NEW YORK — Suspicious Activity Reports, the periodic accounts of unusual or suspect cash transactions that both credit unions and banks have to file appear to have played a role in the scandal which has undermined New York's Governor Elliott Spitzer.

According to an article in the New York Times this morning, federal authorities began investigating the movement of large sums of cash among accounts Spitzer controlled. The financial institutions reported the transactions because, the paper reported, they resembled 'structuring' transactions, transactions that are meant to hide the source, destination or purpose of money.

Investigators began looking into the transactions on the theory they might involve the sorts of campaign finance or low level political corruption payments but were surprised to find that the were meant to allegedly hide payments from Spitzer to a high cost prostitution ring, the paper reported.