Who's in the Spitzer Hooker Booker's Book?

Dressed in a casual Khaki shirt and skirt ensemble, and wearing comfortable walking shoes, Tanya Hollander, a member of the prostitution ring that brought down Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York, appeared yesterday in federal court, where a tentative plea agreement was announced to Judge Deborah Batts of the federal district court in Manhattan.

Hollander spoke softly as she waived her right to an indictment, and criminal information, charging her with one count of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act. Judge Batts smiled as she reminded Hollander that she had to she had to speak, rather than shake her head yes, to the questions posed by Batts' court officer.

Details of the agreement between prosecutors and Hollander --- called "Spitzer's Hooker Booker" by the tabloids --- are not known. The big question: Will Hollander be cooperating with the feds as part of her deal?

That is a very big question if Hollander indeed has a "list full of big wigs" in her little black book, as the New York Press has said.

Hollander's lawyer, Michael Farkas, was coy in talking with reporters after the brief hearing. He answered "no comment" when asked if Hollander will be cooperating. But he said that once the deal is finalized, he will be able to answer that question.

As for Spitzer's fate, Farkas, a sole practitioner in Manhattan who divides his time between criminal defense and representing retail brokers on Wall Street, offered reporters a bone: "I am unable to state with anything more than speculation as to what may or may not happen to the governor," he said. But Spitzer's role in the ring is sure to be an issue in his sentencing argument to Judge Batts, he said. "I consider him a co-conspirator in the Emperor's Club case."

At yesterday's hearing, Hollander appeared relaxed as she watched Judge Batts handle three other criminal cases. Toting a pink tinted (and politically correct) water bottle, she chatted with Farkas' paralegal. She had the countenance of a lady with the confidence that comes with knowledge of valuable facts.

Since her arrest, Hollander has been busy at her day job: She is a holistic health counselor. "She has been very eager to get back to work, helping people help themselves."

Farkas also pointed out that his client is charged with just one count, and she is different from her co-defendants, who have also been charged with money laundering and conspiracy to violate the Mann Act.

In an interview, Farkas said Tanya Hollander is in fact the name that his client was born with. She shares a last name with Xaviera Hollander, who penned the famous 1970's steamy beach read, The Happy Hooker: My Own Story.

Hollander will next appear before Judge Batts on August 25, when the plea agreement will be unveiled.

Karen Donovan