ALBANY – A previously undisclosed document reveals in new detail today how the state’s hooker happy ex-governor, Eliot Spitzer, sowed the seeds of his own downfall with a suspicious bank transaction.
The countdown to Spitzer’s eventual March 2008 resignation amid charges he had patronized a high-priced prostitute began more than six months earlier when he asked his Manhattan bank to strip his name and account ID from a $5,000 wire transfer to a shell company, The Albany Times Union reported.
Granting the Aug. 6, 2007, request would have violated federal anti-money laundering regulations.
Instead, the banking branch — then known as North Fork Bank — rejected the request by Spitzer’s private banker, Adam Brenner, and filed a suspicious activity report with federal authorities, according to the newspaper, which obtained a copy of the five-page document.
“In response, Mr. Brenner pointed out that a prior transaction in the amount of $10,000 had previously been processed similarly on July 11, 2007, between these same parties,” the bank’s SAR states.
“The August 6th wire transfer was denied and later processed as an internal bank transfer between the two clients’ accounts.”
The firm slated to receive the funds turned out to be, QAT Consulting Group, a front company run by Cecil G. Suwal, hooker booker for Emperors Club.
Months later, the feds filed an indictment that charged managers of the elite escort service and identified Spitzer by his now infamous moniker “Client 9.”
“Mr. Brenner reported that he spoke directly with the customer, Mr. Spitzer, who advised that the purpose of the transfer to QAT was to pay a personal expense,” the report states.
“Mr. Brenner further stated that the customer did not wish to elaborate, however did state that he is sensitive to the bank’s position and going forward will transfer funds through the proper channels.”
Spitzer was not prosecuted in the case — even though his transactions involved interstate fund transfers and hookers who crossed state lines to have sex with him.
This comes as an explosive new book revealed that Spitzer once went on a hooker binge — ordering three prostitutes for separate interludes on a single day.
The Peter Elkind book, “Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” revealed Spitzer’s shocking frenzy while using the Emperors Club VIP.
Elkind chronicles the time “George Fox” — Spitzer’s alias — booked an appointment at the Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side, a five-minute walk from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“As usual, he paid the girl in cash — about $1,200 an hour. Not long after it was over, he called [the booker] back, wanting to see a second escort. ‘Who else is around?’ he asked. [The booker] made the arrangements. “Then, late that afternoon, [Spitzer] called again. ‘You’re going to think I’m crazy,’ he began. ‘But can you send somebody else right now?’
“He wanted a third girl? The booker chuckled: ‘You must be Superman! [The booker] found him another girl.”