Posted on 03/20/2008 9:24:35 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
When Congress passed the Patriot Act in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, law-enforcement agencies hailed it as a powerful tool to help track down the confederates of Osama bin Laden. No one expected it would end up helping to snag the likes of Eliot Spitzer. The odd connection between the antiterror law and Spitzer's trysts with call girls illustrates how laws enacted for one purpose often end up being used very differently once they're on the books.
The Patriot Act gave the FBI new powers to snoop on suspected terrorists. In the fine print were provisions that gave the Treasury Department authority to demand more information from banks about their customers' financial transactions. Congress wanted to help the Feds identify terrorist money launderers. But Treasury went further. It issued stringent new regulations that required banks themselves to look for unusual transactions (such as odd patterns of cash withdrawals or wire transfers) and submit SARs—Suspicious Activity Reports—to the government. Facing potentially stiff penalties if they didn't comply, banks and other financial institutions installed sophisticated software to detect anomalies among millions of daily transactions. They began ranking the risk levels of their customers—on a scale of zero to 100—based on complex formulas that included the credit rating, assets and profession of the account holder.
Another element of the formulas: whether an account holder was a "politically exposed person." At first focused on potentially crooked foreign officials, the PEP lists expanded to include many U.S. politicians and public officials who were conceivably vulnerable to corruption.
The new scrutiny resulted in an explosion of SARs, from 204,915 in 2001 to 1.23 million last year. The data, stored in an IRS computer in Detroit, are accessible by law-enforcement agencies nationwide. "Terrorism has virtually nothing to do with it," says Peter Djinis, a former top Treasury lawyer. "The vast majority of SARs filed today involve garden-variety forms of white-collar crime." Federal prosecutors around the country routinely scour the SARs for potential leads.
One of those leads led to Spitzer. Last summer New York's North Fork Bank, where Spitzer had an account, filed a SAR about unusual money transfers he had made, say law-enforcement and industry sources who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the probe. One of the sources tells NEWSWEEK that Spitzer wasn't flagged because of his public position. Instead, the governor called attention to himself by asking the bank to transfer money in someone else's name. (A North Fork spokesperson says the bank does not discuss its customers.) The SAR was not itself evidence that Spitzer had committed a crime. But it made the Feds curious enough to follow the money.
Yeah, bush got Spitzer in trouble.
You know, I think you just swerved into something!
This guy makes it sound like the only thing Spitzer did wrong was get caught using “call girls” (that sounds so much nicer than prositute, hooker or whore too).
What really bothers me is where was he getting the money. Skimming from the taxpayers? Mob? Or - perhaps even terrorists - although I hope that would be unlikely. (I know, I already said the mob, but....)
I was wondering when they’d get around to this.
Kinda. Under G HW Bush, FinCEN was created.
Then thank you President Bush. David Paterson is now a secret fan of the Patriot Act.
Isikoff probably wants to flush the Patriot Act down the toilet. /sarcasm
Well an ill wind certainly blew Spitzer’s way, and it filled Paterson’s sails.
Thanks. It genetic. But there some real masters around, one of them being The Spirit of Allegiance. I stand in awe of his pun power.
I don’t have a problem with the FBI looking for leads in unusual financial transactions, but the IRS should be OUT of it. Do you realize an “SAR” can be generated on you without your knowledge, regardless of your “private” relationship with your bank, just based on “an unusual pattern of activity”? So your Mom gives you $5000 as a present or to help you with your new home, and this registers as an unusual deposit and next thing you know the IRS is coming after you with an audit.
The IRS already has enough power without being further enabled by the Patriot Act. I recently opened a smallish CD at my bank, where I have been a customer for years, and have my checking and savings accounts. I do not in any way meet the profile of a terrorist, being a disabled middle aged white woman. The teller asked me the name, address and dates of my prior employer. He said the Patriot Act now required them to ask this for all NEW accounts. “But I’ve been a customer for years.” “Yes, but the CD is a new account.”
Doesn’t this seem a bit excessive?
To be honest...this global war on terror (GWOT) or the “Long War” (the new expression to use)....as long as it can continue...its a wonderful thing for the FBI and the various law enforcement groups. They don’t want Ossama caught...ever. And then you have to wonder if thats the reason why for almost seven years....Ossama still roams freely...with no massive US attempt to catch him. We actually put more manpower into catching Saddam and his two sons...than Ossama...which ought to make you think what the real problem is here.
Couldn't have said it better.
Stop raining on the Statist parade. FReepers won’t be happy until Hillaryama comes to town and can use these expanded powers!
The real problem is that call girls are owned and operated by the MOB.I’m sure the wise guys has some pics of the Gov and some conversations. He compromised his authority.They had him in their packets
He was a jerk off and an arrogant bastard as well.
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