Posted on 03/16/2008 2:30:48 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The federal criminal investigation that has led to Eliot Spitzer's resignation as governor of New York illustrates the great dangers all Americans face from vague and open-ended sex and money-transaction statutes.
Federal law, if read broadly, criminalizes virtually all sexual encounters for which something of value has been given. Federal money-laundering statutes criminalize many entirely legitimate and conventional banking transactions. Congress enacted these laws to give federal prosecutors wide discretion in deciding which "bad guys" to go after.
Generally, wise and intelligent prosecutors use their discretion properly -- to target organized crime, terrorism, financial predation, exploitation of children and the like. But the very existence of these selectively enforced statutes poses grave dangers of abuse. They lie around like loaded guns waiting to be used against the enemies of politically motivated investigators, prosecutors and politicians.
There is no hard evidence that Eliot Spitzer was targeted for investigation, but the story of how he was caught does not ring entirely true to many experienced former prosecutors and current criminal lawyers. The New York Times reported that the revelations began with a routine tax inquiry by revenue agents "conducting a routine examination of suspicious financial transactions reported to them by banks." This investigation allegedly found "several unusual movements of cash involving the Governor of New York." But the movement of the amounts of cash required to pay prostitutes, even high-priced prostitutes over a long period of time, does not commonly generate a full-scale investigation.
We are talking about thousands, not millions, of dollars. We are also talking about a man who is a multimillionaire with numerous investments and purchases. The idea that federal investigators would focus on a few transactions to corporations -- that were not themselves under investigation -- raises as many questions as answers.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Agree or disagree about the prostitution charges, but once again the media is ignoring all the other Federal crimes Spitzer is accused of. Money laundering is illegal and will get you Federal scrutiny everytime. The whores trip from NY to DC violated the Mann Act, and using the US mail in the commission of a crime is still a felony.
A 59-year old Farmall? A Super A, H, or an M perhaps?
Client #9 was not at all vague, but Kristin could be described as open-ended...
How do you know??? We have NO idea of what's involved yet?
Just HOW did he happen to hook up with THIS club?? Could it be that Mark Brener is a FRIEND?? Brener does TAXES for the IRS, I think. Something is not seen yet and IMHO it's way more than SEX.
Any person who's friend is Alan Dershowitz is a pathetic one. Alan has no discernment and said he would have defended HITLER!!! YUK..
AMEN!! And he also went to the POST OFFICE to buy MONEY ORDERS!!! What an IDIOT! Eliot the IDIOT!
Leftists like Dershowitz are sociopathic America-hating, anti-capitalistic hypocrites who live like rich capitalists in the country that's afforded them so much.
Leni
hahahhhhaaaa. hE IS no LIBERTARIAN. His lefty friend got caught with his pants down. He is making more of a fool of himself than usual.
49 B, tore down for rebuild right now. Also got an early 50’s Super C that I use for mowing, haven’t dug deep enough to figure out the year yet. And a 51 SC Case identical to the one that I grew up riding.
I refurb these old tractors as a retirement hobby. Here's a few of the ones I finished in the last four years. I've actually done about twenty or so.
Clinton -> Cisneros -> Spitzer -> Kilpatrick -> Newsom
Washington, DC -> San Antonio -> New York City -> Detroit -> San Francisco
Anyone infidelity -> Mistress infidelity -> Prostitute infidelity -> Aide infidelity -> "Other (wo)man" adultery
Send best friends out to lie for you -> Lie to best friends for job -> Use best friend's name as cover -> Kickback contracts to best friends -> cuckold best friend
Defend the Constitution -> Nominate to President's Cabinet -> Resign -> Fight -> Ignore
-PJ
“We are talking about thousands, not millions, of dollars. We are also talking about a man who is a multimillionaire with numerous investments and purchases. The idea that federal investigators would focus on a few transactions to corporations — that were not themselves under investigation — raises as many questions as answers.”
one must wonder why dershowitz is hiding facts he is well aware of
facts such as that wire transfers greater than 9k are scrutinized by the banking industry and banking regulators - that does not mean someone is a criminal or even immediately under suspicion - are the two ends of the transaction legally legitimate and/or are there patterns that are suggestive of mob/terrorist financial activity - at that initial point
facts such as that immediately the ‘companies’ to whom the transfers took place proved to be off-shore shell companies, not operational companies - a common ruse among criminals to launder money
the money transfers to a string of shell companies, led to an investigation of who the real recipient was - the prostitution ring in d.c., and further investigation of that rings, illegal, activity
dershowitz is an idiot if he thanks a state attorney general who has sworn to uphold the law can willingly become a patron of an illegal activity, and be excused for it, simply because of the ‘archaic’ law used to uncover his support of that illegality
spitzer was himself, as ag, a legal thug, who often used his office to drag people before the court of public opinion, selectively - and unethically - leaking his investigations even before any formal charges filed in court - counting on his endless state prosecutors pocket book to get the accused to settle, without a trial - a trial that spitzer often would have lost on strict merits of the law
BINGO!! And now they have a cypher placeholder that they can push around for 3 years or more.
I was sorely disapointed when I learned that the swaroksi shops in the malls did not offer the brilliant Swarovski rifle scopes, but only some sparkly rubbish that, yes, might look good in a double-wide.
But, I had the same experience when I found out that the local shop called the “cartridge store” sold laser printer toner.
I guess I just don’t understand retail, either.
Very cool!
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