The capital has been riveted by the chance influential men may now be caught with their trousers down since Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 50, dubbed the DC Madam in local media, was arraigned in federal court on charges of operating a Washington prostitution service for 13 years until her retirement in 2006.

Palfrey has denied she ran a prostitution ring. Her company, Pamela Martin and Associates, was simply a high-end adult fantasy firm, which offered legal sexual and erotic services across the spectrum of adult sexual behaviour, she said.

Palfrey contends her escort service provided university-educated women to engage in legal game-playing of a sexual nature at 275 dollars an hour for a 90-minute session, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

But Palfrey has also hinted that she has a record of the phone numbers of thousands of the more than 10,000 customers her company served which could embarrass more than a few of the US capital's high-fliers.