Melissa Petro (PICTURES): NYC Aims to Fire Craigslist Call Girl-Turned-Teacher

By: Caroline Black
Topics: Daily Blotter

Melissa Petro (PICTURES): City Officials Look to Terminate Former Craigslist Call Girl Turned Teacher

Melissa Petro (Personal Photo)

NEW YORK (CBS/WCBS) Backed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City officials have charged former Craigslist call girl Melissa Petro with "conduct unbecoming a teacher" and are looking to make the elementary school teacher's suspension permanent.

PICTURES: Melissa Petro, Teacher Sex Worker

Even though Petro was granted tenure, which basically affords teachers lifetime job security, a spokeswoman for the Dept. of Education says officials will try to terminate the 30-year-old teacher who blogged about her past as a prostitute, reports The New York Post.

Petro will face the Dept. of Education at a disciplinary hearing which is slated to begin within the next 60 days, reports CBS station WCBS.

Petro, who was working as an art teacher at PS 70 in the Bronx when she aired her dirty laundry, had always been open about the fact that she once worked as a stripper; however, days after receiving tenure, she took her candidness to the next level by blogging on The Huffington Post that she also briefly worked as a prostitute, running ads on Craigslist from Oct. 2006 to Jan. 2007 and exchanging sex for cash.

Once her prostitute past went public, Petro was suspended from her post at PS 70 and assigned a non-teaching position.

Prior to her suspension, Petro had been asked to use a pseudonym instead of attaching her real name to her blog. She declined, saying, "I've never been one to shy away from publicity. I suppose I could be fired, but for what exactly?"

After her hearing, an arbitrator will have 30 days to decide what penalty, if any, she should receive, says WCBS.

MORE COVERAGE OF MELISSA PETRO ON CRIMESIDER