”The governor has paid literally tens of thousands of dollars for these services. It is Mr. Stone’s understanding that the governor paid not with credit cards or cash but through some pre-arranged transfer,” the letter said.

”It is also my client’s understanding from the same source that Governor Spitzer did not remove his mid-calf length black socks during the sex act. Perhaps you can use this detail to corroborate Mr. Stone’s information,” the letter said, signed by attorney Paul Rolf Jensen of Costa Mesa, Calif.

The letter also notes that while Stone believes the information is true, he ”cannot swear to its accuracy” because it is second-hand.

James Margolin, a spokesman for the FBI’s New York office, would not say whether the bureau had received the letter. A spokeswoman for Spitzer also had no comment.

The letter was written several months after allegations were leveled at Stone that he had left a threatening phone message at the office of Bernard Spitzer, the ex-governor’s father, regarding ”phony” campaign loans involving his son’s unsuccessful 1994 bid for attorney general. Stone denied making the call but resigned as a consultant for state Senate Republicans in Albany.

Spitzer, the crusading attorney general who became governor, resigned March 12 amid allegations he was a client of a high-paid prostitution ring, the Emperors’ Club. Four people have been charged with operating the ring. Spitzer has not been charged. A federal affidavit described a rendezvous between Spitzer and a prostitute known as Kristen, since identified as Ashley Alexandra Dupre, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on Feb. 13.

One of Stone’s lawyers, Fort Lauderdale attorney Robert Buschel, said the letter’s release is an attempt to set the record straight about Stone’s possible part in the Spitzer drama. Stone confirmed the letter and referred The Miami Herald to his lawyer for comments.

”The conspiracy enthusiasts on the Internet are going wild over Roger Stone’s role in the fall of Eliot Spitzer. We felt it was important to lay out for the public exactly what Mr. Stone did tell the government,” said Buschel, a partner in Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, Adler of Fort Lauderdale.

Stone works as a partner in a separate public affairs and consulting company with the same name — Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, Adler — in the same office as the law firm.

”We trust this information was helpful to federal authorities in making their case against Mr. Spitzer,” Buschel said.