THE FOLLOWING, FYI, IS AN EXCERPT OF AN ARTICLE APPEARING IN THE N.Y. DAILY NEWS OF 6/13/12 ON PAGE 4, COLS. 1-3 WITH THE NAMES DELETED IN COMPLIANCE WITH TER RULES & GUIDELINES
Soccer Mom Madam claims prosecutors tried to make her confirm names of influential clients
Madam claims authorities grilled her over prominent banker, lawyer and financier
BY JANON FISHER / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Prosecutors tried to muscle Soccer Mom Madam into opening up her little black book in order to confirm the names of some of her influential clients, including a member of a prominent political family in Manhattan, a bombshell affidavit claims.
She alleges in court papers filed Tuesday that when investigators from the Manhattan district attorney’s office first picked her up, they took her to a SoHo interrogation room and hammered her over what she knew about the political player.
They also grilled her about a “prominent international banker,” “a prominent New York lawyer” and “a wealthy financier with interests in real estate and professional sports,” then jailed her on $1 million bail when she refused to talk, the affidavit says.The filing doesn’t identify the alleged johns by name.A source said that the one with political pull is not an elected official or a candidate, but “someone who could swing an important bloc of votes in the next mayoral election.”Her statement was filed along with a motion by her legal team trying to get a judge to toss the case, claiming “egregious prosecutorial misconduct.” Her lawyer Norman Pattis charges that the Manhattan DA’s office has “vindictively prosecuted” Gristina for refusing to name names.
The filing came on the same day a state appellate court ruled that the judge in the case had abused his authority.The appellate court ordered that her bail be dropped to $125,000.
That means if she proves her bail money comes from legal means, she could be free by the end of the week. Her former lawyer has promised to put up his Tribeca apartment if the family cannot raise the money.
The motion to dismiss also showed her plans to play hardball. The alleged madam promises to cough up the names voluntarily, if she doesn’t get her way.“Although she recalls the names of all five men, the names of four of these individuals have not yet surfaced in reporting on this case or in other documents,” . “She defers publication of these names until such time as there is a hearing on the merits of her claim.”
Her accountant, who had been acting as a confidential informant in the case and has already been outed, was charged with promoting prostitution.
In her statement, she admits for the first time that she set up a liaison between two women and an undercover detective, but only the ladies fooled around.
“The officer and two women met for what amounted to a live peep show for which the officer paid some $2,000; the officer left before his performance was required,” as stated in the motion.
She also recounts how she thought she was being jumped on the street on Feb. 22, when prosecutors first grabbed her.“I feared I was being abducted and screamed for help, asking a passerby to call 911,” she said in her statement.She claims that prosecutors denied her requests for a lawyer, then took her to a government building on Wooster St. where they pumped her for information.When she refused to cooperate, she was arrested and given a warning, she said.
“If you get in touch with any of these names, then all bets are off. We’ll see in a few weeks if you are willing to cooperate with us,” a female prosecutor told her, she alleges in the papers.
With Denis Hamill
[email protected]
-- Modified on 6/13/2012 8:08:42 PM
