Ashley Alexandra Dupré, nascida Ashley Youman, a moça de 22 anos que fez o governador cair do cavalo.

No NYT de hoje, uma matéria interessante sobre o fato que selou o destino do ex-governador de New York, Eliot Sptizer, que renunciou devido ao envolvimento com uma rede de prostituição de luxo:

“Mr. Spitzer’s suspicious financial transactions at North Fork might never have been discovered were it not for a Suspicious Activity Report filed by HSBC about the shell companies linked to Emperor’s Club V.I.P. in October, according to several people with knowledge of the inquiry, who spoke about the investigation on condition of anonymity.

As it turned out, both the North Fork Bank and HSBC had faced inquiries into their lending practices led by Mr. Spitzer when he was New York attorney general. In the case of North Fork, Mr. Spitzer announced a settlement in 2003 requiring it to refund more than $20,000 to dozens of homeowners and cease what he said was its practice of charging homeowners illegal fees.

Experts who advise banks and individuals on anti-money laundering regulations, said that the two banks were just following the law when they reported the suspicious financial transactions to federal authorities.“

Porém…

“The July Suspicious Activity Report by North Fork that flagged Mr. Spitzer’s transactions picked up three wire transfers totaling roughly $10,000 to QAT International, in what appeared to the bank as a possible attempt to avoid a separate legal requirement that banks notify the Treasury Department of transactions of $10,000 or more, officials involved with the case have said.

The requirement to report such large transactions applies only to currency transactions — “the coin and paper money of the United States” — not to wire transactions of the sort that Mr. Spitzer allegedly made, Mr. Serino said.“

Bancos + Procuradores do gosto do partido Republicano, finalmente juntos:

“Ms. Hirshman — a former assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan — also argued that if federal prosecutors brought charges against Mr. Spitzer, they would be required to similarly charge the nine other unnamed clients in a federal complaint unsealed last Thursday, to avoid what’s known in legal circles as “selective prosecution.” None of the other nine unnamed clients have been charged in the case.

“Historically, ‘johns’ haven’t been prosecuted for conspiring with principals of a prostitution entity,” says New York defense lawyer Gerald Lefcourt, who isn’t involved in the case. “Could they be? Maybe. But that’s not the way law enforcement has proceeded.”

Michael Garcia, the Manhattan U.S. attorney pursuing the investigation of Mr. Spitzer, is Republican. The prosecution team is being led by Boyd Johnson, an assistant U.S. attorney who headed the recent prosecution of Norman Hsu, the disgraced Democratic fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid who was arrested late last year.

Mr. Johnson and Mr. Garcia — who approved the investigation of Mr. Spitzer — declined to comment, as did spokesmen for the U.S. attorney and Mr. Spitzer. Ms. Hirshman also declined to comment.“

E depois tem gente que se preocupa com juíza casada com petista…

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Gostei da última frase no artigo do NYT:

“What 9/11 taught us is the value of financial information,” the former director said. “Money doesn’t lie. Money leaves a footprint. And that’s exactly what happened with Spitzer.”