Sydney Biddle Barrows

What this episode covers

As public scandals go, this one might seem pretty benign, by today's low bar.  But in 1984, it was a big story when it was revealed thatthe authoirities had broken up a high-priced Manhattan escort service that was being run by a woman named Sydney Biddle Barrows. Now, when a New York Post reporter uncovered the fact that the 32-year-old Barrows is from the Biddle family of Philadelphia, and is a direct descendant of some of the original Mayflower settlers, he dubbed her the "Mayflower Madam" -- and the name stuck. Within two years of her company being put out of business, Barrows wrote a bestselling autobiography, called, of course, "The Mayflower Madam."

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