Secret Service prostitution: 3 more resign (UPDATES)

GlobalPost

Three more Secret Service personnel left their posts today in the wake of the Colombia prostitution scandal, CNN reported. The employees are believed to have hired prostitutes while on a security detail in Cartagena, Colombia, before President Barack Obama's trip there for the Summit of the Americas.

The latest to go "have chosen to resign," Secret Service Spokesman Paul Morrissey said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Defense Department said it was investigating the possible involvement of 11 military personnel, up from 10 previously, in the scandal, and the Secret Service added a 12th employee to its investigation today, according to Politico.

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Three Secret Service members have already left the agency under varying circumstances, bringing the total number of heads to roll to six.

More from GlobalPost: Letter from Colombia: Cartagena's last laugh

The incident burst into the public over a week ago after a prostitute alerted police when an alleged Secret Service client refused to pay the $800 she was asking for, according to The New York Times.

While prostitution is legal in parts of Cartagena, the Secret Service code of conduct and the Uniform Code of Military Justice bar Secret Service members and military personnel from patronizing prostitutes, according to the LA Times.

The Associated Press said Defense Secretary Leon Pannetta was receiving regular updates on the progress of the investigation and President Barack Obama was personally briefed in the Oval Office today by Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan.

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