Part of the complexity with this particular example is that Spitzer was known for going after prostitution. So, in addition to the issue of legality, he was also a hypocrite. Hypocracy doesn't always need to be a condemnation, but in his case it was a hypocracy which put others in jail.
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I look at his case the same way I look at all those anti-gay politicians who are secretly gay. They hate themselves and in order to compensate for that internal conflict they put a lot of effort into a public show of opposing what are their own internal demons.
The misery they cause the people who get caught up in their personal psychodrama is unacceptable. But I think this type of problem is orthogonal to politicians who engage in illegal activities (e.g. being gay hasn't been illegal for a long time), it is more of a loss of perspective.