Hour Two: 'D.C. Madam' Is Dead
NPR
Deborah Jeane Palfrey committed suicide Thursday in Florida, two weeks after being convicted of running a high-end Washington prostitution ring. She had vowed never to go to prison.
https://media.npr.org/chrome/favicon/favicon-180x180.png
NPR
BILL WOLFF: From NPR News in New York, this is the Bryant Park Project.

RACHEL MARTIN, host:

Overlooking historic Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan, live from NPR Studios, this is the Bryant Park Project from NPR News. News, information, the buzz on Buzz. I'm Rachel Martin.

MIKE PESCA, Host:

And I'm Mike Pesca. It's Friday, May 2nd, 2008. So we had booked one of my favorite authors, Buzz Bissinger. We had him booked a couple of days ago, and then it - literally, a couple of days ago - and in the interim this whole thing blew up online with him arguing with another guest of the BPP, Will Leitch.

MARTIN: Yeah, why can't we just be friends? Why are our friends fighting?

PESCA: It's a good argument. I'm glad - I'm happy to join the fight, and Buzz'll talk about it. We - he will do so in language that he did not use on the HBO show...

MARTIN: Which is a - he is a sports writer, correct?

PESCA: He's an esteemed Pulitzer Prize-winning sports writer.

MARTIN: This is about the world of sports writing and it had...

PESCA: and the argument, right, the argument was blogs versus a guy who's won the Pulitzer Prize and, you know, traditional sports writing. But we're also going to talk about the big race tomorrow, which is the Kentucky Derby. So that'll be coming up.

MARTIN: Also on the show today, who is Indiana? That's what we want to know, ahead of the Indiana primary. It happens next Tuesday. North Carolina's also happening, but Indiana is where the race is really tight. The polls are neck-and-neck between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. We're going to get some answers - about who's Indiana? What issues matter there? - from a bona fide Indianan.

PESCA: And black metal. Norway is home to something called "black metal." It is an intense and violent genre of music and it's been documented in a new book of photos and we'll talk to the photographer. We will also get today's headlines in a minute, but first...

(Soundbite of music)

PESCA: The so-called D.C. Madame has died. Police in Florida say Deborah Jeane Palfrey committed suicide yesterday, two weeks after being convicted of running a high-end prostitution ring in Washington, D.C.

MARTIN: Police say Palfrey hanged herself in a shed outside her mother's mobile home in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Her 76-year-old mother, Blanche Palfrey, found the body. Neighbor Toni Crognale heard the initial commotion.

(Soundbite of interview)

Ms. TONI CROGNALE (Resident, Tarpon Springs, Florida): Her mother was going crazy out there screaming and screaming, and then I see a lady trying to console her, you know?

PESCA: The authorities have indicated that they found at least two suicide notes but there was no disclosure of the contents. Palfrey's mother told investigators she had no indication that her daughter was suicidal. Montgomery Blair Sibley, the civil attorney who represented Palfrey, had this to say.

(Soundbite of interview)

Mr. MONTGOMERY BLAIR SIBLEY (Counsel to the Defendant, U.S. v. Palfrey): I am personally devastated by the loss of a very good woman and dear friend, and I just don't feel today that I can comment any further.

MARTIN: Palfrey was convicted April 15th of money laundering and racketeering, in connection with what prosecutors said was a prostitution service that catered to members of Washington's political elite. She was free while she awaited sentencing on July 24th, but avowed to never go to prison.

PESCA: Palfrey contended that her company provided escorts, not prostitutes, and was frequently critical of the prosecution against her, saying pursued the escorts she employed instead of the high-powered Beltway-insiders they served. Here she is making that point a year ago.

(Soundbite of press conference)

Ms. DEBORAH JEANE PALFREY (Founder, Pamela Martin and Associates): I would expect the government, as a matter of fairness and to avoid any hint of selective prosecution, to charge each and every individual with the crimes of money laundering, conspiracy and racketeering.

MARTIN: Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, has acknowledged being involved with Palfrey's escort service and has apologized for what he called a, quote, "a very serious sin."

PESCA: Palfrey's trial concluded without the testimony of Vitter, military strategist, Harlan Ullman or a former State Department official, Randall Tobias, all of whom had been named as possible witnesses.

MARTIN: Meanwhile, Navy Lieutenant Commander Rebecca Dickenson has been placed on leave pending further action, after she testified in Palfrey's trial that she worked as a call girl for the escort service.

PESCA: Another one of Palfrey's former employees, Brandy Britton, committed suicide last January, after being arrested on prostitution charges. Palfrey said last year that she, too, was humiliated by the charge against her, but, quote, "I guess I'm made of something that Brandy Britton wasn't made of." You can go to npr.org through out the day for updates on this story.

Now let's get some more of today's headlines with the BPP's Mark Garrison.

Copyright © 2008 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.