Albany

Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in disgrace amid a prostitution scandal in 2008, is accused of assaulting a woman at an upscale New York City hotel Saturday night, police confirmed Monday.

The NYPD said in a statement that Manhattan detectives are investigating allegations of an assault at a Midtown hotel, which was reported by multiple outlets to be the famed Plaza hotel on Fifth Avenue.

"The victim has indicated that the subject is Eliot Spitzer," the NYPD said.

Spitzer spokeswoman Lisa Linden said, "There is no truth to the allegation."

The Daily News reported that the New York Police Department's chief of detectives is leading the investigation of allegations Spitzer attacked the woman at the hotel and that the woman tried to kill herself.

The newspaper reported that the woman is from Russia and that she and Spitzer have known each other for the past two years and may have been fighting over the woman's plan to return to Russia. The Post reported that the woman, 25-year-old Svetlana Travis, did not want to press charges.

Spitzer, a Democrat, earned the nickname "The Sheriff of Wall Street" during an eight-year tenure as state attorney general that featured lawsuits and investigations that targeted corporate malfeasance.

Riding that popularity, Spitzer cruised to an easy win for governor in 2006.

His tenure leading the state was marked by controversy and collapsed when it was revealed in 2008 that he was among the clients of a New York prostitution ring.

Spitzer resigned within days of the revelation.

Spitzer's last foray into politics was an unsuccessful bid for New York City comptroller in 2013.

mhamilton@timesunion.com • 518-454-5449 • @matt_hamilton10