Modern Madams

Heidi Fleiss is but the newest twist on the oldest profession. The alleged Hollywood madam--who is charged with five counts of pandering and one narcotics charge--faces a maximum of 11 years in prison; other punishments have ranged from probation to prison terms to less conventional penalties. Here are a few recent examples:

NAME: Karen Wilkening (“Rolodex Madam”)

CASE: Wilkening’s arrest for running a high-priced call-girl ring set San Diego atwitter with talk of the identities of her male clients, contained in her so-called “Rolodex 500.” Wilkening also testified in Dallas that Don R. Dixon, head of a failed savings and loan, had used thrift funds to stage lavish parties at his San Diego beach house.

VERDICT: Wilkening served two years of a 44-month sentence after pleading guilty in 1989 to one count of pandering and one count of obstructing justice.

COMMENT: Wilkening told reporters that her first activities after being freed in May, 1991, would be visits to a salad bar and the Pacific Ocean. She was picked up at California Rehabilitation Center at Norco by a friend in a limousine. They were last seen heading for the coast.

NAME: Elizabeth Adams (“Beverly Hills Madam”)

CASE: Charged with using her Sunset Strip house for pandering, Adams was arrested after she tried to enlist an undercover policewoman in her prostitution ring.

VERDICT: After pleading guilty to one felony count of “sale of person for immoral purposes,” Adams was put on probation in October, 1991. Police testified that she was a valuable informant.

COMMENT: Police said Adams provided “pillow talk,” or crucial information, about murder suspects, terrorists, drug traffickers and fugitive financier Robert Vesco.

NAME: Marlene Baldwin

CASE: Baldwin, a San Francisco woman, was convicted of running a bordello in July, 1980.

VERDICT: She was sentenced to 90 days in a convent. The order, Convent of the Good Shepherd, was established 300 years ago in France to help wayward women.

COMMENT: “It’s not unlike what Hamlet said to Ophelia--’Get thee to a nunnery,’ ” said defense attorney Art Groza.

NAME: Sydney Biddle Barrows (the “Mayflower Madam”)

CASE: Accused of running a million-dollar call-girl ring, Barrows’ arrest made headlines in New York papers. Barrows, a descendant of two Mayflower pilgrims, was kicked out of the city’s Social Register.

VERDICT: Barrows pleaded guilty in July, 1985, to a misdemeanor charge of promoting prostitution in New York. She paid a $5,000 fine.

COMMENT: When her case was over, Barrows told The Washington Post that she had become a madam because she didn’t have a graduate degree. “With all those women out there with MBAs, you can’t get a job for $40,000 or $50,000.”