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Alleged D.C. Madam "Considering" Selling Off Phone Records
Back in October, the feds busted a long-time prostitution service in the Washington, D.C. area. The madam, Jean Palfrey, soon caught attention by telling a reporter from the Smoking Gun that they must be going after her as part of a larger investigation into "some Duke Cunningham-type bigwig client that got caught up in something[.]"
As we noted back in December, Palfrey hasn't actually named a member of Congress. But she seems determined to make it easier for those who want to find out. Though her firm's policy was that "no record is a good record!!" she's now apparently mulling selling her phone records from the last thirteen years to raise funds for her defense.
Palfrey, whose assets were seized by the IRS back in October, has launched a website, deborahjeanepalfrey.com, to solicit contributions. But if that doesn't bring in enough, "consideration is being given to selling the entire 46 pounds of detailed and itemized phone records for the 13 year period, to raise the requisite defense funds," according to the website.
My request for comment from her lawyer, Montgomery Sibley, who's listed as the contact for the site, wasn't immediately returned.
Update: Her lawyer responds: "The records identify the telephone number of the customer. Since 2000, the customers and the independent contractor escorts of the service almost exclusively used their personal cellphones, their identifying information is readily and publicly available. Jeane will cooperate with whoever acquires the information to supplement it with other information at her disposal."

Comments (73)
Ravi R wrote on March 1, 2007 1:47 PM:All the FL numbers in the above page are blacked out. Wonder who that is.
workaday joe wrote on March 1, 2007 1:55 PM:Ravi Says - "Wonder who that is"
Joe says - "Duh. Katherine Harris." Which will, of course, propel the Wonkette to dizzying heights.
UberMitch wrote on March 1, 2007 1:58 PM:The San Diego number is to a JC Penney
Satan luvvs Repugs wrote on March 1, 2007 1:59 PM:I looked up the one PA number that's listed; now the 412 area code changed to 724, in '98, but
the number is a law firm:
Bassi McCune & Vreeland PC
Newbie muckrakers! Start your browsers!
ArtElliot wrote on March 1, 2007 2:00 PM:The redacted ones with the shorter city name is 'Orlando'.
conscriptor wrote on March 1, 2007 2:01 PM:anyone have $45?
http://www.cellulartrace.com/content/category/5/18/30/
r€nato wrote on March 1, 2007 2:02 PM:screw that, I want to see Jeff Gannon's phone records!!!!!!!!!
ArtElliot wrote on March 1, 2007 2:04 PM:And the longer one is Winter Park.
The congressman from that area in 1996, I believe, was and still is, John Mica. Not that I'm accusing Mr. Mica of anything. Although his district does cover parts of both Orlando and Winter Park.
conscriptor wrote on March 1, 2007 2:04 PM:man this is easy stuff - i just went to the below URL and got a a positive for 202.542.0752. only need to pony up $15 for the info now.
dqueue wrote on March 1, 2007 2:06 PM:https://www.peoplelookup.com/purchase.php
Bassi McCune & Vreeland PC?
Hmm. There was a Delmart "Mike" Vreeland popular amongst some tinfoily sites in years past. He was an alleged military intel spook who was incarcerated in a Canadian jail before 9/11. In any case, he has a murky past. Not that there's any tie to the lawfirm, but coincidance does amuse.
gavo wrote on March 1, 2007 2:07 PM:The Florida calls were made to:
Orlando &
Winter Park
Meh. Got nothin'.
porgy tirebiter wrote on March 1, 2007 2:07 PM:Time for a TRM fundraiser? I'm in.
Mimir wrote on March 1, 2007 2:09 PM:Reminds me of a Monty Python sketch. A TV show called "Blackmail" would show grainy footage of a member of Parliament approaching a private house, opening the unlocked door, going upstairs and into the bedroom, where a woman appeared to be undressing - all while a time counter is displayed at the bottom of the screen. The point was to have the MP call the show to stop the clock. To paraphrase Eric Idle as the show's host, in his reply to the panicked caller: "We don't do moral condemnation, Sir - we just want the money."
Bryan wrote on March 1, 2007 2:15 PM:Redacted numbers:
The redacted numbers begin with a 4. The only area code in Florida that starts with 4 is 407. As ArtElliot pointed out above. Orlando is one of the cities. Winter Park is the other (you can make out the PARK on one of the entries. Both Orlando and Winter Park are in the 407 area code. In line 97, you can make out the tops of the prefix. They look like a bit of the numbers. may somebody can compare the partial visible prefix to the list of prefixes for winter park -- available here: http://www.nanpa.com/pdf/pl-nanp-168.pdf.
AJB wrote on March 1, 2007 2:15 PM:"All the FL numbers in the above page are blacked out. Wonder who that is."
Oh this is good fun. Hmm ... Florida. Well she didn't do a very good job redding out the location - clearly the name is Winter Park (look at the last listing). Winter Park is located just outside of Orlando.
Winter Park is the House 8th District - and back in '96 (the time of the phone bill), it was (still is) very solid GOP - and was represented by ultra conservative and ultra gay basher Bill McCollum.
McCollum is currently the Attorney General of Florida.
I dunno. Anybody wanna fish around on this one?
Waiting in Texas wrote on March 1, 2007 2:16 PM:www.anywho.com has an excellent reverse look up and its free. I found a few numbers. No names that stand out. No worrries Josh, your TPM Muckraker detectives are all over this. Give us more.
JJ wrote on March 1, 2007 2:16 PM:Wellington's response to this particular gambit was "Publish and bedamned."
Frankly I think he had the right of it.
gizmo wrote on March 1, 2007 2:19 PM:Hmmm... the red marks were added in the PDF, not the original scanned image. This means that you can select the original image, copy it, and paste it in the image editing program of your choice.
Jeff (no, the other one) wrote on March 1, 2007 2:19 PM:(photo of two mens' legs, naked, facing each other, on sidewalk)
"And we'll be seeing more of that photo later in the programme, unless we hear from George or Michael..."
That sound you hear isn't thunder -- it's the low rumbling of sphincters tightening throughout the DC area.
Mark wrote on March 1, 2007 2:20 PM:You can usually get a name by entering a phone # into Google.
JMC wrote on March 1, 2007 2:20 PM:we have a winner at 202-542-0742 (check the "special interests")
David wrote on March 1, 2007 2:23 PM:All of the redacted info is fully available. Select the red marks and hit delete. Voila - all of the phone numbers are available. The person who prepared the 'redaction' has no clue.
Waiting in Texas wrote on March 1, 2007 2:28 PM:what happened to the phone numbers page?
Waiting in Texas wrote on March 1, 2007 2:28 PM:what happened to the phone numbers page?
djangone wrote on March 1, 2007 2:35 PM:Yep confirmed. In Acrobat, it's Tools>Basic>Select Image. Then click on the image and copy. Then in photoshop open a new doc; set size to 'Clipboard,' which is the default. Paste. Redaction redacted.
That's on a mac, but I'm sure it's the same on windows.
There must be some reason she chose to release that particular page. It's either intended to scare someone on there, or it's the least incriminating page and meant as a 'blank chamber' in her gun as a threat, or, thirdly, it's a purely random page (which I doubt)
mracker wrote on March 1, 2007 2:39 PM:"we have a winner at 202-542-0742 (check the "special interests")"
Careful, it's 0752. wrong pager...wrong dr.
doofman wrote on March 1, 2007 2:40 PM:Mimir - FYI, it was actually Michael Palin playing the host in the "Blackmail" sketch, not Idle. But still a classic.
squirm wrote on March 1, 2007 2:40 PM:Nothing so dramatic as copy/paste required. Just print without the markups. File>Print then change the drop-down for Comments and Forms to just plain Document. QED.
ArtElliot wrote on March 1, 2007 2:41 PM:David said: All of the redacted info is fully available. Select the red marks and hit delete. Voila - all of the phone numbers are available. The person who prepared the 'redaction' has no clue.
***********
In what app?
jb wrote on March 1, 2007 2:45 PM:Or better yet, what are the Central Florida numbers?
**One number is the DC Marriott (She called that a lot).
Does this tactic not seen as a bit like legal blackmail? (Not that I mind, but...)
Aconitum wrote on March 1, 2007 2:47 PM:Here's a cleaned up copy:
melandell wrote on March 1, 2007 2:49 PM:http://www.learning-communities.net/images/DC/telephonenumbers.gif
i just opened with explorer, hit print, and out it popped without any redactions. that is the too funny.
Daniel wrote on March 1, 2007 2:50 PM:Please note that the number 202-542-0742 listed above is a type. The number that appears in the logs is 202-542-0752. Not a political or public person. Also, there is a high likelihood that the person who has this number now did not have it in 1996.
Pat wrote on March 1, 2007 2:51 PM:The first redacted # is 407-851-5200...JC Penney in Orlando. 2nd is 407-425-9529 in Orlando. 3rd is
OG Lib wrote on March 1, 2007 2:52 PM:407-425-4277 Park Lake Towers Condos in Orlando.
If she's looking to blackmail then why redact? I have no idea where she is from originally but it could be that the Florida numbers are family members...and remember, FL is a big destination for retirees as well (mom and dad? grandparents?) There may be nothing sinister behind the red marks. Careful about those numbers...you may be exposing the truly innocent.
Mimir wrote on March 1, 2007 2:53 PM:doofman - my bad; thanks for the head's up.
Anyway, perhaps Palfrey should continue publishing 1 additional page every day until she gets a satisfactory bid.
mo wrote on March 1, 2007 2:59 PM:407-851-5200 was not a JC Penneys at the time of the bill. From 1990-2001 it was the phone number for a Joel S. Gittings. Gittings was arrested for rape in 2004 in MO. There's also a possibility that it was the phone number of a woman, age 22 at the time, which makes sense if the madam is blocking out the numbers in order to protect "her girls".
gjdodger wrote on March 1, 2007 3:01 PM:correct me if I'm wrong...aren't these people Palfrey called, and not vice versa? if so, then it doesn't prove anything. one of the winter haven numbers checks out to a private residence. incidentally, when this story got legs last year, there were some interesting suggestions that palfrey was a lady from pennsylvania who had taken it upon herself to construct an alumni web site for her high school. I cobbed a couple pix from the newsletter, and the lady in the candids looks like the one in the mug shot.
jgg wrote on March 1, 2007 3:05 PM:"solicit" donations?
anon wrote on March 1, 2007 3:14 PM:Orlando/Winter Park number (looked up via Google, as suggested earlier):
407-425-4277: Park Lake Towers Condominium
407-425-9529: Unknown
407-869-1365: Brooke Taylor
407-851-5200: JC Penneys
407-423-9018: Orlando Utility Commission
407-422-6095: Shipboard Cruiser (newsletter covering cruises)
Not particularly informative, really.
Anonymous wrote on March 1, 2007 3:21 PM:Jacqueline Rollins mean anything to anyone
410-235-0751
cervantes wrote on March 1, 2007 3:21 PM:. (Not work friendly.)
cervantes wrote on March 1, 2007 3:23 PM:Sorry, here's the link.
http://www.yourdirtymind.com/beautifull_brooke_taylor.html
conscriptor wrote on March 1, 2007 3:30 PM:georgetown university professor anyone:
JL wrote on March 1, 2007 3:34 PM:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=cyW&q=202+542+0752&btnG=Search
So can we assume that the RNC will donate the money that Abdul........ Alishtari gave to her legal defense fund??
Publius wrote on March 1, 2007 3:42 PM:Palfrey and her lawyer are blowing smoke
Unless I misunderstand how making a "date" with a call-girl works, it seems to me that the clients would only be calling Palfrey, and Palfrey wouldn't normally be calling the clients.
Palfrey's phone records will not have any record of those incoming calls (unless her phone records are for a cellphone and the caller doesn't have caller-ID blocking, or unless her clients are calling her collect).
jbigss1965 wrote on March 1, 2007 3:58 PM:Usually when you call an escort you get a voice-mail. You have to leave a message and phone number for her to contact you. So she could very well have been calling clients.
PKDU wrote on March 1, 2007 4:29 PM:Folks - remember , this is Debbies Vallejo Home Phone number that she had the DC Service number routed to if no-one was manning the line. Also - notice the time stamps of the calls - they typically stop before midnight eastern ( when her "service" stops. ...and the calls earlier in the day , esp. the redacted ones to FL are more likely personal than professional.
josh wrote on March 1, 2007 4:34 PM:I wonder how much Larry Flynt is going to pony up...
Ravi R wrote on March 1, 2007 4:53 PM:Revisited that page, again. But this time pdf and not jpg Paul had in the morning (but where is that page now?).
Adobe opened the page, and displayed some error message. While the msgbox was up, I could see the FL text behind. It wasn't blacked out which tells me the original numbers are in the pdf. I'll try to find out.
Ravi R wrote on March 1, 2007 5:03 PM:Oops, just the comments. All the numbers above are the ones I found out too.
tommy wrote on March 1, 2007 5:37 PM:But agree with one of the comments above that we could be exposing truly innocent.
The length and frequency of the redacted number calls make me think it was of personal nature. I've never had a phone conversation with a madam, but I don't think I'd need to talk to her for 26 minutes, hang up, talk to her again for a few minutes, hang up, then talk to her again for 12 minutes, etc.
Regarding the Georgetown prof, the internets say that this numbr is his pager, which is consistent with the length of the phone calls (.3 minutes).
My cell phone bill has the numbers for both ncoming and outgoing calls. But I didn't have a cell phone 10 years ago, so maybe it was different then.
dave wrote on March 1, 2007 5:43 PM:If you have the full version of Acrobat, you can delete the red marks. Let me know if you'd like a copy without the red marks. If you know of an online site where I can upload the file so that anyone can get it, that would be better than contacting me by email.
verisimilidude wrote on March 1, 2007 6:44 PM:I this supposed to the the phone records of an escort service? Look at the time of day of the calls. None after 9PM. Starting at 8:30AM on some days. Most in the late afternoon. Most so quick they probably weren't completed. It takes a minute or so to type in a callback number into a pager service, and the shortest 'Send a girl to this address' type conversation would take 3 minutes AFAIK. This looks more like the cell record of an insurance salesperson.
reader wrote on March 1, 2007 7:21 PM:Good article. Timely and detailed. Looks pretty complete except for the paypal button.
ME wrote on March 1, 2007 11:55 PM:You can contribute...and if you contribute enough, she won't sell the records for the last 46 years...
Best. Blackmail scheme. Ever.
Anyone who's ever ordered a hooker in DC should contribute to her fund if they know what's good for them!
gjdodger wrote on March 2, 2007 10:20 AM:There is a "law of diminishing returns" aspect to this, though. If I and 200 other prominent Washingtonians are on "the list"...maybe I shouldn't pay at all. I can't stop her individually from exposing us all; if she exposes us all, I'd be in some pretty prominent company. My only problem would be dodging the frying pans and rolling pins when I get home.
Mooser wrote on March 2, 2007 11:48 AM:of detailed and itemized phone records for the 13 year period, to
All the works done on her copy, just have to pony up.
Satan luvvs Repugs wrote on March 2, 2007 12:26 PM:verisimilidude: the Madam's phone is based in CA, but the business is in DC. So apply a 3 hour offset.
The calls really pick up at ~2pm (PDT), corresponding to 5pm EDT.
The calls to directory assistance that are interspersed have an interesting pattern too....
Sony wrote on March 5, 2007 9:58 PM:Check out the phone records at:
http://www.deborahjeanepalfrey.com/download/August1996.pdf
This phone number appears as item #102
Jacqueline Rollins mean anything to anyone
Stalin luvvs DemRats wrote on March 9, 2007 6:45 PM:410-235-0751
How about (301) 317-5575
at:
5:14pm(EDT)> 11.4 min.
6:02pm (EDT)> 0.3 min.
7:08pm (EDT) 17.4 min.
Current owners:
Ravi & Sunithi Khanna
Mr & Ms. Ravi & Sunithi Khanna
It's Sunday Aug 18, 1996
Tra wrote on March 10, 2007 10:27 PM:Do you know where your children are?
hey what was the winterpark number?
bill devers wrote on March 11, 2007 12:52 AM:407-425-4277: Park Lake Towers Condominium is 1/2 mi from 407-423-9018: Orlando Utility Commission.
Richard Kastelein wrote on March 11, 2007 5:21 AM:407-422-6095: Shipboard Cruiser (newsletter covering cruises)is also the same address as the Park Lake Condos. Interesting to look at who was the chairman of the utilities commission in 1996.
(Mel Martinez, although i am not saying that means anything but who else was high ranking in that organization and who traveled to DC? That could yield a clue.)
I removed the red ink from the PDF to reveal the Florida phone numbers that were 'hidden'.
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/pdf.htm
Richard Kastelein wrote on March 11, 2007 5:23 AM:Should have read the comments first! Oops.
R.
Larry wrote on March 20, 2007 10:20 PM:It's a cell phone bill. Your regular phone bill wouldn't show charges for a local call. Orlando calls are definitely family...too long for a client. And 30 seconds to give all the details? Doubtful. Silly ploy. Call logs mean nothing...I got 3 wrong calls today because my phone number is like the banks.
Gold Star for Robot Boy wrote on May 2, 2007 8:38 PM:Park Lake Towers Condominium!
margaret wrote on May 4, 2007 8:43 AM:OMG! I used to live there, 2000-05!
Lots of big ballers in that building. "Dr. J" Julius Erving, for one.
Found one! A Georgetown Univ. doctor in the Department of Anesthesiology:
http://www.georgetownuniversityhospital.org/documents/prd06/2_Anesthesia.pdf
Sudha A. Ved, M.B.B.S.
barbara wrote on May 12, 2007 11:15 PM:Pager: Pager: (202) 542-0752
Title: Professor, Department of Anesthesia; Chief, Pediatric Anesthesia,
Department of Pediatrics
Degree: Lokmanya Tilak Medical College, India, 1976
Residency: Georgetown University Medical Center, Anesthesia, 1980
Fellowship: Georgetown University Medical Center, Advanced Anesthesia and
Pain Management, 1981; Children’s Hospital National Medical
Center, Pediatric Anesthesia, 1981
Certification: Anesthesiology, 1983
Languages: Hindi, Gujarati
Special interests:
• ENT anesthesia
• Pediatric anesthesia
• Pediatric Transplant Anesthesia
• Anesthesia Equipment and Monitoring Systems
Ms. Palfrey mentioned the Randy Duke Cunningham case. Do you think she's signalling that her "massage" service was a CIA blackmailing set-up? Just consider the people involved in that case. Dusty Foggo, number three at CIA, Porter Goss, number one at CIA. Also, tie it into the US Attorney Carol Lam being fired when she ordered Foggo's office searched. I like puzzles. This one has lots of obvious pieces.
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