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Faulking Opinions - Mar 12, 2008 - Printable Version
- The Emperor has no clothes…Eliot Spitzer resigns!
by Mark Faulk
Two days ago, Eliot Spitzer, the Emperor of New York, got caught with his pants down, but there’s much more to it than a simple case of sexual indiscretions. Top-rated Emperors' Club VIP model Maya:
The Emperors’ Club VIP’s slogan on their website (www.emperor.com, now defunct), says it all: “Every client is an Emperor”. Two days ago, Eliot Spitzer, the Emperor of New York, was overthrown by his own pompous attitude. Sure, he got caught with his pants down, but there’s much more to it than a simple case of sexual indiscretions. The crusading Attorney General of New York turned Governor was well-known for his self-righteous attitude while working to stamp out corporate corruption during his stint in the AG’s office. He made more enemies than he did friends, and cracked down on prostitution as well.
Except of course the prostitution ring of the rich and powerful. The Emperors’ Club VIP seems to have flourished even while Spitzer was Attorney General, and evolved along with the stature of their clientele.
In early 2005, their website described The Emperors’ Club VIP as “your intimate source for beautiful, sensual and discreet escorts”, and listed their search engine keywords as “adult escort girls strippers models fetishes fetish”. They claimed to cater to “upscale discriminating gentlemen who simply wish to be pampered and transported into a deliciously erotic world of intimate touch”, and their heading listed “adult models, strippers, escorts, girls, erotic stories”. Early incarnations of their website said that their “staff” consisted “predominantly of university students, runway models, actresses and exotic dancers.
One claim that they didn’t live up to was their promise to provide the “best, most exclusive, discreet service in the business”.
By mid-2005, they upgraded their “staff” to include “promotional, print and runway models, dancers, actresses, university students and career women”, and added a couple of other promises they couldn’t keep: “Emperors’ Club provides its customers and associates with full discretion, confidentiality and a legally sound private entertainment.” They also added a sentence that reeks of irony as pictures and videotapes of a devastated Spitzer and his somber wife are being beamed around the world: “Our goal is to make life more peaceful, balanced, beautiful and meaningful.”
Ouch.
In early 2006, their website continued to evolve along with their business. Although they still had their “adult escort girls strippers models fetishes fetish” keywords, they began to refer to their girls as “model companions”, and added that “each model companion is either a University Student or professional of alternate career”. One of their top-rated models of the time was Emilia, whose qualifications included (besides her 34DD-22-34 measurements) “Sexy, sultry, and enticing....Awe strucking, desirable beauty accompanied by sophistication, grace and the exhuberance of youth!”
By the time the FBI began surveillance of Spitzer early this year, The Emperors’ Club VIP had evolved yet again, redefining themselves on their homepage to include a host of other services beyond the 34DD “model companions”:
“Emperors’ Club vip is the most preferred international club for those accustomed to excellence. We offer a convenient variety of services globally. Specializing in deluxe concierge, model introduction, contemporary art and Investment services is our expertise. We act for a select group of educated, refined and successful international clients who give their best in all they do and who, in return, only wish to receive the best. Catering to clients who will not compromise in any area of their life.”
The list of artists who they represented even included the internationally renowned Jeff Koons, whose piece "Hanging Heart" was sold at Sotheby's auction house for $23.6 million, making it the most expensive piece ever auctioned by a living artist.
Their model service had now grown into an “international social introduction service” specializing in “introductions of: fashion models, pageant winners and exquisite students, graduates and women of successful careers (finance, art, media etc…) to gentlemen of exceptional standards”. They also finally updated (and upgraded) their search words to read “adult models elite companion concierge vip travel luxury”.
Among the top-rated models, who now fetched as much as $5,500 an hour, was a Maya, whose resume’ read more like an aspiring pop star than a prostitute for the rich and famous:
“Maya has won multiple international beauty contests as the prestigious Miss Hawaiian Tropic, Miss Top Model, Miss Photogenic and more… She has traveled the world on media tour as a top feature entertainer. In two short years, Maya has ascended from Promotional Model, to Hawaiian Tropics model, to international fame. She has conquered the fashion and entertainment industry while achieving stardom status around the World with her incomparable look and electrifying presence. Maya…a superstar on the infinite rise.”
The latest incarnation of their website closed with yet another ironic summary, one that every high-paid politician and businessman should read with a healthy measure of skepticism:
“Emperors’ Club vip is a positive force, intensely committed to serving our customers honestly. Our goal is to make life more peaceful, balanced, beautiful and meaningful. We honor commitment to our clients as we covet long-term relationships of trust and mutual benefit.”
This was the world of wealth and power that Eliot Spitzer succumbed to. It was not so much his indiscretions that destroyed a career that took decades to build in only a couple of days, it was the elitist attitude that the rich and powerful are exempt from the rulebook that the rest of the world is supposed to live by. Spitzer presented himself as a champion of the common man as Attorney General, but spent more than most people make in a year to hire glorified prostitutes so he could live like, well, like an Emperor. He placed himself on a pedestal above the people who he served, looking down on those around him. In the end, that was his downfall.
And that, as always, is the Faulking Truth.
This is what $5,500 will get you in the world of wealth and power:
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