WASHINGTON (Map, News) - A woman accused of running a Washington-area prostitution ring says former University of Maryland professor Brandy Britton worked for her.

Britton told The Examiner before her death that she previously worked for an escort service called East Coast Elites, but she never mentioned Deborah Jeane Palfrey or her firm, Pamela Martin & Associates, during a series of interviews with this newspaper.

Palfrey revealed the details of what she contends was a legal escort service on the ABC newsmagazine “20/20” on Friday night, claiming Britton was an employee.

“She wasn’t making enough money, so she decided to do a little moonlighting,” Palfrey said.

Britton committed suicide in January, days before she was scheduled to stand trial on prostitution charges and be evicted from her $600,000 Ellicott City home. She faced up to a year in prison on each count, but Howard County prosecutors said that if convicted, she likely wouldn’t have served any time.

Britton’s Howard County police file makes no mention of Palfrey or her escort service. Police said Britton was working alone when arrested in January 2006, and they have not connected her case to Palfrey.

After Britton’s death, the Howard County police turned more than 186 pages of their investigative file into Britton’s alleged criminal activities to The Examiner, including client lists dating from Nov. 16, 2005, to Jan. 8, 2006.

Although Britton said her clients included “police, lawyers and judges,” her notes don’t appear to include the names of prominent people. They contain many partial names and code names, including notes for appointments with men identified only as “Robert,” “Bernard” and “David.” Next to their names, she sometimes wrote the callers’ purported occupations, such as “Dr.” or “Accountant.”

Britton was a former assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She resigned in 1999.

Police said in 2006 that Britton had turned to prostitution.

Britton operated a Web site called Alexisangel.com that stated she charged a minimum of $300 an hour for modeling and companionship, police said.

In her last interview, Britton denied she was anything more than a high-end escort whose customers paid for companionship that would not necessarily lead to sex.

“I thought I would hate the job, and I’d just have to do it,” she said. “But I really liked it, and I made some really good friends, and I like men more than I ever did before. It’s a long story, but as a feminist it made me see things differently. They love their families and their kids. They’re good guys that really love their wives.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

lbroadwater@baltimoreexaminer.com