Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is a retired American politician, attorney, and college professor. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 54th Governor of New York from 2007 until 2008. Spitzer worked as an attorney in private practice with several New York law firms before becoming attorney general, where he worked for six years as a prosecutor with the office of the Manhattan district attorney. He was then elected to two four-year terms as the Attorney General of New York, serving from 1999 to 2006.
Controversy over use of State Police for surveillance / "Troopergate"
On July 23, 2007, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office admonished the Spitzer administration for ordering the State Police to keep special records of Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno's whereabouts when he traveled with police escorts in New York City.  A 57-page report issued by the Attorney General's office concluded that Spitzer engaged in creating media coverage concerning Senator Bruno's travel. The investigation looked into both Bruno's travel and the Senate leader's allegation that Spitzer used State Police to spy on him. Cuomo concluded that "These e-mails show that persons in the governor's office did not merely produce records under a Freedom of Information Act and request, but were instead engaged in planning and producing media coverage concerning Senator Bruno's travel on state aircraft before any FOIL request was made." It also suggests that the governor's staff lied when they tried to explain what they had done and forced the State Police to go far beyond their normal procedures in documenting Bruno's whereabouts.  The report cleared Bruno of any misuse of the state's air fleet, which had been alleged. The report criticized Spitzer's office for using State Police resources to gather information about Bruno's travel and releasing the information to the media. The findings of the report were endorsed by Spitzer's own Inspector General, Kristine Hamann.  Spitzer responded at a July 23 press conference that "As governor, I am accountable for what goes on in the executive branch and I accept responsibility for the actions of my office" and that his administration had "grossly mishandled" the situation. Spitzer subsequently announced that he would indefinitely suspend his communications director, Darren Dopp, and reassign another top official. When questioned about his promise to bring ethical responsibility to state politics, Spitzer responded by saying "I will not tolerate this behavior", "ethics and accountability must and will remain rigorous in my administration," and that "I have always stated that I want ethics and integrity to be the hallmarks of my administration. That is why I requested that the State Inspector General review the allegations with respect to my office, and that is why we have fully cooperated with both inquiries."  The investigations of the event, dubbed "Troopergate" by media outlets, were not affected by Spitzer's resignation. As of March 2008, four probes by the state Attorney General's office, the State Senate Investigations Committee, the Albany County District Attorney's Office, and the New York Commission on Public Integrity were ongoing.

Q: What was all the controversy about?
A: Senate leader's allegation that Spitzer used State Police to spy on him.

Q: Was he guilty of this?
A: "As governor, I am accountable for what goes on in the executive branch and I accept responsibility for the actions of my office"

Q: Did he have to pay any fines?
A: unknown

Q: Was he still popular after this was over?
A: The investigations of the event, dubbed "Troopergate" by media outlets, were not affected by Spitzer's resignation.

Q: When did he resign?
A: unknown
What happened next?
four probes by the state Attorney General's office, the State Senate Investigations Committee, the Albany County District Attorney's Office, and the New York Commission on Public Integrity were ongoing.
four probes by the state Attorney General's office, the State Senate Investigations Committee, the Albany County District Attorney's Office, and the New York Commission on Public Integrity were ongoing.