Deborah Jeane Palfrey, nicknamed the "D.C. Madam" for her operation of a high-end prostitution ring thinly disguised as an escort service, has reportedly committed suicide. WTVT/13 reports that Palfrey's body was found at her mother's residence in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Palfrey had recently been convicted on federal charges including money laundering and racketeering but was not charged directly with the operation of the prostitution ring itself. While many of the college-educated female "employees" of the operation had their identities revealed, few of the male clients' identities were made public.
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What's left in the wake of this tragedy is just the sense that so many people wasted their collective intelligence and time in this affair, Palfrey in organizing the ring, the young women for being employed in it, the male clients in its usage, the federal prosecutors for pursuing over the top charges and the gossip writers in over the top scandal mongering.
We will all pause today to reflect on this tragedy. And tomorrow or perhaps the day after that, we will start the same pattern over again with new players in a new game. We will have learned nothing.
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Relevant links: WTVT/13, Washington Post
