(((Not a "centipede" story exactly, but close enough to give you that sick, trapped, horrible feeling people get when they're swept into a major-league sex-scandal. Even sex merchants get crushed.)))
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7378654.stm
Link: BBC NEWS | Americas | 'DC Madam' found dead in Florida.
Deborah Jean Palfrey, the US woman recently convicted for her role as the head of a Washington DC escort agency, has committed suicide, police say.
Ms Palfrey, often referred to as "the DC Madam", was found hanged in a shed next to her mother's house in Florida.She was convicted on 15 April of running a prostitution ring, money laundering and mail fraud.
The case became famous because of the prominent officials - including Senator David Vitter - who had used the agency.
Suicide note
Ms Palfrey maintained that she had had no knowledge of her escorts engaging in sex acts with their clients.
But on 15 April, after hearing testimony from a number of the agency's former employees and clients, a federal jury found her guilty on all counts.
Archive footage of 'DC Madam'
She faced a maximum 55-year prison term, but was free pending sentencing on 24 July.
Police said that Ms Palfrey had left a suicide note, but did not disclose its contents.
"This is a tragic news and my heart goes out to her mother," said Preston Burton, the lawyer who represented Ms Palfrey in her trial. (((I'd be guessing Mom was the one who found her dangling there.)))
This would be the second time that someone involved in the scandal has committed suicide.
In January, Brandy Britton, a professor at the University of Maryland as well as an employee of the escort service, killed herself before she was due to face trial on prostitution charges....
