I'm in the State Capitol on a business trip. Dave calls me on the phone to let me know that a picture of our neighbor's house is in the paper. Seriously, this house is located 2 doors down from ours. I thought we had met all the neighbors but obviously I was wrong. Meet our neighbor:
Escondido a quiet corner of 'D.C. Madam's' life By: QUINN EASTMAN - Staff Writer
ESCONDIDO -- Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the woman recently accused by federal prosecutors of running a Washington, D.C., prostitution business by phone from California, owns a house in Escondido, but her neighbors said last week that it provided her a quiet refuge, rather than a remote command post.
Palfrey, also dubbed the "D.C. Madam," revealed some of her clients' identities on a much-hyped 20/20 show on ABC on Friday night.
Palfrey's next-door neighbor at her house, north of the Escondido Country Club, Lea Beaver, estimated that Palfrey visited her Escondido house only a few days each month. Beaver said she didn't notice an unusual amount of traffic.
Palfrey once invited Beaver over when Palfrey's mother, Blanche, was visiting, she said.
"She said she was an interior designer," said Beaver, adding that the idea made sense to her because each room inside Palfrey's house was painted a different pastel color.
A federal grand jury indicted Palfrey in March on money-laundering charges connected with her alleged escort service. She previously pleaded guilty to pimping charges in the early 1990s in San Diego.
Court documents support neighbors' views that Palfrey did not use the Escondido house, which is now for sale, as part of her business, called Pamela Martin and Associates. The business is described on Palfrey's Web site as a "high-end adult fantasy firm" that operated in the Washington, D.C., area for 13 years.
Court documents show that federal agents hauled stacks of financial records and a computer from Palfrey's primary residence in Vallejo after obtaining search warrants in October.
But they did not obtain search warrants for her home on the 1400 block of Vaquero Glen.
Her indictment says she had checks or money orders mailed to her at a post office box in Benicia, and had calls forwarded to her cell phone.
Her attorney, Montgomery Sibley, did not return calls from the North County Times.
Raccoons
Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias resigned in April when ABC News, to whom Palfrey has given her phone records, asked him whether he was a client.
While other past clients in Washington may fear more revelations from Palfrey, several of her Escondido neighbors had a more mundane concern last week: Raccoons have dug a hole in her shingle roof.
"We covered it today with plastic," Beaver said.
The neighborhood around Vaquero Glen seemed idyllic last week, with a few children riding their bicycles and skateboards in the street.
Palfrey's house has a "For Sale" sign in front, but all of the real estate agent's brochures are gone. The driveway, which is covered with brown fluff from a nearby tree, makes it clear that nobody has swept it for weeks.
As part of her indictment in March, federal authorities froze the Vaquero Glen house along with Palfrey's Vallejo home, bank accounts and gold coins. The move requires court approval for a sale and prevents the sale of the Escondido house from benefiting Palfrey while she is under indictment.
Even so, Beaver said a real estate agent has been showing the house to possible buyers and one in particular seems interested.
Vaquero Glen residents said they learned of Palfrey's legal troubles when a property forfeiture notice was posted on her door in October.
"It was a pretty big surprise," said Ann Boozer, who lives next door to her on the other side.
But she said she had a clue something was happening in September when she called Palfrey about a gardening issue and Palfrey told her that her real estate agent would handle it, because she was moving to Germany.
Palfrey made a brief visit to the Escondido house a few months ago with a tow truck, Boozer said.
Palfrey's lawyers, in federal court filings, say that she has left the United States twice since October.
Several neighbors said they had been interviewed by TV reporters on their front lawns and were tired of the attention.
Palfrey bought the Escondido house in 2000. It still has a mortgage and its most recent property tax bill has not been paid, according to county records.
Palfrey grew up in Pennsylvania, attended college in Florida and moved to San Diego in the 1980s, according to The Associated Press.
She previously owned a condominium on Mount Alifan Drive near Genesee Avenue in San Diego, according to county records.
She was arrested by San Diego police in 1990 on charges of pimping, pandering and extortion. She did not appear at trial but fled to the Canadian border before pleading guilty to pimping charges in 1992 in San Diego Superior Court and serving 18 months in prison, according to The Associated Press.
Our hotel room had all the essentials: flat screen tv and a bar. It was actually really nice that the room had a fully stocked bar and mini-fridge. Very convenient!
The view from our hotel room.
Dave smoking a Cuban.
A view from one of the restaurants at the resort. Dave and I ate 4 meals just about every day we were there. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and then Late Night Snack. We're going to have a very hard time getting used to being home and not having a buffet or room service available to us at all times.
The resort really was as gorgeous as it looked in the pictures. If you're ever interested in an adults only, all inclusive resort near the Cancun area, then I highly recommend Aventura Spa Palace. I really don't have one negative thing to say about our stay. Dave is interested in exploring the other parts of Mexico on our next vacation but I'd much rather just go back to Aventura. I loved it that much!
I spent most of my time reading and relaxing in the hammock on our balcony or by the beach with a Rum Punch by my side. I finished 5 books in the 8 days we were there!
It rained on us one day while we were there. The rain lasted only one hour and was very cool for us since we've only experienced 3 inches of rain in San Diego ALL YEAR!
One night they had a special honeymooners dinner for all of us. The resort had 1200 rooms (it was big) and there was probably 250 honeymooners there at the same time as us. The honeymooners dinner was a nice meal and a great way to make friends.
Dave and I spent alot of time by the endless pool.
One day we took the 30 minute ferry to the island of Cozumel. A very quiet and quaint little place to visit.
Our hotel had several places on site where we could snorkel. Here is Dave snorkeling in the Caribbean. I attempted to snorkel one day. I put on all the gear and jumped in the water. I saw one fish several feet ahead of me, immediately freaked out, and swam the 3 feet back to the dock. Snorkeling is not for me! The fish look huge under the water!
A recreation of a Mayan dance.
As part of our all-inclusive package, several tours were included. One day we went to the Mayan ruin of Tulum. Super cool and informative! The Mayan people were savage but also intellectually advanced. This is a sacred arch where every year during the solstice, a ray of light is projected from the pyramid onto this site.
Another gorgeous pic of Tulum.
To commemorate our honeymoon, Dave gave me a 3 stone ruby and diamond ring. Rubies are his birth stone, diamonds are mine, and 3 stones to represent our past, present, and future.
*sigh* We're home now. Part of me is so happy to be home (I missed Fluff!) while the other part of me wishes I was back in Mexico.
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