Craigslist CEO Ready To Rumble With Attorneys General

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster is proudly and loudly carrying the "free speech" banner in the legal throw down.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo fired the latest salvo in the Craigslist war of words when he announced Wednesday the "takedown of a prostitution ring" that he charged operated exclusively on Craigslist.

Cuomo said the alleged prostitution enterprise called Room Service Entertainment ("RSE"), headquartered in Ozone Park, Queens, "advertised exclusively in the Erotic Services section of Craigslist."

Cuomo said that although alleged prostitution ring initially advertised in The Village Voice and other local papers, Craigslist became the "sole vehicle through which the company operated."

The "bookers" for ring "continuously created and posted prostitution advertisements on Craigslist's Erotic Services section because the more current the post, the more prominently the ad was featured on Craigslist," said Cuomo.

"These postings contained either a pornographic or semi-pornographic photograph and a phone number to call to arrange a "date," said Cuomo.

Cuomo, by the way, left little doubt that Craigslist bears some responsibility for not putting measures in place that prevent the site from being used as a breeding ground for prostitution "Until Craigslist gets serious about putting real protections in place, it will continue to be an environment where criminal operations thrive with impunity," said Cuomo in an article by The New York Times.

Buckmaster, meanwhile, fresh off a scrabble with South Carolina Attorney Henry McMaster , is not backing down.

In an email response to The New York Times, Buckmaster was quick to point out that the illicit activity spotlighted by Cuomo took place in "2008, well before Craigslist eliminated erotic services and commenced manual screening of all ads posted to adult services."

"Misuse of Craigslist in connection with illicit activity is unacceptable, and we work closely with law enforcement to address it," he told The New York Times.

Buckmaster's comments come after he decided to sue McMaster seeking relief from what he called legal threats and claims that the online classifieds site promoted prostitution with its adult-related ads.

Buckmaster said the lawsuit was aimed at staving off criminal charges as well as McMaster's threats against the company and its executives.

McMaster had threatened to press charges against Craigslist executives for aiding prostitution by supporting what he called sexual solicitation ads that might lead to prostitution in the state of South Carolina. So far, no charges have been brought against Craigslist.

"In addition to being unwarranted by the facts, legal experts agree that the charges threatened represent an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech, and are clearly barred by federal law," Buckmaster said in a blog posting.

What's clear from the latest legal scrapple is that Buckmaster is not ready to go any further than he already has in cleaning up Craigslist. This is not the end of the legal wars. It's only the beginning. The phrase that is ringing in Buckmaster's ears as we speak: "Let's Get Ready To Rumble!"