Accused Millionaire Madame's Pal Sought for Questioning By Cops
Jaynie Baker said she worked as an assistant matchmaker in New York City.
March 7, 2012— -- A well connected New York City woman who was paid to refer men to a dating service is being sought for questioning in the investigation of the so-called Millionaire Madame Anna Gristina.
Authorities are hoping to speak with Jaynie Baker, a sometime matchmaker who reportedly helped Gristina build her clientele by leveraging her high-end connections on the New York social scene.
Baker, 30, was indicted along with Gristina and allegedly helped the Millionaire Madame build her base of clients, the New York Post reported.
Gristina's alleged clientele included politicians, bankers, executives, top law enforcement officials and other powerful individuals, according to the New York Post.
A spokesperson for the New York District Attorney's Office declined ABCNews.com's request for comment on whether they had been able to reach Baker, citing the ongoing investigation.
Baker listed her occupation as "match making assistant" at VIP Life on her LinkedIn profile, an exclusive dating service that matches "exceptional, relationship-oriented men and women."
"Have tried many things but have learned sitting at a desk pulls the energy from my soul and thus not for me," she wrote.
Her biography on VIP Life's website, which has since been taken down, described her as "a true extrovert who thrives on being able to mingle in all social crowds".
Owner Lisa Clampitt told ABCNews.com that Baker worked for her for six months but wasn't an employee. Instead, she was paid a finder's fee for referring men to her match making service.
Clampitt said she spoke with Baker recently and that she was in Los Angeles helping her sister move.
She described Baker as someone with "a heart of gold" who frequented charity events in the city.
"[Jaynie] probably doesn't even know what's going on," Clampitt said. "This information is shocking to me."
Gristina and an unnamed person, reported to be Baker, were listed as co-defendants in an indictment issued Friday by the New York City District Attorney's Office.
Authorities arrested Gristina Feb. 22 while she was meeting with a Morgan Stanley banker to discuss ways to expand her alleged business online. A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the case.
Gristina has pleaded not guilty, saying through her lawyer that she was attempting to set up an online dating business. At a hearing Tuesday, a judge refused to lower the British-born Gristina's bail, calling her a flight risk. She was sent back to Rikers Island jail.
The Millionaire Madam allegedly promoted prostitution under the name Anna Scotland for 15 years, netting her millions of dollars as attractive young women, some of them allegedly underage, and wealthy men came and went from an unassuming brownstone on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
"I'm surprised there was a brothel next door," Tony Kim, who owns Danny Boy's Cleaners, told ABCNews.com. "I've never seen anything like people walking in and out during the day."
Gristina was allegedly caught on wiretaps and surveillance videos as part of a five-year investigation by the District Attorney's Public Corruption Unit, which probes the conduct of law enforcement and other officials and whether they have been protecting Gristina's alleged activities.
Prosecutors alleged at her arraignment that the tapes capture her bragging about how law enforcement sources promised to warn her if she were under suspicion, particularly during the time New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was revealed to be a client of an escort service that was shut down in 2009.
She was also heard on wiretaps talking about a friend who is a prominent lawyer and the precautions he helped her take in the event of her arrest, according to prosecutors.
"He [the friend] basically locked money away for her should this ever happen so she will have money when she comes out of it," Assistant District Attorney Charles Linehan said, according to a transcript of the Feb. 23 arraignment obtained by DNAinfo.
Gristina reportedly has four children and lives in Monroe, N.Y., with husband Kelvin Gorr and various rescue animals.
"We are just a great family ... and my wife means everything to me," Gorr told the New York Daily News as he exited his wife's hearing today. "I feel heartbroken."
Gristina was previously married to Dario Gristina, who is a candidate for New York State Assembly.
Her next court date is scheduled for May 3.