by James Oliphant

A jury today found Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who had been dubbed the "D.C. madam" by the media, guilty of running a prostitution ring here in the nation's capital.

She had been charged with money laundering and racketeering. Palfrey, 52, had said that her escorts dealt in fantasy, not sex, and if sex-for-money occurred, it was without her knowledge.

“When a man agrees to pay $250 for 90 minutes with a woman, what do most men expect in that time?” federal prosecutor Daniel Butler said during closing arguments Monday. “In that context, it’s pretty clear. Most men want sex.”

The trial was largely an exercise in unmet expectations. Although three clients and a dozen escorts testified, little new was detailed in operation of the ring. And its highest-profile clients were never called to testify or perhaps never made public at all.

First and foremost was Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) who last summer publicly admitted to patronizing the ring. Vitter's lawyers promised a fight if he were called to testify. He wasn't.

Palfrey and her lawyers at one point vowed to sell the information in her client files to pay for her defense. But that never happened either. Maybe for her appeal?

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Photo of Jeane Palfrey after a hearing in federal court in Washington on April 30. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)