Following Eliot Spitzer's Prostitution Ring Announcement, Here is a Look at Prostitution in My Neighborhood

Today, the New York Times reported that Governor Eliot Spitzer has been linked to a prostitution ring, after a wiretap revealed that he made plans to meet a high-priced prostitute in a hotel in Washington. The wiretap contained a conversation between a man identified as "Client 9", later to be revealed as Gov. Spitzer, and an employee of the Emperor's Club VIP. Governor Spitzer later apologized to his family and the public in a statement to the press.

Prostitution occurs not only in large cities such as New York, but smaller areas such as here in Huntsville, Alabama. I have witnessed firsthand the problems that prostitution can bring to a neighborhood. For several years, I lived in an apartment complex on the West side of town. While the location was close to work and school, and the building itself was well-kept, the surrounding neighborhoods had their share of violence and drug activity. Soon after I first moved in, I noticed this activity had begun to creep into my area.

The first thing that aroused my suspicion was the larger-than-average number of men in and out of the apartment directly above mine. I had met the tenants there, two women, but had not had any extended conversations with them. I soon began to grow irritated at the noise coming through the ceiling -- these people were up at all hours, shouting, arguing and playing music. Sometimes the commotion escalated to the point where the cops were called, either by me, another tenant, or the women themselves.

The event that triggered my investigation into their activities actually occurred on my own doorstep. I had invited my young niece over, and we were sitting on the porch enjoying the cool night air when a man came down the stairs from the second story apartment. "You guys want to buy 75 Ecstasy pills?", he asked. Horrified, I told him no. "How about a DVD player? Or a TV?" Again, I told him no, and then had to explain what Ecstasy was to a seven-year-old.

I immediately reported this incident to the apartment manager, who, along with the complex's security officer, had had her share of run-ins with these women. They had not paid the rent in months, and had caused some considerable damage to the property. I told her and the officer about the late-night visits from many different men, and we came to the same conclusion -- my neighbors were running a prostitution business out of their home.

The manager had been planning on evicting them, but since the process can take several months, I considered moving out immediately. With the fights, criminal activity, and drugs being sold right outside my door, I no longer felt safe in my own home. However, the security officer (who was a member of the police force during the daytime) informed me that if we could actually catch them in the act, they would be thrown out immediately. I told him that I would keep an eye on the building and the parking lot, and watch for suspicious activity.

A few nights after that, I was getting into my car when I witnessed a car approach one of the women. She spoke to the man inside, then went upstairs as he continued to wait in his car. I quickly called security, who arrived just in time to see her accept a handful of money from the man. Both were arrested and charged with drug possession, as they both had cocaine on their person and in the car. Although the woman did not stay in jail as long as I would have liked, the apartment management had just cause to evict her and her roommate.

In my opinion, the problems that prostitution causes for the people of a neighborhood are not only the illegal sex acts themselves, but the crime and drug activity that accompany them. The men that visit prostitutes can be seemingly "upstanding" like Governor Spitzer, but in committing one criminal act, put themselves in the path of others such as breaking and entering, or selling narcotics. Time and again police investigations have seen these things go hand in hand. Perhaps this news story will enlighten the public to the fact that prostitution affects all areas and walks of life.