NY- Federal investigators may be close to getting another key witness in the case of ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the Emperors Club VIP, according to court records and an attorney familiar with the investigation.
Cecil Suwal, 23, was arrested earlier this month with three other people in connection with the suspected Internet prostitution operation and on March 18 was granted bail by a Manhattan federal magistrate-judge. She was charged with conspiracy, transporting women over state lines for sex and money laundering.
Suwal, of Cliffside Park, N.J., was released after signing a $500,000 personal bond, secured by $50,000 cash and given until April 8 to fulfill all conditions of the bond, including that she have three co-signers, court records show. The three-week period was seen by one defense lawyer familiar with the criminal case as generous and a sign that she was about to cooperate with investigators.
The lawyer, who didn’t want to be identified, noted that Suwal’s associate and roommate Mark Brener, 62, has been held without bail since his March 6 arrest. Investigators said $600,000 cash was found in their apartment.
Two other women accused of playing lesser roles in the Emperors Club operation were released on $250,000 personal recognizance bonds that didn’t require cash security.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office wouldn’t comment on whether Suwal was cooperating. Her defense attorney, Alberto Ebanks, didn’t return telephone messages and e-mails seeking comment Friday about Suwal’s status.
“I would think all of them are on the verge of cooperating,” said another lawyer familiar with the investigation.
If Suwal cooperates she could be a crucial source of information about the case and whatever Spitzer’s dealings with Emperors may have been. When she was arrested on March 7, federal officials said Suwal was the day-to-day organizer of the call-girl provider’s operations and controlled its bank accounts. She also handled bookings and interviewed prospective prostitutes, according to investigators.
The original federal criminal complaint said that in February Suwal monitored whether money for prostitution services sent by “Client 9,” later identified as Spitzer, arrived in time for him to have a liaison with a call girl in Washington. One wiretap conversation indicated that it was both Suwal and Brener who said they had received Spitzer’s money, thus allowing him to have his date on Feb. 13 with the woman later identified as Ashley Dupré, court records show.
Dupré is cooperating with the investigation, according to a number of defense attorneys. Her lawyer said he didn’t expect her to be charged. Prosecutors have until April 8 to file an indictment against Brener, Suwal and the other two defendants.