"Sometimes you see a lot of people, who don't live in the building, coming and going," said Mahammed Azad, 37, who runs an Indian restaurant next door. "I see a lot of young women going in and out — not beautiful but fashionable."



The building is owned by a close confidant of Gristina's, a lawyer who "invests her money, helped her set up her business and helps to launder her money," prosecutors said.



Her legal pal has even provided a retirement plan with her ill-gotten gains — and, in case she was ever caught, a nest egg to fall back on after doing her time.



"He has basically locked money away for her should this ever happen so she will have money when she comes out of it," Linehan told the judge during Gristina's bail hearing.



The prosecutor added that Gristina hasn't reported income to the government in a number of years, and that New York State authorities will also be charging her with tax evasion.



"It's a very strong case against her if it were to go to trial," said Linehan.

Authorities were so worried Gristina would slip away from them that they devised an elaborate sting operation to collar her, prosecutors said.



They lay in wait until she left her Monroe home and traveled to the office of her Morgan Stanley pal to discuss setting up a website for matching hookers and johns. They busted her there.



Law enforcement officials from the Manhattan DA's office also raided her Monroe home, where the animal lover keeps a pen of pet pigs. One of her hogs chased at least one investigator as he went to serve the warrant, according to a source.



Kristin Davis, who claimed to have run a Manhattan call-girl service used by disgraced former Gov. Spitzer, said she shared a booker, Winnie Wong, with Gristina.



Davis said she once spoke to Gristina, who told her that a highly placed official alerted her to a 2005 investigation.



Investigators armed with an arrest warrant also showed up at Gristina's New Rochelle, Westchester County, apartment in 2004, according to a neighbor. The neighbor said he did not know why cops were after her.



Davis said that move by authorities tipped off Gristina and prompted her to shut down her agency, Fleur d' Elite, and lay low for a while.



The escort service offered johns a three-tiered pricing system for its girls. Costs ranged from $1,000 for the "Dream Model" girls, to $1,500 for "Calendar Girls, fashion models and budding actors," to $2,000 and up for the "Ultimate Elite Model" category.



Gristina's lawyer, Richard Siracusa, refused to discuss the case Monday when contacted by the Daily News.

During her arraignment, he described his client as a mom with bills to pay who would have a tough time coming up with the hefty $2 million bond.



"There are a lot of disconnect notices," he told the judge. "Bills are not paid, and thinking she could get hold of $2 million, I think, is unreasonable given the circumstances, and I believe that there is going to be a problem with the care of her four children."