He had hoped to guard ex- IMF chief if he became prez.A POLICE chief who hoped to guard Dominique Strauss- Kahn if he became President of France organised an orgy with him in a Paris hotel, it was claimed on Monday.
The senior officer is also said to have accompanied prostitutes to New York to meet up with Strauss- Kahn when he was in charge of the International Monetary Fund.
The well- sourced allegations about Jean- Christophe Lagarde are not only deeply embarrassing for Strauss- Kahn, but point to wide- scale corruption at the heart of French political life.
They emerged during an inquiry into an underage prostitute racket in northern France which has already seen five men, including a lawyer and businessman, arrested.
French judges are aware that Lagarde, a departmental commissioner in France’s national police force, had discussed setting up a protection unit for Strauss- Kahn if he became President of France.
But a prostitute has also told them that the pair organised an orgy in the spring of 2010 “ in a duplex suite of a luxury central Paris hotel”, according to the Journal du Dimanche ( JDD) newspaper.
The highly- respected Sunday paper, which has seen the inquiry documents, said that Lagarde also accompanied prostitutes to New York, where Strauss- Kahn was working as IMF chief.
According to the JDD, the illegal prostitute racket not only provided girls for luxury French hotels like the Carlton in Lille, but also ones in the US. They are thought to have been selected for Strauss- Kahn by Dominique Alderweireld, a 62- year- old ‘ pimp’ nicknamed ‘ Dodo’, who made a number of trips to see Strauss- Kahn in New York. He has since been arrested.
At least two prostitutes have claimed that Strauss- Kahn was one of their clients, although there is no current suggestion that they were underage.
Prostitution is legal in France, but those offering sex must be over 18.
Organisers of the racket face charges of procuring prostitutes, organised conspiracy in criminal acts and money laundering.
On Thursday, Strauss- Kahn learned that he will not face charges for the alleged attempted rape of a French author in Paris in 2003.
Despite conceding that he had attacked Tristane Banon, now 33, judges cleared Strauss- Kahn because of the statute of limitations in France, which is three years for sexual assault.
It marks the second time in three months that Strauss- Kahn has been cleared of sex charges.
In August, US prosecutors dropped charges that he had raped a maid in a New York hotel room in May.
Banon first spoke out after Strauss- Kahn was arrested in New York but US prosecutors eventually dropped the charges after finding the cleaner, 32- year- old Nafissatou Diallo, had told a number of lies.
Strauss- Kahn could have received a prison sentence of up to 15 years if found guilty of attempted rape in France. He still faces civil cases in both Paris and New York over the alleged rape incidents.
Strauss- Kahn now also faces being interviewed as a witness in the hotel prostitute inquiry.
The JDD said that police chief Lagarde also expects to be ‘ taken into custody’ on the orders of examining judges.
The development came as French Socialist chose their candidate to take on Nicolas Sarkozy in next Spring’s presidential elections.
Until his arrest, Strauss- Kahn was the favourite to stand as Socialist candidate.
A source close to Strauss- Kahn said he had “ no comment” to make on the latest sleaze allegations.
Daily Mail