Spitzer mulls real estate career path

Eliot L. Spitzer, the disgraced ex-New York governor and former scourge of Wall Street, is mulling investments in distressed real estate or even starting up a vulture fund, according to published reports. Mr. Spitzer met with several of his former colleagues last month and spoke about his interest in participating in his father's real estate business and in distressed assets created by the subprime crisis, a source told Reuters. He has approached labor union officials in Washington to pitch his idea for a vulture fund and said he looking to pursue distressed real estate projects valued between $100 million and $500 million, according to the reports. A vulture fund buys distressed securities or investments, such as high-yield bonds that are in or near default, equities that are in or near bankruptcy, and non-performing real estate assets. The former governor's plans are not yet clear, Brandy Bergman, spokeswoman for Mr. Spitzer, told Reuters and The Wall Street Journal. “Mr. Spitzer is currently evaluating several longer term business ideas,” she said. Mr. Spitzer’s father, real estate developer Bernard Spitzer, is a self-made multimillionaire who owns some of New York's highest-profile residential addresses. Mr. Spitzer stepped down as the governor of New York on March 12, after it was revealed that he patronized an expensive prostitution ring. He had previously made a name for himself as New York's attorney general from 1999 to 2006, by going after individuals and companies for violations ranging from insider trading to securities fraud.