Manhattan madam released from jail
A suburban mother of four, rumoured to be moonlighting as a multimillion-dollar madam, was released from jail on Tuesday after she was sentenced to time served on a guilty plea in the sensational case.
Anna Gristina was sentenced to six months in jail and five years of probation after pleading guilty to promoting prostitution as part of a deal in September. The story made headlines when prosecutors said the 45-year-old Gristina boasted of having a roster of wealthy, well-placed clients and law enforcement connections during 15 years in the business. After an investigation, it became clear she was simply running a brothel and profiting from it.
“We are left with a straightforward promoting prostitution case – a defendant who ran a brothel for many years and who profited from the sex trade. That is all,” Assistant District Attorney Charles Linehan said during the plea.
Gristina initially claimed to be merely running a dating service. But the native of Scotland pleaded guilty to a single count of promoting prostitution, stemming from a tryst in July last year that authorities say she arranged involving two women and an undercover officer posing as a client.
Manhattan district attorney spokeswoman Erin Duggan said Gristina had no one to blame but herself.
“There is nothing glamorous about prostitution. Anna Gristina rented women’s bodies for profit, which makes her a pimp. That also makes her a felon, and the court has now issued that judgment,” she said.
Despite the guilty plea, Gristina publicly claimed that she never crossed the line, and instead blamed others charged in the case for turning on her.
Gristina, who plans to write a tell-all book, could be deported. Defence lawyer Norman Pattis said he’d fight any attempt to remove her from the country.
