A couple of more data points emerged today about the underlying conduct by Eliot Spitzer that is now under federal investigation.
ABC News is reporting this evening that Spitzer moved “an estimated $40,000 through various accounts” in possible violation of federal law, according to federal investigators.
Earlier today, the New York Times reported that “Mr. Spitzerâs payments to the Emperorâs Club began sometime in the middle of 2007.”
Even at the $4,500 a pop that Emperor’s Club allegedly charged, you’re talking about numerous assignations just in the last few monnths. Based on the wiretap from the night of Feb.13, it appears Spitzer was more in the $2,500 per night range. So as many as a dozen or more separate encounters, assuming that all $40,000 went to call girls.
While that’s an awful lot of money to be spending on call girls in a relatively short period of time, $40,000 is a relatively small amount when it comes to money laundering. The movement of that amount of funds by a man who reportedly has considerable personal wealth would not be particularly suspicious. Assuming banking regulations required the filing of a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), the amount of money involved was so minimal that it’s surprising it caught the eye of the IRS.
Before Alberto Gonzales and the revelations surrounding the politicization of the Justice Department, a safe assumption would have been that the name of a sitting governor on a SAR would have been enough to catch the eye of any investigator, even if the amounts involved were relatively small. That’s the gist of what happened here, according to various reports.
I hope that’s true. I want it to be true. Based on the facts as we know them now, I tend to think it is true. But one of the sad legacies of the Bush Administration is the lingering doubt that now accompanies public corruption investigations.
Late Update: From the AP:
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a law enforcement official said Tuesday that Spitzer, in fact, had spent tens of thousands of dollars with the Emperors Club. Another official said the amount could be as high as $80,000. But it was not clear over what period of time that was spent.
$40,000? $80,000? But who’s counting?
