(Deborah Jeane Palfrey was convicted of running a high-powered prostitution ring.)

May 1, 2008
CNN.com

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the "D.C. Madam," was found dead in Florida Thursday, according to Tarpon Springs police. Deborah Jeane Palfrey was convicted of running a high-powered prostitution ring.

Her mother identified the body, police said. Suicide notes were found near the body in a small storage shed next to a mobile home, police said.

Palfrey, 52, was reportedly staying at the home of her mother, who owns the property where the body was found, police said. The Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office will determine the cause of death, police said. Watch reaction from CNN Producer Paul Courson »

The county sheriff's office and the FBI are participating in the investigation.

"I am devastated to hear about this," Palfrey lawyer Montgomery Blair Sibley told CNN by phone. "If it turns out to be true it is a tragic loss of life."

Palfrey was convicted last month in connection with a high-end prostitution ring catering to Washington's elite. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Washington, which prosecuted Palfrey, declined to comment.

Prosecutors estimated the sentence she would have likely received would have been between 57-71 months, about six years, due to sentencing guidelines and other factors that would have been taken into account.

At least one lawmaker, Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, a Republican, turned up in the phone records of her business, Pamela Martin & Associates.

State Department official Randall Tobias resigned in May 2007 after confirming he patronized Palfrey's business. She argued it was a legitimate, legal escort service.