New York Governor resignation effective Monday, March 17

[Stephanie]

What a dunce. Leaving a paper trail that went straight to his front door. Typical of most men, thinking with the wrong head....MGC

I agree - I'm not the final judge and practicing forgiveness is something everyone should try to do. We are all human but when you hold certain positions and titles in society, you are held to a higher standard.

Not only is it illegal, his whole career is based on investigating and prosecuting prostitution rings and other white collar crime. That's "2" idiotic mistakes in my book.

I really feel for his wife - the before and after photos of her shows how stressed out she is. His poor children as well. They probably will forgive him at some point but I'm sure that I wouldn't stay married to him either. Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevy's wife stood by his side at the press conference where he announced he was gay and now they are divorced and constantly in court due to their children.

[RL3AO]

He got caught because the bank turned the suspicious transactions over to the Government because they thought be could be getting blackmailed.

[gtalum]

He got caught because the bank turned the suspicious transactions over to the Government because they thought be could be getting blackmailed.

That's not exactly correct. Every transaction anyone makes at a bank is forwarded to the government, thanks to the (un)PATRIOT(ic) Act. The IRS saw a series of what they deemed to be "unusual" transactions in his accounts and, as you noted, thought he was either bribing someone or being bribed himself and reported him to the FBI for investigation.

[mf_dolphin]

That's not exactly correct. Every transaction anyone makes at a bank is forwarded to the government, thanks to the (un)PATRIOT(ic) Act. The IRS saw a series of what they deemed to be "unusual" transactions in his accounts and, as you noted, thought he was either bribing someone or being bribed himself and reported him to the FBI for investigation.

Actually you are wrong. In this case it was a bank report that triggered the investigation. Banks have to report transactions of 10,000 or more and any other activity that they deem suspicious. In this case Spitzer did 2 things that triggered the report; 1. He asked the branch to split a larger transaction in to several smaller ones to get under the 10,000.00 automatic trigger and 2. He called back to the branch to ask for his name to be removed from the sire transfer. Either of those was enough basis to trigger the report.

[Ed Mahmoud]

He got caught because the bank turned the suspicious transactions over to the Government because they thought be could be getting blackmailed.

That's not exactly correct. Every transaction anyone makes at a bank is forwarded to the government, thanks to the (un)PATRIOT(ic) Act. The IRS saw a series of what they deemed to be "unusual" transactions in his accounts and, as you noted, thought he was either bribing someone or being bribed himself and reported him to the FBI for investigation.

Yeah, it is a terrible thing that criminals and terrorists can't transfer huge sums of money around freely without being tracked. Almost as bad as the government listening to phone calls from know al Qaeda members in foreign countries to people in the United States.

Total overreaction to 9-11, a few thousand Americans killed by terrorism is no excuse to infringe on the God-given rights of terrorists and criminals to communicate and send money as they wish.

[gtalum]

Yeah, it is a terrible thing that criminals and terrorists can't transfer huge sums of money around freely without being tracked.

It's a terrible thing that I can't move my money around without being tracked, and I'm not a terrorist or a criminal. The excuse of "terrorism" for taking away our rights and privacy is wearing awfully thin.

[HURAKAN]

In the future, when you report a fraud or anything through the internet, they would say "don't worry, we already knew about it!!!"

[Ptarmigan]

Actually you are wrong. In this case it was a bank report that triggered the investigation. Banks have to report transactions of 10,000 or more and any other activity that they deem suspicious. In this case Spitzer did 2 things that triggered the report; 1. He asked the branch to split a larger transaction in to several smaller ones to get under the 10,000.00 automatic trigger and 2. He called back to the branch to ask for his name to be removed from the sire transfer. Either of those was enough basis to trigger the report.

From what I have heard, if you transfer a bunch of money under $10,000 in a short time, it will be flagged as suspicious. In some ways, it is better to transfer large amounts at once. If banks do not report it, they will have to pay a hefty fine. To get the FBI involved would be unusual. It would require someone higher up to do that. My guess is that North Fork Bank, which reported it, could of been prosecuted by Spitzer. It is now Capital One Bank. Interestingly, it was thought he was a victim of identity theft. Later on, he was hiding bribes. Also, many banks and investment firms do not accept cashier's check of under $10,000.

[mf_dolphin]

Actually tracking of these types of transaction began in 1970 and has nothing to do with the Patriot Act. Misinformation is a dangerous thing.....

The Currency Transaction Report (CTR) came into existence with the passage of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, better known as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), in 1970.

When the first version of the CTR was introduced the only way a suspicious transaction of less than $10,000 was reported to the government was if a bank teller called an agent and provided the information. This was due, primarily, to the concern by financial institutions about the Right to Financial Privacy. On October 26, 1986, with the passage of the Money Laundering Control Act, the Right to Financial Privacy was no longer an issue. As part of the Act, Congress had stated that a financial institution could not be held liable for releasing suspicious transaction information to law enforcement. As a result, the next version of the CTR had a suspicious transaction check box at the top. This was in effect until April 1996 when the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) was introduced.

source : http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforceme ... 03,00.html

In this case I believe that it was actually a Suspicious Activity Report is what was filed by the bank.

Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Filed on transactions or attempted transactions involving at least $5,000 that the financial institution knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect the money was derived from illegal activities. Also filed when transactions are part of a plan to violate federal laws and financial reporting requirements (structuring) CY 2007 reports filed = 649,280

[Ptarmigan]

Actually tracking of these types of transaction began in 1970 and has nothing to do with the Patriot Act. Misinformation is a dangerous thing.....

The Currency Transaction Report (CTR) came into existence with the passage of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, better known as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), in 1970.

When the first version of the CTR was introduced the only way a suspicious transaction of less than $10,000 was reported to the government was if a bank teller called an agent and provided the information. This was due, primarily, to the concern by financial institutions about the Right to Financial Privacy. On October 26, 1986, with the passage of the Money Laundering Control Act, the Right to Financial Privacy was no longer an issue. As part of the Act, Congress had stated that a financial institution could not be held liable for releasing suspicious transaction information to law enforcement. As a result, the next version of the CTR had a suspicious transaction check box at the top. This was in effect until April 1996 when the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) was introduced.

source : http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforceme ... 03,00.html

In this case I believe that it was actually a Suspicious Activity Report is what was filed by the bank.

Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Filed on transactions or attempted transactions involving at least $5,000 that the financial institution knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect the money was derived from illegal activities. Also filed when transactions are part of a plan to violate federal laws and financial reporting requirements (structuring) CY 2007 reports filed = 649,280

Thanks for the information! I figure this law was around because of organized crime, like the Mafia. Terrorists are no different from the Mafia because they are organized crime.