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Banks Launder Drug Money; Prosecutors Shrug

Months ago, a criminal defense attorney was criminally prosecuted for laundering money because he accepted legal fees from an accused drug dealer.  He was acquitted of all charges, but he lost years of his life and $500,000 in legal fees.  What would have happened to this lawyer if he had been a big bank? In a punchline that is getting so old that it's banal, the answer is, of course: "Nothing." (Hat tip.)  The United States Department of Justice has given Wall Street a license to do business with drug dealers.  Banks may, without any meaningful consequences, launder drug money.Here is one example: Just before sunset on April 10, 2006, a DC-9 jet landed at the international airport in the port city of Ciudad del Carmen, 500 miles east of Mexico City...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime & Federalism on June 30, 2010 (boomark / email).