The politician and the press pass: profiling Spitzer ’81

In his new book “Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer,” which was released on Tuesday, Elkind, a former editor-in-chief of The Daily Princetonian turned Fortune Magazine editor-at-large, profiles Spitzer, the former USG president turned disgraced former governor. The book chronicles Spitzer’s rise to political prominence and reveals new details about the scandal that led to his resignation.

When Spitzer, then governor of New York, stepped down in March 2008 amid news that he had been a client of a high-priced prostitution ring, “I was absolutely as shocked and as flabbergasted as everyone else,” Elkind said.

Having already written a profile and several smaller stories on Spitzer’s time as New York attorney general, Elkind decided several months after Spitzer’s resignation that he wanted to write a book about what was shaping up to be “a great mystery story.”

Elkind began working on an unauthorized book, independent from Spitzer. “I wasn’t telling his story — I was telling the story,” he said.

Yet much of his information came from Spitzer himself, who Elkind described as being “very open” during an interview process that included many meetings over the course of two years.

“His view was that I was certainly going to do the book and he wanted me to have his perspective,” he explained. “I’m glad he trusted me to handle it fairly.”

Though Spitzer agreed to speak with Elkind, offering him more access than other reporters, Elkind said that “it was not an automatic thing.”

“A lot of this was very difficult to talk about, and he wasn’t eager to have it covered in more detail,” Elkind added.

Spitzer declined to comment when reached at his home on Tuesday evening.

Besides the ex-governor, Elkind also spoke with friends, former aides and defendants that Spitzer had pursued as New York attorney general. He also interviewed members of Spitzer’s family, including his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, and sources within the prostitution ring, known as Emperors Club VIP.

“To write about something, you have to understand it yourself,” said Elkind, who had never previously covered “the world of prostitution,” as he put it. Elkind noted that it took time to convince those who understood the culture and business of prostitution to speak with him. He added that he also needed to research the workings of New York state government, which he called “a catastrophe.”

In researching the book, Elkind collaborated with documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, whose parallel project will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 24. The two met when Gibney purchased the rights to another expose by Elkind, “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.” This time, Elkind and Gibney shared information and ideas from the beginning.

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In the book, Elkind reveals details about the arrangements, including how Spitzer paid more than $100,000 over two years to Emperors Club VIP — once paying for the services of three different escorts on the same day. Though Spitzer saw one prostitute more often than others, Elkind characterizes Spitzer’s behavior towards the women as impersonal, and he suggests that Spitzer saw these transactions as less of a betrayal than an affair with another woman would have been. He also writes that both Spitzer and his wife believe that political enemies tipped off federal investigators about incriminating money transfers.

Elkind said his ambition for “Rough Justice” was to shed light on complicated topics like Wall Street, government and the “hearts and souls” of political leaders.

“I hope this tale will offer a window into those worlds,” he said.