NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man who led a prostitution ring whose clients included former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer pleaded guilty on Thursday but said he had not agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in future cases.
Mark Brener, 62, was one of four people charged withrunning the Emperors Club VIP and has been held behind barssince his arrest in March.
Appearing before U.S. District Judge John Sprizzo in abrown T-shirt under a navy blue prison jumpsuit, Brener pleadedguilty to conspiracy to commit prostitution offences and moneylaundering at a hearing at Manhattan federal court.
It was unclear how the plea could affect any case thegovernment might be building against Spitzer.
Spitzer, who as state attorney general championedanti-prostitution legislation and cracked down on financialcrimes, resigned as governor in March after The New York Timesreported he had patronized a $1,000-an-hour prostitute.
Prostitution is illegal in most U.S. states, but clientsare rarely prosecuted.
But because Spitzer allegedly paid for the prostitute totravel to Washington from New York, he may have violated theMann Act that bans interstate transport to engage inprostitution.
"To my knowledge my client had no contact with Spitzer,"Brener's lawyer, Murray Richman, told reporters outside thecourtroom. "My client is not involved in any way with thatinvestigation, nor was he asked to participate."
Lawyers for both sides said they had agreed to a sentenceof 24 to 30 months. If the case had gone to trial and he hadbeen convicted, Brener -- a U.S. citizen born in Poland --would have faced up to 25 years in prison.
"I knew that my involvement with that business was wrongand illegal," Brener said.
He is expected to be released on $250,000 bail and will besentenced on September 16.
(Reporting by Edith Honan and Emily Chasan; Editing byMichelle Nichols and Xavier Briand)
