Woman believed to be 'D.C. madam' kills herself

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - Police say a woman believed to be the one convicted of running a high-end prostitution ring in Washington has been found dead of an apparent suicide in a Florida Gulf Coast town.

Tarpon Springs police say a body they believed to be 52-year-old Deborah Jeane Palfrey was found in a shed near her mother's mobile home Thursday morning. She left a suicide note, but police did not disclose its contents.

Palfrey was convicted April 15 by a federal jury of running a prostitution service that catered to members of Washington's political elite, including Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican.

She had denied her escort service engaged in prostitution, saying that if any of the women engaged in sex acts for money, they did so without her knowledge.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/5/209551