The plot thickens in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case.
The former head of the International Monetary Fund was accused in May of sexually assaulting a maid at a New York hotel. The allegation led to an indictment, and Strauss-Kahn stepped down from his post at the IMF.
But after the maid’s credibility was called into question last week, Strauss-Kahn was released on his own recognizance. Sources at the New York Police Department told the New York Times that the woman had lied to the police a number of times since her first statement.
In a new bombshell development Sunday, the New York Post — which initially reported the maid was a prostitute — reports that the maid continued to work as a prostitute even after Strauss-Kahn was arrested.
“While she was under our supervision, there were multiple ‘dates’ and encounters at the hotel on the DA’s dime,” an anonymous source at the New York District Attorney’s office told the Post. “That’s a great deal for her. She doesn’t have to cover her expenses.”
The maid’s alleged employment as a prostitute isn’t the only thing potentially damaging to her credibility.
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In a secretly recorded phone conversation with her boyfriend in Arizona, the maid said “words to the effect of, ‘Don’t worry, this guy has a lot of money. I know what I’m doing,’” a source told the New York Times. The conversation raises the possibility that the rape accusation may have been made to extort money from the French banker.
The maid has also told police that her job at the New York hotel is her only source of income, but investigators have found large deposits to her account made in four states.
Things seem to be looking up for Strauss-Kahn. A new Harris Interactive poll released Sunday shows that 60% of left-leaning French voters want Strauss-Kahn to return to French politics following the news that the case against him may be on the brink of collapse.