Judge rules Spitzer documents be unsealed

Thursday's ruling was a result of a request by The New York Times to unseal documents that outlined the prosecutors' probable cause for wiretapping two cellphones belonging to the prostitution ring.

Judge Jed Rakoff ruled on Thursday that the public's right to know about an investigation that led to the resignation of the governor outweighed any privacy concerns, especially since the names of other clients were to be redacted.

The materials to be unsealed were affidavits and other documents that prosecutors filed in support of their request to wiretap. They must be released by Tuesday, the judge said.

They do not include transcripts or recordings of any conversations, said David McCraw, a lawyer for The Times. The newspaper had asked for everything in the file and was told the wiretaps did not produce any material that warranted going in the file, McCraw said.

Spitzer was forced to resign last March shortly after The Times reported he was a client of the prostitution ring under investigation.

The resignation of the Democratic governor rocked Washington and Wall Street, where Spitzer had created enemies through his aggressive investigation of fraud cases in his previous post as attorney general of the state.

Spitzer was never charged with a crime. Four organizers of the ring were charged and pleaded guilty, putting an end to the criminal case.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by David Storey)