Ashley Youmans

Ashley Youmans is the birth name of Ashley Alexandra Dupré. "Before she was known as Kristen, the woman at the center of the prostitution scandal that forced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's resignation, 22-year-old Ashley Alexandra Dupré was simply Ashley Youmans, a small town girl from the New Jersey shore who yearned for her father and struggled with her family's split.

SourceWatch Resources

 * The Emperors Club VIP
 * Kristian Stiles
 * Eliot Spitzer

History of Developments in the Spitzer Resignation Scandal
Eliot Spitzer was the very popular governor of the state of New York until he resigned March 12, 2008, in the midst of the Client 9 prostitution scandal.

The New York Times first reported on March 10, 2008 that Spitzer was "caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation. An affidavit in the federal investigation into a prostitution ring said that a wiretap recording captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a hotel room. The person briefed on the case identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9." 

Later on March 10, 2008, Spitzer gave a brief statement to the press: "Today I want to briefly address a private matter. I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family, and violates my -- or any -- sense of right and wrong. I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better. I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good and doing what’s best for the state of New York.  I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family. I will report back to you in short order." 

The Toronto Star reported, The Emperors Club VIP "rocked the political career of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer (aka Client 9) and tarnished his 'Mr. Clean' image, is a call-girl business that arranged sex between wealthy men and more than 50 prostitutes in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Paris, according to U.S. federal prosecutors. The Brooklyn-based club's website, which went offline after its operators were busted, displays photographs of scantily clad women with their faces hidden.  It also shows hourly rates depending on whether the prostitutes were rated from one diamond to seven diamonds.  ...   The website ranked the prostitutes on a scale of one to seven "diamonds." A three-diamond woman, for example, could command a fee of $1,000 per hour. A seven-diamond woman cost more than $3,000 an hour.  ... The club motto was: 'Every client is an Emperor.'

Kristian Stiles was a political fundraising consultant to Eliot Spitzer. According to the New York Times, she is now being investigated for a possible role in the scandal. The New York Times reported on March 16, 2008, that "Charles E. Clayman, a criminal defense lawyer and a former federal prosecutor, said he was retained by Ms. Stiles’s consulting firm, Stiles Partners, in recent days to represent her and her deputy, Alex James, in connection with the inquiry. ... Before going to work for Mr. Spitzer, Ms. Stiles worked for former Representative Richard A. Gephardt, of Missouri, as a low-level fund-raising official."