Cleaning Up for DSK Is Men's Work

The former IMF chief has an all-male cleaning staff, which delights the New York Post

Dominique Strauss-Kahn's high-end TriBeCa townhouse, to which he is confined under house arrest, has been the subject of no little media scrutiny. But now that the fervor over the place's plethora of accoutrements and its Al Pacino-themed decor has died down, it's time to record some more mundane details. Hot on the story is the New York Post, which has apparently kept the place under surveilance since its famous occupant moved in last week.

Chief among the details reported in today's account of Strauss-Kahn's first weekend in his new home: He's hired an all-male cleaning staff. In addition, he apparently subscribes to Netflix, his wife Anne Sinclair and daughter Camille Strauss-Kahn bought some linens at Crate and Barrel, and he's erected some four umbrellas on the terrace to shield it from prying photographers. Also, he may be planning some rennovations, indicated by a visit from a Queens-based contractor. Strauss-Kahn's brother, Marc-Oliver Strauss-Kahn, reportedly paid him a visit over the weekend. "The younger Strauss-Kahn, director at Banque de France and is [sic] a visiting senior adviser to the US Federal Reserve, was spotted going in and out but left yesterday with a suitcase," the Post reported. Sounds like a pleasant enough Memorial Day weekend.

With news this minor getting a front-page splash, it seems the Post would blow some kind of gasket if, say, a strange young coed were to drop by Strauss-Kahn's house. But as Tom McGeveran points out in Capital New York, "there are only two more weeks the paper has to keep the story alive before a trial makes it eventful again." The formal arraignment on seven charges is set for June 6. With any luck, some inspired reporter will find something marginally scandalous in Strauss-Kahn's trash before then.