Prostitute discusses US scandal
Source: Agencies |
May 12, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
US government investigators interviewed the Colombia prostitute at the center of a Secret Service scandal that cost eight officers and supervisors their jobs and became an election-year embarrassment for the Obama administration.
Dania Londono Suarez voluntarily met with investigators at the US Embassy in Madrid, agency spokesman Edwin Donovan said.
He said the Secret Service investigation was nearly complete. More than 200 people, including most of the women involved, have been interviewed in the United States and Colombia.
Londono disappeared days after the incident and could not be reached by investigators.
In an interview broadcast from Madrid on May 4, Londono said she works as a prostitute in Colombia, catering to foreigners. She said that after leaving Colombia, she spent some time in Dubai before going to Madrid.
Londono said she met a Secret Service employee at a club in Cartagena, Colombia, last month and escorted him back to his hotel after a night of partying.
"I told him it would be US$800 and he said that was fine," Londono said in Spanish.
The next morning, however, the officer refused to pay, offering her only about US$30 for a taxi. Londono said she tried for several hours to get paid, eventually asking a local police officer at the hotel for help. She said the argument ended when other Secret Service officers at the hotel paid her about US$250. The officers were in Colombia in advance of President Barack Obama's arrival for a summit.
A dozen employees have been implicated since the April 12 argument became public. Eight people, including two supervisors, have lost their jobs. The agency is moving to revoke permanently the security clearance for one other employee, and three others have been cleared of serious wrongdoing. Twelve military personnel also have been implicated.
Londono left Colombia a few days after the incident, and she said last week that she had not been contacted by the Secret Service or anyone from the US government. She described the officers as "fools" and said the whole situation could have been avoided if the man she spent the night with had just paid her.
Since the incident in Colombia, there have been several media reports of similar Secret Service misconduct in the past.
Dania Londono Suarez voluntarily met with investigators at the US Embassy in Madrid, agency spokesman Edwin Donovan said.
He said the Secret Service investigation was nearly complete. More than 200 people, including most of the women involved, have been interviewed in the United States and Colombia.
Londono disappeared days after the incident and could not be reached by investigators.
In an interview broadcast from Madrid on May 4, Londono said she works as a prostitute in Colombia, catering to foreigners. She said that after leaving Colombia, she spent some time in Dubai before going to Madrid.
Londono said she met a Secret Service employee at a club in Cartagena, Colombia, last month and escorted him back to his hotel after a night of partying.
"I told him it would be US$800 and he said that was fine," Londono said in Spanish.
The next morning, however, the officer refused to pay, offering her only about US$30 for a taxi. Londono said she tried for several hours to get paid, eventually asking a local police officer at the hotel for help. She said the argument ended when other Secret Service officers at the hotel paid her about US$250. The officers were in Colombia in advance of President Barack Obama's arrival for a summit.
A dozen employees have been implicated since the April 12 argument became public. Eight people, including two supervisors, have lost their jobs. The agency is moving to revoke permanently the security clearance for one other employee, and three others have been cleared of serious wrongdoing. Twelve military personnel also have been implicated.
Londono left Colombia a few days after the incident, and she said last week that she had not been contacted by the Secret Service or anyone from the US government. She described the officers as "fools" and said the whole situation could have been avoided if the man she spent the night with had just paid her.
Since the incident in Colombia, there have been several media reports of similar Secret Service misconduct in the past.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
