Anna Gristina, Madam of Manhattan, Boasts of Informants
Anna Gristina, known as the "Manhattan madam," has been caught boasting about the informants that helped her make millions while managing a brothel in New York City for nearly 15 years.
The soccer-mom-turned-madam secretly recorded conversations with insider informants who were members of several law enforcement agencies.
Gristina even bragged about her sources within the NYPD, the DEA, the FBI, and ICE, according to The New York Daily News.
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One phone call also revealed Gristina's sources inside the Manhattan district attorney's office.
In one of the conversations obtained by NY News, Gristina discussed a 2008 event that sent her fleeing the city as well as the country.
"My guy in the FBI called my partner in my land development business and said, 'You better tell your Scottish friend it's time to leave the country. And for quite awhile,'" Gristina recalled during the phone conversation. "I had 15 minutes to pack my bags and grab my dog and get out of town."
The 44-year-old madam was arrested last month after a 5-year investigation which accused her of running a multimillion-dollar brothel from a Manhattan apartment in the Upper East Side.
In Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday, Gristina denied that she had been involved in any illegal activities.
Former employees and high-ranking former clients of Gristina's are also under investigation. Additionally, David Walker, an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, spoke in court Wednesday denying providing Gristini with financial backing.
"I'm surprised at having to answer these questions," said Walker when reporters asked about Gristina participating in illegal activities. "She was the mom next door."
The Scotland native told her friends at home that she was "building an empire" in New York. Gristina's LinkedIn profile denotes her profession as an Internet marketer, which aligns with an online prostitution business.
The mother-of-four is currently incarcerated on $2 million bail on Rikers Island. Her Upper East Side business is said to have earned more than $10 million.
SEE VIDEO REPORT OF ANNA GRISTINA'S ALLEGED PROSTITUTION
