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Really interesting stuff. One of those involved is a navy officer... surprisingly, as one of the call girls rather than a john.
By the way, Preston Burton should know better than to ask somebody an open-ended question on cross. He stuck his foot in it. Big time.
By the way, Preston Burton should know better than to ask somebody an open-ended question on cross. He stuck his foot in it. Big time.
Navy Officer Says She Was Call Girl for Palfrey in 2004
By Paul Duggan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 10, 2008; 2:22 PM
A Navy officer testified in federal court today that she moonlighted as a call girl for Deborah Jeane Palfrey's escort service in 2004, when the military says she was assigned to the Naval Academy as a supply officer.
Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca C. Dickinson, 38, whom the Navy says has been placed on leave "pending further administrative action" by the military, told a jury in U.S. District Court that she used the name "Renee" while having sex for money with male clients of Palfrey's now-defunct firm, Pamela Martin & Associates.
Dickinson, who joined the Navy as an enlisted sailor in 1986 and was commissioned an officer in 1993, after graduating from Auburn University, was the 13th admitted ex-call girl to testify since Tuesday in the government's case against Palfrey, who is charged with racketeering and money laundering.
Like the other women, she testified that Palfrey sent her to an initial encounter with a client as a test to see how she would perform. She said she met the client at his Howard County home and after some small talk, "we began to have sexual relations."
Palfrey, 52, says she was unaware that the escorts she employed were having sex for money. She contends her business was a "high-end erotic fantasy service" that allowed men to engage in legal, "quasi-sexual" game-playing.
All the women were forced to testify by prosecutors after being granted immunity that prevents them from invoking their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Authorities learned their names from records seized in a search of Palfrey's home in northern California.
A Navy lieutenant commander is equivalent in rank to an Army major. After being commissioned, the Navy said, Dickinson attended the Navy's supply corps school and served on ships and at military installations in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Georgia until she was transferred to Annapolis in September 2004.
Most of the 13 admitted prostitutes' current occupations are unclear. Dickinson, though, was the second ex-call girl whose legitimate professional background has been revealed.
Yesterday, the jury heard testimony from Rhona Reiss, now 63, a former director of education for the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Reiss, now retired from both her former professions, did not explain her illicit career choice. Like the others, she signed a contract with Palfrey pledging to abide by the law -- a document that prosecutors allege was a sham intended to give Palfrey deniability.
Defense lawyer Preston Burton has brought up the contract repeatedly in questioning the government's witnesses, pointing out clause No. 5: "Individuals caught performing illegal activities of any nature will be terminated."
When he raised the issue with Reiss, showing her the document and her signature, she told him, "I didn't sign any agreement saying I wouldn't do anything illegal." In her parsing of the clause, Reiss said, the rule technically did not prohibit illegal activity.
Burton seemed surprised.
"You're an educated woman," he said. "How did you understand it?
She didn't pause.
"Don't get caught."
By Paul Duggan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 10, 2008; 2:22 PM
A Navy officer testified in federal court today that she moonlighted as a call girl for Deborah Jeane Palfrey's escort service in 2004, when the military says she was assigned to the Naval Academy as a supply officer.
Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca C. Dickinson, 38, whom the Navy says has been placed on leave "pending further administrative action" by the military, told a jury in U.S. District Court that she used the name "Renee" while having sex for money with male clients of Palfrey's now-defunct firm, Pamela Martin & Associates.
Dickinson, who joined the Navy as an enlisted sailor in 1986 and was commissioned an officer in 1993, after graduating from Auburn University, was the 13th admitted ex-call girl to testify since Tuesday in the government's case against Palfrey, who is charged with racketeering and money laundering.
Like the other women, she testified that Palfrey sent her to an initial encounter with a client as a test to see how she would perform. She said she met the client at his Howard County home and after some small talk, "we began to have sexual relations."
Palfrey, 52, says she was unaware that the escorts she employed were having sex for money. She contends her business was a "high-end erotic fantasy service" that allowed men to engage in legal, "quasi-sexual" game-playing.
All the women were forced to testify by prosecutors after being granted immunity that prevents them from invoking their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Authorities learned their names from records seized in a search of Palfrey's home in northern California.
A Navy lieutenant commander is equivalent in rank to an Army major. After being commissioned, the Navy said, Dickinson attended the Navy's supply corps school and served on ships and at military installations in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Georgia until she was transferred to Annapolis in September 2004.
Most of the 13 admitted prostitutes' current occupations are unclear. Dickinson, though, was the second ex-call girl whose legitimate professional background has been revealed.
Yesterday, the jury heard testimony from Rhona Reiss, now 63, a former director of education for the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Reiss, now retired from both her former professions, did not explain her illicit career choice. Like the others, she signed a contract with Palfrey pledging to abide by the law -- a document that prosecutors allege was a sham intended to give Palfrey deniability.
Defense lawyer Preston Burton has brought up the contract repeatedly in questioning the government's witnesses, pointing out clause No. 5: "Individuals caught performing illegal activities of any nature will be terminated."
When he raised the issue with Reiss, showing her the document and her signature, she told him, "I didn't sign any agreement saying I wouldn't do anything illegal." In her parsing of the clause, Reiss said, the rule technically did not prohibit illegal activity.
Burton seemed surprised.
"You're an educated woman," he said. "How did you understand it?
She didn't pause.
"Don't get caught."
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