New York state issues are rarely dealt with in this space, but when they are, two words invariably appear: “Eliot Spitzer.” His previous appearances here were chiefly concerned with Spitzer’s “how the mighty have fallen” plunge from being governor of New York and a potential Democratic presidential contender to Emperor’s Club Client Number Nine dallying in a Mayflower Hotel room with a high-priced prostitute and clad only in his socks. Since then, Spitzer tried to start a new career as a cable TV host and combatant, but that went nowhere because audiences didn’t warm up to him. Except apparently for one person — the present New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman.

Owing to being the AG most directly able to go after bad guys on Wall Street and his aggressive tactics in doing so, Schneiderman was tapped last year for a major role in the federal probe of mortgage fraud in causing the Great Recession of 2008. As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, Schneiderman pointedly reminded the world earlier this month that the just-concluded $25 billion settlement with the five largest national mortgage banks preserved his authority to continue investigating and prosecuting potentially related securities fraud allegations. And thanks to his Washington friends, he will be able to summon the vast resources of the federal government, including the Justice Department, FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.