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CNN) -- Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the "D.C. Madam," was found dead in Florida on Thursday, according to Tarpon Springs police.


Deborah Jeane Palfrey was convicted of running a high-powered prostitution ring.

Palfrey hanged herself in a storage shed on her mother's property, where she had been staying, according to a police statement. Palfrey's mother, 76-year-old Blanche Palfrey, found the body, police said.

"Blanche Palfrey had awoken from a nap and began to search the residence for her daughter," the statement said. "When she went outside, she noticed a three-wheel bicycle had been moved that was normally kept in the shed." The older woman then saw her daughter's body hanging from a metal beam under the shed's roof, police said.

"The mother's obviously distraught," said Tarpon Springs police Capt. Jeffrey Young. "This is the hardest part in any type of situation like this, when you have a suicide. It's all the victims that are left behind."

In an earlier statement, police said, "handwritten notes were found on scene that describes the victim's intention to take her life, and foul play does not appear to be involved."

The Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office will determine the cause of death, police said. Watch police confirm death of "D.C. Madam" »

The county sheriff's office and the FBI are participating in the investigation.

Palfrey's lawyers expressed sadness at news reports.

"I am devastated to hear about this," Montgomery Blair Sibley said before police confirmed the death.

Her court-appointed lawyer Preston Burton said, "This is tragic news. My heart goes out to her mother."

Palfrey was convicted last month in connection with a high-end prostitution ring catering to Washington's elite.

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She was found guilty April 15 of money laundering, racketeering and mail fraud and faced a maximum 55-year prison term at her sentencing, scheduled for July 24.

Prosecutors estimated that she would have received a sentence between 57 and 71 months, about six years, because of sentencing guidelines and other factors that would have been taken into account.

"I'm looking at 55 years in a federal penitentiary, and at my age, that is virtually a life sentence," Palfrey told CNN Radio's Ninette Sosa in March. "Realistically, we estimate between eight and 15 years. I'm also looking at the complete forfeiture of my entire life savings and work."

She said the government "went after me. They found out that I'm not who they thought I was, and instead of dropping the whole matter they decided to press forward and, what the heck, she's a woman, she's weak, we'll intimidate her, we'll humiliate her, we'll pounce on this poor lady and she'll give in."

Palfrey told ABC News last year that she would never return to prison after serving time in the 1990s for other prostitution-related charges. "I sure as heck am not going to be going to federal prison for one day, let alone, you know, four to eight years."

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Washington, which prosecuted Palfrey, said, "we extend our condolences to Ms. Palfrey's family."

At least one lawmaker, Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, a Republican, turned up in the phone records of her business, Pamela Martin & Associates.

State Department official Randall Tobias resigned in May 2007 after confirming that he patronized Palfrey's business.


Palfrey argued her business was a legitimate, legal escort service.

"There's no violence, there's very little if any drug activity. There's very little if any fraud. Basically a bunch of benign women who want to make a living. This is not racketeering by any means -- this is running a business," she told CNN Radio in March