May 2, 2008

By James Lanaras

Former Vallejo resident Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the “D.C. Madam” who was convicted April 15 of running a Washington, D.C., escort service, was found hanging from a nylon rope in a shed next to her mother’s house in Tarpon Springs, Fla., northwest of Tampa, authorities said Thursday.

Tarpon Springs Police Department Cpl. Frank Ruggiero said police received a call at 10:52 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and Palfrey, 52, was pronounced dead at 11:01 a.m. An autopsy will be conducted Friday, Ruggiero said.

Palfrey’s body was found by the Tarpon Springs Fire and Rescue Department, he said. Two suicide notes were found, Ruggiero said.

Palfrey was convicted by a federal jury of operating a prostitution service catering to Washington’s elite, including Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican. Palfrey denied the charges, claiming if the women in the escort service charged money it was without her knowledge.

Palfrey faced nearly six years in prison for money laundering, racketeering and using the mail for illegal purposes. She was to be sentenced July 24. The District of Columbia U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case, said she ran the prostitution service for 13 years.

Palfrey lived in Vallejo 16 years.