oriental Tours. The company offered trips "for single men" to countries such as Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia, where tour guides would meet clients upon arrival. Spitzer's lawsuit against the company was dismissed in 2006. On Wednesday, Spitzer ended two days of speculation and announced his resignation, citing personal reasons. The announcement, which paves the way for Lt. Gov. David Paterson to take control, marks the first time in nearly a century that a New York governor was forced from office. "I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me," he said, with his wife Silda at his side. "To every New Yorker, and to all those who believed in what I tried to stand for, I sincerely apologize." Over the course of my public life, I have insisted I believe correctly that people regardless of their position or power take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself." |
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