Eliot Spitzer, wife file for divorce, sources say

Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, have filed papers for a divorce to end their rocky 27-year marriage, according to legal sources and court records.

A filing in State Supreme Court in Manhattan under the caption "Anonymous v. Anonymous" on Tuesday is noted to be a contested matrimonial matter assigned to Judge Laura Drager.

The sources, who did not want to be identified, said the filing is related to the Spitzers. Legal experts have said that matrimonial cases are sometimes filed under the anonymous caption to keep the matter confidential.

Telephone calls to the attorneys listed as representing Spitzer and his wife were not immediately returned. Spitzer himself didn't return a telephone call for comment and his wife couldn't be reached for comment.

But Spitzer spokeswoman Lisa Linden, on behalf of the couple, said Wednesday, "All issues between us have been resolved and are uncontested."

The filing of the divorce case doesn't come as a surprise. After it became known late last year that Spitzer, 54, who resigned as governor in 2008 in the midst of a prostitution scandal, had started a relationship with Lis Smith, a former aide to Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Spitzer and his wife released a statement that their marriage had effectively ended.

Smith Wednesday declined to comment on the filing.

The Spitzers wed in 1987 and have three children. Spitzer made an unsuccessful run for city comptroller last year. Silda Spitzer is 56.

Noted divorce attorney Raoul Lionel Felder, who is not involved in the case, said that even though the case is marked as a contested matrimonial matter, it was very likely that all of the financial arrangements between the Spitzers have been worked out before the filing. By state law, all matrimonial court papers are sealed from public view.

"The one thing he has is money," Felder said of Eliot Spitzer, who is a top executive in his father's real estate business.

"They probably settled the case and no one will appear in court," Felder said.