Feds Won't Charge Spitzer With Crime

Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York, won't be charged with a federal crime for being a client of a prostitution ring, the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said Thursday.

Revelations in March that Spitzer had paid for a prostitute to travel to Washington, D.C., the previous month led to his resignation from office.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney said Spitzer "has acknowledged to this Office that he was a client of, and made payments to, the Emperors Club VIP. Our investigation has shown that on multiple occasions, Mr. Spitzer arranged for women to travel from one state to another state to engage in prostitution. After a thorough investigation, this Office has uncovered no evidence of misuse of public or campaign funds."

The statement also said "the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter."

Spitzer's pursuit of investment banks and other financial firms earned him the nickname "the Sheriff of Wall Street" and made him highly unpopular among executives while he was the state's attorney general. His targets included Richard Grasso, the former CEO of the predecessor to NYSE Euronext (NYX Quote), former American International Group (AIG Quote) chief Maurice Greenberg and Sandy Weill, the ex-leader of Citigroup (C Quote).