(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-12 21:22

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Bloggers, commentators and comedians have already weighed in on the prostitution scandal that has imperiled Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Now New Yorkers are getting a shot and their view is clear: He should resign or be removed from office.

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer addresses the media with his wife Silda Wall Spitzer at his office in New York, March 10, 2008. [Agencies]

A poll released late Tuesday found that 70 percent of New Yorkers think Spitzer should resign, while 66 percent believe he should be impeached and removed from office if he doesn't.

"It's a big thumbs down," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the poll. "It points to just how politically untenable his position is right now."

The poll comes a day after allegations that Spitzer hired a high-priced call girl, vaporizing his straight-arrow persona. Investigators said Tuesday he was a repeat customer who spent tens of thousands of dollars.

While Spitzer and his family remained huddled in their Manhattan apartment, insiders said the governor was trying to decide how to proceed. Republicans began talking impeachment, and few if any fellow Democrats came forward to defend him.

The scandal erupted Monday when allegations surfaced that Spitzer, a 48-year-old married man with three teenage daughters, spent thousands of dollars on a call girl named Kristen at a swanky Washington hotel on the night before Valentine's Day.

The case started when banks noticed frequent cash transfers from several accounts and filed suspicious activity reports with the Internal Revenue Service, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The accounts were traced back to Spitzer, leading public corruption investigators to open an inquiry.

A law enforcement official said Tuesday that Spitzer had spent tens of thousands of dollars with the call-girl service Emperors Club VIP. Another official said the amount could be as high as $80,000. It was not clear over what period of time that was spent.