• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Advocate Washington bureau
• Published: Apr 20, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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What was supposed to be an explosive trial that rocked the foundation of Washington’s upper echelon ended up coming off as a dud.

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the woman dubbed the “D.C. Madam,” stood accused by federal prosecutors of running a Washington prostitution ring for 13 years from her San Francisco-area home. Palfrey, 52, was convicted last week of racketeering, using the mail for improper purposes and money laundering.

The trial particularly caught the eye of Louisiana and Capitol Hill because Palfrey was expected to call U.S. Sen. David Vitter as a witness in her defense. Palfrey’s logic was that the Louisiana Republican would have to testify on whether he had sex with Palfrey employees. Such an admission would prove that Palfrey’s women operated outside of a contract that they signed pledging not to do anything illegal.

But Vitter, who acknowledged last summer having his phone number in Palfrey’s client records, did not appear. Though Palfrey’s attorney, Preston Burton, subpoenaed the junior senator in the trial, Burton eventually withdrew the summons without saying why.

Burton didn’t call any defense witnesses, rolling the dice that the jury wouldn’t buy what appeared to be a weak case. He was wrong.

Vitter last week must have offered up a great sigh of relief when Burton rested his case. Not only could the appearance have been politically embarrassing, but calls for Vitter to resign would have certainly surfaced once again.

The release of the client numbers and revelations of Vitter’s use of the service crippled what many considered a promising political career. Some had predicted higher national office for Vitter, a Rhodes Scholar.

Vitter has reconciled the matter — which took place over seven years ago — with his wife. But he will still face the scrutiny in his next election in 2010 of having used the service and then eventually standing on the Senate floor preaching the sanctity of marriage.

Palfrey should have known better. The self-described teetotaling cat lover who dressed in black and bore a striking resemblance to Morticia Adams was imprisoned in 1991 on attempted felony pimping related to a California escort service she was involved in after quitting law school.

Palfrey started her East Coast operation, known as Pamela Martin and Associates, shortly after getting free after 17 months in jail. Placing advertisements in newspapers, Palfrey employed more than 130 women over the 13 years of her latest operation, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors alleged that Palfrey collected $2 million over the length of the business, money that was split evenly with escorts.

Most of the women Palfrey employed knew what they were getting into. Rhona Reiss, a 63-year-old Ivy League-trained occupational therapist, told the court that despite the clause in her contract with Palfrey, she knew that she was expected to perform sex with clients. Asked about the illegal activity clause, Reiss said she interpreted it as “don’t get caught.”