UPDATE 1-NY Gov. Spitzer under pressure to quit over sex case

(Adds tabloid headlines, origin of probe)

By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer faces pressure to resign on Tuesday as well as questions about whether he will be prosecuted for any crime after a report linked him to a high-class prostitution ring.

A New York Times report said the man who made his name fighting corruption hired a $1,000-an-hour prostitute and was caught on a federal wiretap at least six times on Feb. 12 and 13 arranging to meet with her at a Washington hotel.

Spitzer, a married 48-year-old Democrat who investigated prostitution as New York's attorney general, apologized for what he described as a "private matter" but said nothing about resigning. He neither confirmed nor denied the report.

State Republicans called for him to step down.

New York State Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco said on Monday night he had received a phone call from Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson to discuss a possible transition of power if Spitzer resigns.

The New York Times, citing unnamed law enforcement officials, reported in Tuesday's editions the investigation began last year during an Internal Revenue Service review of suspicious financial transactions as reported to it by banks.

"The payments were made over a period of several months in a way that investigators believe was intended to conceal their purpose and source, which could amount to a crime called structuring," punishable by up to five years in prison, the Times reported.