潇洒人生路

SHE left a broken home in New Jersey at 17 and went to New York City to work the nightclubs as a rhythm-and-blues singer. Now, at 22, she is the unwitting, and as yet unseen, star of the seamy drama that is the downfall of Governor Eliot Spitzer.

"Kristen", the high-priced prostitute described in a federal affidavit as having had a February 13 rendezvous with Mr Spitzer at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, has spent the past few days in her ninth-floor rental apartment in Manhattan's Flatiron district. On Monday, she made a brief appearance in federal court as a witness in the case against four people charged with operating the prostitution ring Emperors' Club VIP.

If a customer had the money, Emperors' Club VIP had the women. For the right price, the New York escort service flew prostitutes to Beverly Hills and London, Miami and Paris. A trip to Europe could cost more than $US25,000 ($A27,000). An hour could run to $US5500.

The business had a colourful cast of characters: leggy models with names like Raquel, Chrissy and Maya; a booking agent who graduated from an elite New Jersey prep school; an owner with a background in financial consulting; and wealthy customers such as the governor of New York.

The 55-page affidavit detailing the FBI's investigation of 5000 Emperors' Club telephone calls and 6000 emails makes the business sometimes sound less like a sophisticated sex ring than an overstressed start-up.

One of the "liaison" staff, who had spent more than three years co-ordinating prostitution appointments across the globe, complained to her boss that the job often kept her on the phone solving problems until after 11pm. There were rookie hookers who expected $5000 an hour, mothers who left clients early to fetch their children, high-priced call girls who were clueless about how to imprint a credit card.

Bargain prostitutes started at $1000 an hour. Seven-diamond women cost $3100 an hour. In recruiting employees, the Emperors' Club also dangled the possibility that women could become an "icon" — an elite prostitute available to the most loyal clients for a minimum of $5500 an hour.

In a series of telephone interviews, "Kristen", the hooker at the centre of attention, said she had slept little in the past week due to the stress from the case. "I just don't want to be thought of as a monster," she said as she told her story.

Born Ashley Youmans but now known as Ashley Alexandra Dupre, she added: "This has been a very difficult time. It is complicated."

She has not been charged. The lawyer appointed to represent her, Don Buchwald, told a magistrate on Monday that Ms Dupre had been subpoenaed to testify in a grand jury investigation. Asked to swear that she had accurately filled out and signed a court financial affidavit, she said "yes" twice.

A person with knowledge of the Emperors' Club operation confirmed that the woman interviewed by The New York Times was the woman identified as Kristen in the affidavit.

In the affidavit, the woman known as Kristen is described as "an American, petite, very pretty brunette, five feet five inches (165 centimetres), and 105 pounds (48 kilograms)." She apparently was booked at about $1000 an hour, placing her in the middle of the club's seven-diamond scale.

Mr Buchwald confirmed various details of Ms Dupre's background but would not discuss the contents of the affidavit.

The Emperors' Club turned over millions of dollars in the past four years by supplying call girls to an untold number of wealthy clients, prosecutors said. Mr Spitzer, 48, marked a stunning fall from grace by announcing he would resign, effective on Monday. Other high-profile names may follow.

Ms Dupre did not say when she had started working for the Emperors' Club, or how often she had liaisons arranged.

On her MySpace page, Ms Dupre described her "odyssey to New York from New Jersey through North Carolina, Miami, DC, Virginia and Austin, Texas". She owns a company called Pasche New York, which her lawyer said was a business designed to further her singing career.

"I am all about my music and my music is all about me. It flows from what I've been through, what I've seen and how I feel," she writes on MySpace.

She left "a broken family" at age 17, having been abused, according to the MySpace page, and has used drugs, "been broke and homeless".

"But I made it," she continues. "I'm still here, and I love who I am. If I never went through the hard times, I would not be able to appreciate the good ones. Cliche, yes, but I know it's true."

Ms Dupre's mother, Carolyn Capalbo, said that she had attended high school in Belmar until her sophomore year, when she moved to North Carolina.

"She was a young kid with typical teenage rebellion issues, but we are extremely close now," she said.

Born Ashley Youmans but now known as Ashley Alexandra Dupre, she added: "This has been a very difficult time. It is complicated."

She has not been charged. The lawyer appointed to represent her, Don Buchwald, told a magistrate on Monday that Ms Dupre had been subpoenaed to testify in a grand jury investigation. Asked to swear that she had accurately filled out and signed a court financial affidavit, she said "yes" twice.

A person with knowledge of the Emperors' Club operation confirmed that the woman interviewed by The New York Times was the woman identified as Kristen in the affidavit.

In the affidavit, the woman known as Kristen is described as "an American, petite, very pretty brunette, five feet five inches (165 centimetres), and 105 pounds (48 kilograms)." She apparently was booked at about $1000 an hour, placing her in the middle of the club's seven-diamond scale.

Mr Buchwald confirmed various details of Ms Dupre's background but would not discuss the contents of the affidavit.

The Emperors' Club turned over millions of dollars in the past four years by supplying call girls to an untold number of wealthy clients, prosecutors said. Mr Spitzer, 48, marked a stunning fall from grace by announcing he would resign, effective on Monday. Other high-profile names may follow.

Ms Dupre did not say when she had started working for the Emperors' Club, or how often she had liaisons arranged.

On her MySpace page, Ms Dupre described her "odyssey to New York from New Jersey through North Carolina, Miami, DC, Virginia and Austin, Texas". She owns a company called Pasche New York, which her lawyer said was a business designed to further her singing career.

"I am all about my music and my music is all about me. It flows from what I've been through, what I've seen and how I feel," she writes on MySpace.

She left "a broken family" at age 17, having been abused, according to the MySpace page, and has used drugs, "been broke and homeless".

"But I made it," she continues. "I'm still here, and I love who I am. If I never went through the hard times, I would not be able to appreciate the good ones. Cliche, yes, but I know it's true."

Ms Dupre's mother, Carolyn Capalbo, said that she had attended high school in Belmar until her sophomore year, when she moved to North Carolina.

"She was a young kid with typical teenage rebellion issues, but we are extremely close now," she said.

NEW YORK TIMES, AP, WASHINGTON POST