Scandal-ridden Spitzer gives ethics talk

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, in an ethics talk Thursday at Harvard University, tried to avoid talking about the scandal that brought him down.

Spitzer, who became known for a hardnosed attitude toward Wall Street when he was state attorney general, discussed business ethics, The New York Times reported. But one of the last questions came from a man who asked if Spitzer believed someone's agenda was behind the leaked federal investigation into the governor's dealings with escorts.

"Whatever may have led to their being public didn't relate to anything I did and doesn't excuse it," Spitzer responded, saying he resigned because it was right to do so.

Spitzer was invited to speak by Lawrence Lessig of The Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics. Kristin Davis, owner of the escort service Spitzer used, sent a letter of protest to Lessig, the New York Daily News said.

"As attorney general, he went around arresting and making examples out of the same escort agencies he was frequenting," she said.

Davis said Spitzer's unethical behavior included booking the services of escorts using a false name.