From the wire:
Alleged “D.C. Madam” Deborah Jeane Palfrey has given an exclusive interview to ABC News.
ABC News investigative correspondent Brian Ross recently interviewed Palfrey, who for over a decade operated what she terms an “erotic fantasy service” in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, for an upcoming report on “20/20.”
Last October, federal prosecutors charged Palfrey with racketeering offenses in connection with the business, which she contends was a legal operation. From 1993 to August 2006, Palfrey ran a high-end escort service in the nation’s capital, charging a flat fee for 90-minute “dates” with women between the ages of 23 and 55 whom she termed independent contractors.
The women signed contracts agreeing not to engage in illegal activity, including having sex for money, Palfrey says, and were given guidelines on the difference between legal and illegal sexual behavior. At least one woman, Dr. Paula Neble, is known to have told federal prosecutors that she had sex for money while working for Palfrey. Palfrey is suing her for breach of contract.
Palfrey has claimed that her service’s clients were “upscale” and “came from the more refined walks of life.” In March, she made headlines by briefly offering to sell the phone records of her company, Pamela Martin and Associates, to the highest bidder. She withdrew the offer after a federal judge ruled the government could confiscate any proceeds. Shortly thereafter, Palfrey consented to be interviewed by ABC.
The network did not compensate Palfrey in any way for her interview or cooperation with Ross’ 20/20 report. “There was no consideration given or promised for Jean’s cooperation with the story,” said lawyer Montgomery Blair Sibley, who represents Palfrey in her effort to reclaim money and property seized by the government.
Palfrey recently dismissed the federal public defender representing her in the criminal case against her. She has asked the government to return $500,000 in her assets so she can pay for a new criminal lawyer; given that the government has unlimited resources with which to prosecute her, she has reasoned, the amount would be “fair play and due process.”
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