I would say that you should be fine, assuming you do not have a government job or work for a high profile company... chances are that even with the list given out by the madam, only the juicy morsels will fall prey to the media.
And, just realize as you have in you post, there are no guarantees.
Another dumb question from a newbie -- I'm getting ready to take the plunge and see a provider for the first time (yikes!).
Since I don't have any references, I guess I'll have to provide some of my background information so that my identity can be verified. Should I be concerned that the information will indeed be keep confidential? All the identity-verification and provider sites say that it will be destroyed or kept in the strictest confidence.
However, there's been the recent story of a madam operating near Washington DC (where I live) who is going to trial soon, and she has been threatening to release names (I think she already released one name already).
I realize there are no guarantees in life. And I guess she's just one in a million who violated the trust, and that the great majority of providers would in fact keep the identity of their clients in confidence.
Anyway, I'd be intersted in hearing some thoughts on this.
TIA
"There are no guarantees in life."
For this reason, I tend to shy away from the agencies and stick with independents. For one thing, LE is less interested in picking off a single provider when they can shut down a whole gaggle of providers by busting an agency. It sounds better in the press as well.
So here is what I wrote about it on my blog, TabuToday!
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Don't call me Madam! (or, Paranoia Abounds!)
Yesterday I saw one of my regular, mild-mannered fetish clients. All was great until after our session, when he rather nervously asked me if Iwould "remove all traces" of him from my email, cellphone, paper calendar and Rosetta Stone, and never contact him again.
I was a bit stunned and when I asked where this sudden directive came from, he cited the "DC Madam," who was arrested recently for running a high-profile,15-girl prostitution ring for a total of 13 years. The madam in question briefly floated the idea of selling her "43 lbs" of detailed client records (!) to the highest bidder. A federal judge quickly derailed the idea.
My nervous client, neither well-known nor likely to be, envisioned himself the unhappy recipient of media glare if I was ever taken away in cuffs.
Let me tell you what I told him (after assuring him that his very existence would be forever eradicated from my consciousness.)
Women who run large-scale prostitution rings with celebrities and elected officials as clients naturally attract attention from law enforcement and the IRS. Millions of dollars of undeclared income... famous names... and a revolving door of indiscreet "employees" create a target worthy of pursuit and prosecution.
On the other hand.... low-key, tax-paying, individual providers operating out of a single discreet location- no fanfare, no employees, no racketeering-- simply aren't worth the government's attention, time or money.
The DC Madam is facing a host of serious charges which range from pandering to tax evasion, money laundering and more. She's in deep shit.
I, however, am no Madam. And if, to my misfortune, a local vice cop slips through my screening someday and takes me downtown, I'll pay my misdemeanor fine and go home. It won't be fun, but it certainly won't be front page news.
With rising gas prices, hurricane season and new episodes of America's Next Top Model on the horizon, we all have much weightier issues to worry about. So let's get on with the show.
I think many of the other ladies here would agree that the confidentiality of our gentlemen friends are of utmost importance to us!!!
I only want to keep the confiedence of the gentlemen that I see, so I insure all the points of our encounter are discreet and private.
You're right to worry about your privacy. I went to one agency who needed a legit number [home or work] for verification. I hesitated to give it to them but did so anyway. I guess they want to make sure you're not LE. So far so good.
Keep in mind that the names the DC madam is threatening to release must be high-profile figures or nobody would care.
.com just posted the resignation of a State Department Official who was a client. The fallout begins.
I find this ironic coming from an administration that openly promotes "Abstinence Only" sex education!
I would say that you should be fine, assuming you do not have a government job or work for a high profile company... chances are that even with the list given out by the madam, only the juicy morsels will fall prey to the media.
And, just realize as you have in you post, there are no guarantees.
Of course there are no guarentees, even if an agency or indy is busted there is very little they can do with a cleint list. I would be more concerned that the lady is well reviewed and not going to be calling your house or work later.
According to cnn.com, her clients might include a "Bush administration economist, the head of a conservative think tank, a prominent CEO, several lobbyists and a handful of military officials." She's either expecting the prosecution to back off or for one or more of these people to save her ass.
I'm conflicted. I'm not for hobbyists being outed, but at the same time, these people are hypocrites who preach one thing in public and do another in private.
In one important sense it's not the same as one of us being outed, since we don't make policies that impact people's lives. Nor do we promote a conservative and repressive culture that attempts to restrict sexuality, while indulging in all kinds of illicit sex ourselves.