Deborah Jeane Palfrey
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Deborah Jeane Palfrey (born 1956) is the former owner of Pamela Martin and Associates, which the United States government alleges was a prostitution service in Washington, D.C. She has been charged with operating a house of prostitution.[1] She has been nicknamed the D.C. Madam. It has been alleged that her clients include many Beltway personalities, and State Department official Randall L. Tobias resigned after admitting he used the agency. She now lives in Escondido, California.
Palfrey was born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, but grew up partially in Orlando, Florida. Her father was a grocer. She graduated from Rollins College with a degree in criminal justice, and attended Thomas Jefferson School of Law but did not graduate.[1] Working as a paralegal in San Diego, California, she became involved in the escort business, and dismayed at how most services were run, including widespread drug abuse, she started her own company.[1]
D.C. Madam scandal
Palfrey will appear on ABC's 20/20 as part of an upcoming investigative report. [2] In combination with Palfrey's statement that she has 10,000 to 15,000 phone numbers of clients, this has caused several client's lawyers to contact Palfrey to see whether accommodations could be made to keep their identities private. [3]
Prior legal problems
She has had prior legal problems, including a restraining order from a former boyfriend in 1989, and a 1990 arrest for prostitution. After absconding to Montana, she was brought back for trial and spent 18 months in prison.[1] After her release, despite a promise to enter another line of work, she founded Pamela Martin and Associates. The service openly recruited using The Diamondback, a student newspaper independent of the University of Maryland, and the Washington City Paper. According to court papers, her escorts charged as much as $300 per hour, and many have professional careers in addition. Palfrey continued to reside in California, and may have cleared some $2 million over 13 years in operation.[1]
In October 2006, federal agents raided Palfrey's home after a two-year investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service.[4] Agents froze bank accounts worth over $500,000, and seized papers relating to money laundering and prostitution charges.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e "'I Abhor Injustice,' Alleged Madam Says". The Washington Post. April 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
- ^ ""D.C. Madam" Speaks with ABC News". ABC News' The Blotter. 2007-04-29.
- ^ "Focus of D.C. sex scandal remains a mystery". The Register-Guard. 2007-04-29.
- ^ a b "New D.C. Sex Scandal Looming? Feds target escort service in money launder, prostitution probe". The Smoking Gun. October 9, 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-29.