(OT, Spitzer)
OTOH, wasn't it Spitzer who helped introduce the requirement for banks to notify the authorities of "suspicious" wire transfers ?
The words "hoist", "own" and "petard' do keep springing to mind when you read about this case.
newsday.com
Spitzer last year had wanted to wire transfer more than $10,000 from his branch to what turned out to be the front for the prostitution ring, QAT Consulting Group, which also uses a number of other names, in New Jersey, the sources said.
But Spitzer had the money broken down into several smaller amounts of less than $10,000 each, apparently to avoid federal regulations requiring the reporting of the transfer of $10,000 or more, the sources said. The regulations are aim to help spot possible illegal business activities, such as fraud or drug deals.
Apparently, having second thoughts about even sending the total amount in this manner, Spitzer then asked that the bank take his name off the wires, the sources said.
Bank officials declined, however, saying that it was improper to do so and in any event, it was too late to do so, because the money already had been sent, the sources said.
The bank, as is required by law, filed an SAR, or Suspicious Activity Report, with the Internal Revenue Service, reporting the transfer of the money that exceeded $10,000, but had been broken down into smaller amounts, the sources said. …
The assumption, the sources said, was that Spitzer was being victimized either by a blackmailer or an impostor. The agents also speculated that perhaps the governor was involved in some sort of political corruption, the sources said.
abcnews.go.com
The federal investigation of a New York prostitution ring was triggered by Gov. Eliot Spitzer's suspicious money transfers, initially leading agents to believe Spitzer was hiding bribes, according to federal officials.
It was only months later that the IRS and the FBI determined that Spitzer wasn't hiding bribes but payments to a company called QAT, what prosecutors say is a prostitution operation operating under the name of the Emperors Club. …
OTTH, they were clearly determined to nail Spitzer:
talkingpointsmemo.com
...But here is where it gets odd. The wire tap goes live toward the beginning of January. They listen in to numerous conversations between clients and the escort service owners/operators all through January and early February.
Judging from the affidavit, they obviously have more than enough to bust all four employees and numerous johns. But they don't.
They sit on the wire until February 11, when Eliot Spitzer contacts the service. Importantly, the investigators would have known that Spitzer was a repeat user. So, if they bring charges in early February, they get the brothel owners, but they don't get the big prize - the moralizing Governor of New York state.
Were they waiting for him? I don't know. But look at the timing: Spitzer has his liason with the prostitute on February 12, and suddenly, the Feds wrap up their investigation. They file charges just three weeks later. They had their evidence.
This smells like they were sitting on the wire, knowing Spitzer was eventually going to call.
It doesn't look to me as though the Feds were exceeding their authority, but one might well think them overzealous in the way they pursued this.
On the more interesting question of whether the criminal code ought to be amended, I'll punt. |
