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United States News Title: New York's moment of Shame March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Eliot Spitzer resigned as governor of New York, brought down by allegations that he patronized a ring of high-priced prostitutes. Spitzer, who apologized to all New Yorkers, said his resignation is effective March 17. Lieutenant Governor David Paterson, 53, will become the state's 55th governor, serving out the rest of Spitzer's term, which expires Dec. 31, 2010. Paterson, a Democrat like Spitzer, will be the state's first black governor. ``People regardless of their position or power take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself,'' Spitzer, 48, said today at a Manhattan press conference, accompanied by his wife Silda. ``For this reason, I am resigning.'' The resignation of Spitzer, a former prosecutor who as New York attorney general gained national prominence through high- profile cases against Wall Street securities firms, brings a sudden and humiliating close to a career spent uncovering and prosecuting the failings of others. Cheers erupted from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when traders heard the news. In a separate statement, Paterson said today that he was ``saddened by what we have learned over the past several days.'' `Back to Work' ``It is now time for Albany to get back to work as the people of this state expect from us,'' he added. Spitzer had been governor for less than 15 months. He was elected in 2006 with 69 percent of the vote, the highest plurality ever in a New York gubernatorial race, on a promise to shake up the state's politics. The beginning of the end of his governorship came with a March 10 article on the New York Times Web site reporting that he was caught on a federal wiretap planning to meet a prostitute in Washington after arranging for her to travel from New York. The Times, citing a person familiar with the federal investigation, said Spitzer was the individual identified in a federal affidavit as ``Client 9,'' who federal prosecutors said paid $4,300 to have sex with a prostitute named ``Kristen'' in the Mayflower Hotel. Declining to answer questions, Spitzer, in a dark suit and blue tie, smiled at reporters as he left his Upper East Side apartment this morning with his wife and lawyers Theodore Wells and Michele Hirshman of the law firm Paul Weiss. They headed downtown in a three-car caravan to Spitzer's midtown offices, where he announced his resignation. Packed Room Speaking to a packed room with more than 40 television and still cameras along with about 60 reporters, Spitzer said he has begun to ``atone for my private failings.'' ``The remorse I feel will always be with me,'' he said. ``I look at my time as governor with a sense of what might have been.'' Political consultant Hank Sheinkopf, strategy director in Spitzer's upset election as state attorney general in 1998, said ``this is an extraordinary story -- the supernova of American politics collapsing in 14 months.'' Federal prosecutors on March 6 announced the arrest of four individuals connected to an international prostitution and money- laundering ring called the ``Emperors Club.'' Federal Prosecutors Rebekah Carmichael, a spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia, whose office is prosecuting that case, declined to comment yesterday when asked if Spitzer was under investigation. He hasn't been charged with a crime. Today, Garcia said in a statement that no deal has been reached with Spitzer related to any criminal prosecution. Spitzer's popularity plunged in recent months to among the lowest for a governor in state history. In what tabloids dubbed the ``Troopergate'' scandal, his aides were accused last year of directing state police to compile records on Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's use of state-owned aircraft. Spitzer denied knowledge of the efforts and was never formally accused of wrongdoing. Bruno is now next in line to become governor. He told reporters in Albany this morning that he has ``an excellent relationship'' with Paterson. ``We've talked a number of times in the last couple of days and I indicated to him that we will partner going forward,'' Bruno said. Silver's Response Sheldon Silver, a Democrat and speaker of the New York State Assembly, said today in his own press conference that Spitzer accomplished ``a lot of things'' as governor. He added that Paterson will be ``de facto'' governor until he is sworn in. ``Paterson comes from the legislature. He understands the workings of the legislature,'' Silver said. ``He can hit he ground running on Monday.'' New York Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said Spitzer ``did the right thing'' by stepping aside, and described Paterson as someone who may bring ``people of differing views and backgrounds together.'' In November, Spitzer abandoned a plan to make drivers licenses available to illegal immigrants after the proposal drew criticism from lawmakers and political commentators. ``When he came in with that landslide election there was certainly talk that he would be our first Jewish president,'' said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in Hamden, Connecticut, which tracked Spitzer's slide. ``He had a golden future.'' Paterson, a former state lawmaker, may be more successful than Spitzer in negotiating a budget with the legislature, Sheinkopf said. The April 1 deadline for approving a new state budget still finds the state Senate, Assembly and executive branch divided. The Spitzer administration forecast a $4.4 billion deficit last month, with a poor economic outlook reducing the prospects for state revenue. `Collegial Environment' ``He's able to talk to people. You'll see a much more collegial environment,'' Sheinkopf said of Paterson in a March 11 interview with Bloomberg radio. ``We know he's a man who gets along with both sides of the aisle. There will be less screaming and yelling, more concentrated effort.'' Paterson, first elected to the state Senate in 1985, is the son of Basil Paterson, a pioneering African-American political leader in New York City who helped forge a Harlem-based political organization that elected former Mayor David Dinkins, former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton and U.S. Representative Charles Rangel. ``He's highly intelligent, laid back and a humble guy,'' former New York City Mayor Ed Koch said of David Paterson, whose father served as a deputy mayor in Koch's administration. Hailed the Elevation ``The government is in good hands,'' said New York Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, a Democrat. Smith succeeded Paterson, a former senator from Manhattan, as minority leader. Rev. Jesse Jackson hailed the elevation of Paterson to the office of governor of New York. ``Coming out of this tragedy is some good news,'' Jackson said of Paterson's new job in a statement. ``He is a man of great character and has outstanding legislative and public service credentials. As he announced his resignation, Spitzer quoted a biblical passage from the Book of Luke used by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address. ``From those to whom much is given, much is expected. I have been given much: the love of my family, the faith and trust of the people of New York and the chance to lead this state,'' Spitzer said. ``I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me.''
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