Elliot Spitzer scandal and resignation [Merged]

saieen · March 12, 2008, 12:03am

Re: Damn, the NY Governor is a slut

if can't beat them then join them. thats wht he did...

JayR · March 12, 2008, 12:23am

Re: Damn, the NY Governor is a slut

I'll tell you how it really works around there. Put them all in one room, and prostitution becomes deplorable, and women become ladies; now, get to know them and talk to them individually (especially after a couple of beers), and prostitution becomes acceptable, and women become b's.

StirCrasy · March 12, 2008, 12:32am

Re: Damn, the NY Governor is a slut

what does 'there' mean?

StirCrasy · March 12, 2008, 12:32am

Re: What's with these power guys such as Spitzer?

^ talk for yourself, don't generalize

JayR · March 12, 2008, 12:54am

Re: What's with these power guys such as Spitzer?

Trust me Crasy, I know what I'm talking about. I know of a county circuit court judge who retired to Costa Rica and openned an escort service there.

JayR · March 12, 2008, 12:54am

Re: Damn, the NY Governor is a slut

There means in the US.

JayR · March 12, 2008, 4:41am

Spitzer tripped up on laws he enforced

By SAMANTHA GROSS and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writers

NEW YORK - Eliot Spitzer knew how to catch bad guys by following the money. As attorney general, he once broke up a call-girl ring and locked up 18 people on corruption, money-laundering and prostitution charges. He ruthlessly investigated the pay packages of Wall Street executives and was so familiar with shady financial maneuvers that he rose to become the top racketeering prosecutor in Manhattan.

But in the end, it appears that Spitzer may have been done in by the same behavior he built a career out of prosecuting.

In fact, it seems he was tripped up by some of the very financial accounting methods he used so successfully against multibillion-dollar Wall Street firms.

For one thing, the governor initially drew the attention of federal investigators because of cash payments to an account operated by a call-girl ring, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of because of the sensitivity of the case.

Banks are required to file Suspicious Activity Reports to the government whenever they observe something they fear may be a crime.

In court papers, Client 9 — identified by another law enforcement official as Spitzer — hurried to get more than $4,000 in cash to pay a call girl at a Washington hotel.

That kind of activity, repeated over time, is just the kind of thing that would set off alarm bells with a bank’s compliance officer, who is trained to be on the lookout for what is called structuring or “smurfing” — a pattern of transactions aimed at hiding the nature or purpose of certain money.

Spitzer of all people should have known that, said Miami-based lawyer Gregory Baldwin, credited with coining the term “smurfing” in the 1980s as a federal prosecutor.

“I think he’s done enough cases where he’s charged money laundering that he would know exactly what kind of information you get from the banks. It’s such a perfect example of what goes around, comes around,” he said.

By the time the scandal broke this week, Spitzer’s financial transactions had been monitored, his phone calls had been caught on tape, and his actions had been scrutinized by federal prosecutors. It could have been straight out of the Spitzer prosecution playbook.

Whether Spitzer thought he was smarter than the feds because of his own professional experience is, for now at least, a matter for psychologists to speculate on.

As New York attorney general, Spitzer was also familiar with how to bust up a prostitution ring.

Spitzer proudly announced on April 8, 2004, that authorities had arrested 18 people on promoting prostitution and related charges — including money laundering and falsifying business records — in an investigation of escort services in New York.

“This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure,” Spitzer said at the time. “It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring, and now its owners and operators will be held accountable.”

In the 2004 probe, investigators used wiretaps and other surveillance to build their case, said Vincent Romano, who defended the man accused of running the ring. Prosecutors also charged some of the defendants with enterprise corruption — a charge carrying heavier penalties than simple prostitution. No charges were brought against the ring’s customers, just those accused of working for or running the service.

“It was a big splash. They had the perp walk. He caused a lot of embarrassment to a lot of people in the case to his benefit. What he put their families through at the time, he’s probably experiencing now: the level of embarrassment and ridicule,” Romano said.

“He’s got this overzealous, mean-spirited prosecution, but behind closed doors in another state, he’s doing the identical thing that he’s accusing others of doing,” he added. “And the other irony of it is that you’ve made a career off of a wiretap, and your demise is by the same prosecutorial tool.”

The investigation that could spell Spitzer’s ruin found that Client 9 was apparently a repeat customer with the Emperors Club VIP, a lucrative prostitution service where some call girls pulled in $5,500 an hour. The governor has not been charged, and prosecutors would not comment on the case.

A person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that the probe began with a referral from banks to an Internal Revenue Service office on Long Island about suspicious transactions involving accounts ultimately traced to Spitzer. The IRS studied the records and then referred the case to federal prosecutors in October. It was then assigned to the public corruption unit of the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan.

The precise details of what set off alarm bells for federal authorities are still unclear.

But authorities believe Spitzer may have spent tens of thousands of dollars, apparently transferring only personal funds — not campaign contributions or state taxpayer dollars — between accounts to pay for the prostitute service, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Another official said the amount could be as much as $80,000.

A half-million or so times every year, banks alert the federal government that a suspicious transaction has occurred. Although the public sometimes thinks it requires a transfer of $10,000 or more to attract attention, banks can label transactions suspicious even if they involve far less money, said Walter Pagano, a former IRS agent who has testified in court on white-collar crime.

Spitzer might have tried to keep his transfers below the $10,000 threshold, underestimating the scrutiny that banks give to lesser amounts.

Spitzer prosecuted cases in New York for two decades before becoming governor. From 1986 to 1992, he was an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. While there, he rose to become chief of the labor racketeering unit.

While attorney general, he also went up against two men he accused of using their tour company to promote “sex tourism” in the Philippines and Thailand — first suing them in civil court and then bringing criminal charges.

One defense attorney on the case said it was politically motivated.

“He prosecuted a couple of little guys who were easy targets when he was running for governor,” Daniel Hochheiser said. “The whole situation is marked by irony, hypocrisy and self-righteousness.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/spitzer_the_money_trail

This is what I mean by cultural hypocracy.

simplyme · March 12, 2008, 8:21am

Re: Damn, the NY Governor is a slut

^^

Your obsession with US is bordering on paranoia. How come you know so many things about US without being there. Your only experereince would be with the immigration officers I suppose..

Sara516 · March 12, 2008, 10:48pm

Re: Spitzer tripped up on laws he enforced

I think all the SPitzer threads should be merged? this is the 3rd one i've seen...

Seminole · March 12, 2008, 11:00pm

Re: Spitzer tripped up on laws he enforced

How is this cultural hypocrisy? I'd attribute it to personal hypocrisy on Spitzer's part.

JayR · March 12, 2008, 11:17pm

Re: Spitzer tripped up on laws he enforced

Sara, hooker news raise such excitment that I wouldn't be too surprised if a couple more Spitzer threads pop up. But let me eliviate a thread over his resignment by announcing it. If he didn't resign, feminists would have unixed him, and he wouldn't even have been able to find employment at Forbidden City.

So, what really got Spitzer? It can't be really about withdrawing $4,000 in cash every now and then; and how could anyone construe this as him possibly taking bribes. He's making withdrawls, not deposits. It's obvious that Wall Street Bankers kept any eye on him, and got back at him.

uberalles · March 13, 2008, 3:00am

Re: Spitzer tripped up on laws he enforced

Actually he got caught by shear accident., THe organization was under investigation for several months and accidentally his name came to their ears. This perked up their ears and they ended up investigating and following Spitzer.

HSK · March 13, 2008, 5:12am