My goodness….what is it about these mighty foes of business being brought low by suspicions of bribery…or where those suspicions might lead?
From ABC’s Blotter:
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.[...]
The suspicious financial activity was initially reported by a bank to the IRS which, under direction from the Justice Department, brought kin the FBI’s Public Corruption Squad.
“We had no interest at all in the prostitution ring until the thing with Spitzer led us to learn about it,” said one Justice Department official.
Of course, now that that’s cleared up, I’m sure that the financial faux pas is what the media will focus on, right? 