By way of a letter from the office of Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the attorneys general of 17 U.S. states beseeched Craigslist to close down its adult services category. “Continued rampant prostitution advertisements and mounting public outrage” were the reasons behind the demand.

In the letter to Jim Buckmaster and Craig Newmark, the attorneys general said that the classified listing giant either could or would not adequately screen the ads.

“Craigslist clearly lacks the wherewithal — or will — to fight flagrant prostitution ads that persist on its site,” Blumenthal said in the letter’s announcement. “Prostitution is a booming business on Craigslist, perhaps more than ever before.

“We understand that prostitution is profitable — but its human toll is intolerable, and Craigslist should cease being an enabler. Despite its much-touted ‘manual review’ of Adult Services, Craigslist has failed to block blatant prostitution ads.”

While acknowledging that Craigslist had considerable revenue to lose by eliminating adult services ads, the letter to its executives said, ” No amount of money can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution, and the suffering of women and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by craigslist.” (AIM Group has projected $36 million adult services revenue for 2010)

States joining Connecticut in the letter of demand to Newmark and Buckmaster are: Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

UPDATE: As a point of interest, it should be noted that the Knight Foundation, in a new funding initiative to inspire the use of technology to bring about community action, has awarded $750,000 to the Craigslist Foundation. The Foundation, according to the Knightblog, is “creating an idea-sharing site, where institutions and individuals tell their community’s success stories and connect with people of like minds.”

The Craigslist Foundation helped created AllForGood.org, coordinating and funding volunteers for such projects as Support the Troops donation drive, Head Start Health Fair, and efforts to save the Gulf of Mexico.

Perhaps those who would judge Newmark and Buckmaster as “all about the money” might consider where some of that money is going. Mr. Blumenthal, what have you done for us lately?