A Binghamton University graduate, who was arrested last March in connection with the prostitution ring former Governor Eliot Spitzer frequented, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to conspiracy charges.
Tanya Hollander, 36, pleaded guilty to working with the Emperor’s Club VIP from May of 2007 until March of 2008. Specifically, Hollander’s activities included taking phone calls from patrons and consequently booking appointments with the prostitutes, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia’s office.
University spokeswoman Gail Glover said that a woman with the same name graduated from BU in 1994. According to Hollander’s profile on B-Connected, the school’s online alumni community, she graduated from Binghamton with a bachelor’s degree in General English and Rhetoric.
She is also listed as living in Rhinebeck, and there is no information about former employers. The profile was last updated in June.
According to reports from The New York Times, which confirm that Hollander lives in Rhinebeck, she is a holistic health counselor.
Hollander’s lawyer, Michael C. Farkas, declined to comment to Pipe Dream, but told the Times that his client was a “warm, laid back person.”
“Although she knew it was wrong, she probably did not appreciate at the time how serious engaging in this type of enterprise was,” he said.
Farkas also said that Hollander extended her help, but prosecutors turned it down because they did not find it appropriate to offer a “cooperation agreement.”
Press officer Yusill Scribner said that Garcia’s office had no comment.
Hollander could face up to five years in prison, the press release states, and is currently awaiting sentencing.