A Scottish former New York madam whose clients are said to have included film stars, billionaires and politicians is bidding to overturn her conviction.
Anna Gristina, 53, spent four months on remand in the notorious Rikers Island prison in 2012 after she was caught in an undercover FBI sting.
Prosecutors alleged that Gristina, who grew up in Kirkliston, West Lothian, made £6 million from running a vice ring for affluent men in New York’s Upper East Side.
She admitted a charge of promoting prostitution and was sentenced to five years’ probation and time served.
Now the mother of four has claimed her guilty plea was “coerced” and she is planning to lodge an appeal to have it overturned.
Earlier this week her legal team filed a lawsuit against the judge who dealt with her case in 2012, seeking the release of transcripts from it.
According to documents seen by the Washington Post, the civil complaint, filed in the US District Court in Manhattan, alleges Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan is improperly keeping transcripts from Gristina sealed, hindering her appeal bid.
She is seeking “a declaratory judgment stating that (she) is entitled to the unsealed court minutes” so she can make a “meaningful motion” to overturn her guilty plea.
Following her arrest, involving a sting with an undercover officer as a potential client, Gristina was held at Rikers Island and her bail was set at $2million.
Gristina has insisted she ran a matchmaking service and never forced anyone to have sex with clients.
She now lives in a modest house in New York state and tends pigs and writes children’s books.
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