Disgraced ex-NY governor accused of choking a woman

Eliot Spitzer of choking her during a fight at the Plaza Hotel hopped on a Russia-bound airplane after refusing to press charges, law enforcement sources said Monday. Sources familiar with that investigation tell NBC News that on Saturday night, Spitzer and a woman in her mid-twenties entered New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel, and headed up to one of the rooms.

The woman claims that the verbal argument then turned violent, with Spitzer allegedly pushing her and then putting his hands around her neck. She was taken to Roosevelt Hospital where she told staffers there that Spitzer had choked her, according to the Post, but has since recanted and is not cooperating with authorities.

Police are investigating witnesses and reviewing video in the area, 1010 WINS’ Glenn Schuck reported.

While Spitzer was never charged for his actions, the college student who managed the prostitution ring was sentenced to prison for six months in 2011 after pleading guilty for charges of money laundering and conspiring to promote prostitution, as reported by the New York Times.

Spitzer’s lawyer told the New York Times today that Travis was “someone he had a relationship with in the past”. She offered to send “documents from all mental homes where I have been – Russia, Catskill New York, California”.

The divorce was announced three days after Spitzer was seen leaving Lis Smith’s apartment; she was then working on the transition team for mayor-elect Bill de Blasio. She had asked the ex-politician and former prosecutor to book her a hotel room on Saturday before she returned to Russian Federation on Sunday.

The New York Post said the allegations were that Spitzer choked the woman.

Svetlana Travis, 25, took a 7:30 p.m. Sunday flight from JFK Airport to Moscow, using a ticket she had purchased in advance, the sources said. “Through an ongoing investigation, we are attempting to further establish the identity of the subject and the nature of the incident”, the statement reads.

A senior law enforcement official tells CNN that Spitzer used the name “George” when he visited the Mt. Sinai Hospital on the West Side. No other details were given.

Detectives are still investigating the allegations.

The alleged victim’s name has been revealed elsewhere. In 2013, Spitzer tried to get back into politics by running for New York’s comptroller position, but he ultimately lost the race.