John Bacon

USA TODAY

Former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, whose political career collapsed following a 2008 prostitution scandal, is the subject of an assault investigation involving a young woman, New York City police said Monday.

Manhattan detectives are investigating allegations of an assault and "the victim has indicated the suspect was Eliot Spitzer," Det. Adam Navarro told USA TODAY. Navarro said no arrest had been made "at this time" and would provide no further details.

"There is no truth to the allegation," Lisa Linden, spokeswoman for Spitzer, said in an email.

Local media report that police rushed to The Plaza hotel after a woman in her 20s used her cellphone to call 911 at about 8 p.m. Saturday, saying she was having a breakdown and had cut her wrist. The New York Post, citing police sources it did not identify, reported that when officers responded to the $1,000-a-night suite, Spitzer answered the door and said there was no problem.

The officers returned a short time later.

"After Spitzer opened the door a second time, the cops spied broken glass, bloodstains and clothing on the floor and started a search inside," the Post reported. The newspaper said the woman reappeared and was taken to a hospital where she told staffers Spitzer had attacked her.

The New York Daily News and CNN.com published a similar description of events.

The media outlets cited police sources saying the woman, who claimed to be Spitzer's girlfriend, was not cooperating with the investigation and did not want to press charges.

Spitzer, 56, developed a national reputation for being tough on white-collar, Wall Street crime while serving as the state's attorney general from 1999 until 2006. He became governor in 2007, but his political fortunes imploded after he was ensnared in an investigation of a prostitution ring in which he infamously was referred to in court papers as "client 9."

Spitzer resigned as governor but was not criminally charged. He attempted to resurrect his political career in 2013, but lost a race for city comptroller. He split with his wife of 26 years later that year.