Eliot Spitzer was swept into office as New York's governor in a landslide 2006 election. Today, just a bit more than a quarter of the way into his first term, he resigned in shame.

"The remorse I feel will always be with me and words cannot describe how grateful I am for the love and compassion they [family members and supporters] have shown me," Spitzer told reporters in Manhattan.

"I look at my time as governor with a sense of what might have been," he said. But he added, "I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the people's work."

Spitzer's term officially ends Monday, when Lieutenant Governor David Paterson takes over. Paterson, a 53-year-old former Senate minority leader goes into the history books with two firsts: the state's first African American governor and first legally blind chief executive.

Spitzer was felled by an investigation into some unusual expenditures he was making, which in turn led to an investigation of an expensive and exclusive prostitution service. To help him in whatever legal fight he faces, Spitzer hired lawyer Michele Hirshman, a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Hirshman had served as Spitzer's first deputy when he was the New York attorney general.

Spitzer's rapid downfall began early Monday afternoon, when the New York Times reported online that he was linked to the arrest last week of the operators of a business called Emperors Club V.I.P. That firm charged $1,000 an hour for what it described as a "three-diamond" prostitute and $3,100 an hour for a "seven-diamond" call girl.

The website offered clients membership in the Emperors Club's Icon Club, a status that allowed the clients to access restricted areas of the website and permitted them to schedule appointments for illegal prostitution services with the highest-ranked prostitutes, whose fees started at $5,500 an hour.

According to Wednesday's New York Post, Spitzer's appetite for prostitutes went back 10 years and cost him $80,000.

In his brief statement, Spitzer made no comments on his legal situation or to the allegations, beyond citing his "private failings." He said that he hoped in the future to "try once again outside of politics to serve the common good." He took no questions.

Toward the end of his appearance, Spitzer quoted Confucius: "Our greater glory lies not in never having fallen, but rising when we fall.”

The resignation announcement came after Spitzer spent Tuesday sequestered in his Central Park apartment on New York City's Fifth Avenue. According to media reports, state Democrats showed little support for their party's governor and some raised the prospect that Spitzer would be impeached if he remained in office.

During his eight years as New York State's attorney general, a job that allowed him to pursue civil and criminal prosecutions against corporate officers, Spitzer took on some of the most powerful people on Wall Street. He was easily elected governor in 2006, running largely on his record as a Wall Street reformer.

His targets included Dick Grasso, who was then chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, and Ken Langone, who was Grasso's biggest supporter on the exchange's board. Spitzer also pressured insurance giant American International Group to force out Maurice Greenberg, its longtime chief executive and chairman, and exposed Henry Blodget, then a Merrill Lynch analyst, for hyping stocks to help investment bankers sell their services to clients.

"We all have our own private hells," Langone told CNBC. "I hope his private hell is hotter than anyone else's."

On Monday, after the story first broke, Spitzer faced reporters but did not directly address the prostitution allegations. Instead, Spitzer he said he wanted to "briefly address a private matter" without being more specific.

"I have acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family and that violates my—or any—sense of right and wrong," said Spitzer, who is married and has three daughters. "I apologize first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better," he said.

"I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals," he added. "It is about ideas, the public good, and doing what is best for the state of New York. But I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard that I expect of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family."

He concluded by saying, "I will not be taking questions. Thank you very much. I will report back to you in short order. Thank you very much."

Also on Portfolio.com:

• Parsing Spitzer: Jack Flack pulls apart the governor's resignation.
• Slideshow: Spitzer's Foes: A look back at some of Eliot Spitzer's most prominent enemies.
• Follow the Money: What did it take to uncover Spitzer's involvement in a prostitution ring?
• Spitzer's Mixed Signals: Just what was Governor Spitzer doing in Washington?
• Spitzer Hurts Hillary: Matt Cooper looks at the impact on the Democratic presidential race.
• Legacy on Wall Street: Felix Salmon looks back on Spitzer's days fighting corruption.
• Not Too Late to Catch QAT: The shell company for some of Spitzer's payments still has its website online.