NYC- A woman was arrested Tuesday afternoon and accused of running a large prostitution ring on the East Side, the police said.

The woman, Kristen Davis, 32, [no relation to the actress of the same name] operated four Web sites and had her employees, who charged up to $1,200 an hour, meet clients in apartments she kept in the neighborhood, law enforcement officials said.

The police said they were looking to arrest about 15 prostitutes who worked for Ms. Davis. Investigators seized $19,000 cash from Ms. Davis’s apartment and froze $500,000 in bank accounts linked to her, the police said.

She was arrested at her apartment, at 235 East 40th Street, and charged with money laundering and promoting prostitution, said Detective Cheryl Crispin.

The women who worked for Ms. Davis would meet clients at apartments at 229 East 53rd Street and at 533 Third Avenue near East 36th Street, the police said.

A longtime resident of 533 Third Avenue who would not give her name said she had noticed a brisk lunchtime traffic of men in suits and pretty women in their 20s taking the elevator up to the sixth floor. At first, said the woman, a 69-year-old retired typesetter, she thought the women might be doing freelance secretarial work, but after a while she grew suspicious.

“When you live in a building, you know who belongs here and who doesn’t,” she said. “The business people in this building don’t come home for lunch.”

Ms. Davis’s lawyer, Mark Jay Heller, said his client had worked in the hedge fund industry and had no previous arrests. He added that she had filed tax returns every year since turning 18, held a bachelor’s degree and had 30 credits toward a master’s in psychology.

Mr. Heller previously represented David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam” killer, and Jeb Corliss, who was arrested in 2006 for trying to parachute off the Empire State Building.

Al Baker, Colin Moynihan and Mathew R. Warren contributed reporting.

More from WABC: NEW YORK, NY — Another high-price prostitution ring has been taken down. Now a “black book” that may contain a list of high profile names is in the hands of authorities.

Alleged madam, 32-year-old Kristen Davis was arrested at her home yesterday.

She’s accused of renting out apartments for paid sexual encounters, including 233 East 53rd Street, 533 Third Avenue, and 136 Williams Street in Lower Manhattan, and maintained four provocative web sites.
Eyewitness News reporter Jamie Roth has more from outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

The alleged madam will be arraigned Wednesday afternoon. Her attorney says her arrest is merely the end result of rumors following Eliot Spitzer’s fall from grace.

Davis was indicted and arrested for money laundering and promoting prostitution. Her attorney Mark Jay Heller defended her outside the courthouse where she’ll face a judge later today.

“My client indicated that there were rumors that she was in fact Eliot Spitzer’s Madame Butterfly and that it was rumored that she had the largest black book in America,” Attorney, Mark Jay Heller said. “And she believes that as a result of those rumors s about client 9 that she was arrested.”

Attorney Heller says Davis earned a legitimate income working in the financial world, in the back offices of Hedge funds. She has a college degree, 30 credits towards a master’s degree in psychology, and pays her taxes.

The legal trouble has come because of the rumors regarding Spitzer and the Emperors club VIP prostitution ring

“A lot of these people are desperate to make deals and exonerate themselves,” attorney Heller said. “This possibly led to my client’s arrest.”

In front of the apartment building where Kristin Davis allegedly set up her call girls’ trysts, some who pass by daily say they had suspicions.
“That would probably explain. There were a lot of sketchy characters around here,” a man said. “We were always wondering why.”

“It seems to be a lot of that going around,” Jan Pandey from Queens said. “I don’t think that’s right thing in a residential building.”
Police say Kristen Davis lives in a luxury high rise on East 40th Street and she pays the sort of rent that goes with call girls charging