[caption id="attachment_69903" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="HQ on East 78th Street"][/caption]As the entrepreneurial among us know, successful, brand name business don't just happen overnight. They take blood, sweat, tears and in some cases, other bodily fluids, that the public never sees. Anna Gristina was nearly there. The mother of four (who went by the name "Anna Scotland" professionally) had been providing hookers for to "wealthy, powerful men" ("politicians, top-law enforcement, influential lawyers, bankers, entertainment execs and Fortune 500 businessmen") out of an Upper East Side whorehouse for a decade and a half, had developed a thriving client list willing to pay between $1000 (for a "Dream Girl") to $2000+ (for an “Ultimate Elite Model”) per appointment, and made millions in the process. She was ready for the big time. Just the other day, in fact, Gristina/Scotland was sitting down at the office of her friend and business associate, a Morgan Stanley employee, to hear his plan for "expanding her operation through the Internet." And then this happened. The petite, blond Gristina was caught on wiretaps claiming “to have made millions over the 15 or so years she has been in business as a madam,” Linehan said, according to newly released transcripts of the Feb. 23 hearing...Known in the industry as “Anna Scotland,’’ the Scottish native was nailed as part of a five-year investigation by the DA’s Official Corruption Unit, which probes NYPD and other uniformed officers for possible misconduct. At one point, Gristina was caught on tape saying her law-enforcement pals were “poised to help her out, to let her know if there is trouble on the front that she needs to be concerned about, particularly back during the Eliot Spitzer investigation,” Linehan said, referring to the former governor’s hooker scandal. An arrest warrant was issued for Gristina last month. When cops arrived at her upstate home, where she rescues wild pigs and raises pit bulls, they didn’t find anyone — but a wild boar chased a police officer around, the sources said. Gristina was nabbed soon after in the office of a Morgan Stanley banker and “close friend.’’ It's unclear if the friend was part of MS's dominant tech team (and was entertaining Gristina/Scotland at HQ*) but knowing they tend to go after big fish companies about to pop it's highly probable.** Hot mama is kink link to rich: DA [NYP] High-end madam busted for running upper East Side brothel is a suburban mom with four children [NYDN] *I know the tech team is based in California-- MAYBE THIS DEAL WAS SO HUGE THE GUY WANTED TO INTRODUCE GRISTINA/SCOTLAND TO BIG JIM. **In our minds. Just let us have this.

Remember Anna Gristina/Scotland? To recap, she's the entrepreneur we were introduced to yesterday whose business hit a bit of a stumbling block when she was arrested by the Manhattan DA and charged with "promoting prostitution" out of her firm's global headquarters, a whorehouse on East 78th Street. Gristina/Scotland is currently on Riker's Island, having been unable to post bail, set at $2 million but prior to all this going down, she she was just a (self-described) CEO with big plans and an outlook not so different from her colleagues in the business world. Before being nailed as part of a 5-year investigation, a typical day for Anna included: - Cursing her commute: "She hated coming to the city," a friend told the Post. - Reminding people she was running a Fortune 500 company here: She bragged to her old friends back in Scotland that she was “building an empire." “I’m a CEO,” she wrote to one pal from her early days in the ancient village of Kirkliston. “Takes a lot of work,” she told another. - Meeting with colleagues to discuss expansion plans, financing options, and potential IPO timeline: On the morning she was arrested, Gristina/Scotland was "with a friend and Morgan Stanley banker, having been to his office for a meeting to try to raise money to finance what prosecutors believe may be an online prostitution business." (Anna's lawyers argue she "was setting up a legal dating business, hoping to rival online titan Match.com.") - Bitching about Obama and how the guy's adolescent perspective of carried interest was going to screw her over: “Hoping to survive Obama,” she said in 2008. “Obama wants people like me to support the rest of America by taxing me more than I am already.” Dig a little deeper and you'll presumably also find Gristina/Scotland also conducted quarterly earnings calls with investors, used all kinds of financial metrics to measure performance of her hooker employees, plotted acquisitions, and tried to cut costs while expanding her global footprint. Basically, she was building a multi-billion dollar company here and if anyone thinks she's not going to fight these charges and come back stronger they think wrong. UES madam had millionaire clients, led life of suburban mom [NYP] Anna Gristina: Suburban mom or high-rolling madam? [AP] Suspected Manhattan madam Anna Gristina bragged to old friends in Scotland that she was 'building an empire' [NYDN] Earlier: Manhattan DA Pumps The Brakes On Mom/Madam’s Brothel Just As It Was About To Really Take Off With The Help Of Her Contacts In The Business World

Among other things.

Earlier this morning it was reported that Morgan Stanley "reviewed its visitor logs" upon hearing that one of its employees was supposedly conducting business with Anna Gristina/Scotland, a purveyor of prostitutes, when she was arrested this week. In the event the bank is still on the hunt, Charlie Gasparino claims to have a name. "...the executive involved with UES madam has been identified as David Walker, a broker in the midtown office. He has not been charged and didn’t return calls. Morgan Stanley has no comment." Not to be confused with this guy.