Why the Feds Aggressively Pursued Spitzer

Criminal Justice

Posted Mar 21, 2008, 05:05 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Many federal prosecutions of large prostitution rings were brought before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when prosecutors were forced to refocus their resources. Now there are about 450 active cases, but the recent investigations mostly involve large amounts of money or special circumstances such as human trafficking and underage prostitutes. And the Justice Department has rarely prosecuted or even identified a prostitution ring’s clients.

But in the case of Eliot Spitzer, investigators looked at his financial records, tapped his phone calls and twice followed him on trips to Washington, D.C., where, on the second occasion, he reportedly met with a prostitute who worked for Emperors Club VIP, the New York Times reports.

The aggressive probe led to explicit details in an affidavit about Client 9, identified in news reports as Spitzer.

Government officials speaking on the condition of anonymity explained why Spitzer came under so much scrutiny. They told the Times they were duty-bound to investigate after banks filed suspicious transaction reports suggesting that Spitzer was trying to hide transfers of funds. Such reports can be an indication of corruption, a high priority for the Justice Department.

They point out that investigators did not go so far as to seek DNA evidence or record Spitzer's activities when he arrived at the Mayflower hotel in Washington, D.C. And they say that if they had not pursued the case, they likely would have been accused of a cover-up.

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