NEW YORK _ A woman who claims she carried on a longtime affair with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer says she has the politician on tape berating and threatening her, and that the NYPD is investigating her claims.
Svetlana Zakharova Travis and her attorney met with New York Police Department detectives Friday to discuss the 18-second recording, according to police sources and her lawyer.
Travis _ who was accused of blackmailing Spitzer _ says she found the clip in October, after she was released from jail for defrauding another man.
In the sound snippet, a man _ identified as Spitzer by Travis' lawyer Joseph Murray _ is heard slamming the 27-year-old Russian woman.
"You f---ing b---h. You piece of s--t. And then you f---ing destroy my life!" a man's voice is heard seething.
"You know what's going to happen to you? You're going to be f---ing dead," he went on.
"You're going to die a slow painful death and your family is going to look at you and laugh because you're a f---ing b---h."
Police sources say the expletive-laced phone call from February 2016 came to their attention about a week ago and they're probing it as a possible aggravated harassment case.
"We met with these detectives today and they've assured us that we'll receive a full and fair investigation," Murray told the New York Daily News on Friday.
The nasty sound bite was recorded days after Travis reported that the prostitute-paying ex-politician choked her at the Plaza Hotel on Feb. 13, 2016.
Authorities are now investigating the authenticity of the clip _ from a speaker-phone chat _ and the circumstances surrounding the recording.
The call allegedly transpired while Travis was in Russia.
Spitzer has repeatedly denied the claims and the Bronx District Attorney's office _ which took over the case when Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. recused himself _ declined to bring charges in the alleged hotel assault.
The investigation turned instead to Travis, who was accused of shaking down Spitzer.
The Daily News could not independently confirm the authenticity of the call.
"The original and full recording of Eliot Spitzer's death threat to my client is contained on my client's iPad, which has been in police custody since October of 2016," Murray told the Daily News.
The lawyer said similar deleted recordings may also exist and that Spitzer knew about them because Travis emailed him the files, demanding he stop making threats.
He said the DA's office refused to take Travis' repeated reports that Spitzer was abusive.
"The Bronx District Attorney's Office either knew, or reasonably should have known of its existence as well as other recorded death threats made by Eliot Spitzer, even before I entered the case to defend Ms. Travis."
Travis was pressured into signing a settlement agreement with Spitzer and agreed to "destroy any and all recordings of Mr. Spitzer," according to court records.
Murray said his client complied and trashed the iPad files but believes there is hope of reviving them.
The DA's office "either took no steps to recover these recordings, or they intentionally failed to disclose them," he added.
After Travis reported the alleged assault, Spitzer told investigators Travis was shaking him down for years.
Travis was arrested for grand larceny in October 2016 and took a misdemeanor plea deal to settle the $400,000 case last October.
She did not have to admit to the Spitzer theft, though, only to defrauding another man.
"This is a woman who has been extorting Mr. Spitzer and his family for years. The record in her criminal case speaks for itself," Spitzer's attorney Adam Kaufmann said.
Murray referred to Spitzer in his recent filing as his client's "long-time lover" and described the Democrat's penchant for kinky trysts with sex toys and role playing using leashes.
