New York’s Scots ‘madam’ pleads poverty

A SCOTTISH woman accused of amassing a multi-million-dollar fortune as a high-class New York madam does not have “two nickels to rub together”, a court has been told.

At a hearing in Manhattan yesterday, Anna Gristina’s lawyer, Peter Gleason, offered to put up his home as bail, saying his client could not afford the $2 million (£1.3m) insurance bond.

He also attacked claims linking Gristina to the employment of underage girls as prostitutes. Mr Gleason dismissed the allegation, saying it amounted to a “death warrant” for someone currently residing in New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail.

Gristina, 44, has pleaded not guilty to one count of promoting prostitution in the third degree. It is alleged the mother of four, who grew up in Kirkliston, near Edinburgh, masterminded a prostitution ring operating out of an apartment in New York’s well-heeled Upper East Side.

Over a period of 15 years, she is alleged to have arranged for wealthy clients to meet high-end call girls, who charged up to $1,500 for their services.