As the media firestorm intensified over Eliot Spitzer’s links to a prostitution ring, federal investigators were quick to point out Tuesday that they weren’t interested in the New York governor’s pay-to-play sexual mores but how he financed his illegal dalliances. If the payments involved money laundering, Spitzer could face a felony charge with a possible sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison. He could also face felony charges related to conspiracy to commit a federal offense, as well as various charges in connection with enticement and furtherance of interstate prostitution, with possible sentences totaling 40 years in prison and fines of $1 million.

Routing payments through corporate shells like QAT Consulting Group Inc., QAT International or Protech Consultants is almost invariably a sign of money laundering, a fact that must have been known to the former New York attorney general from his own prior investigations of New York prostitution rings. Thus, the most amazing thing about the Spitzer case is that he apparently thought he could get away with it without fear of consequences.