Spitzer Was Later Removed From Office With A Sex Scandal

American Scofflaw
An odd series of money transfers ordered by the leader of the World Jewish Congress, the tiny nonprofit that has wrested billions in Holocaust restitution from banks, companies and governments in Europe, has provoked an informal inquiry by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer of New York, people contacted by Mr. Spitzer's office said.

Officials from Mr. Spitzer's office have been contacting organization insiders and others in the United States and abroad, and the organization appears to be working to head off a full-blown investigation.

Toward that end, Stephen E. Herbits, who has been hired by Edgar Bronfman Sr., the organization's chief patron, to overhaul governance and financial management, has traveled to Israel and Europe courting support for plans for better internal oversight of the organization.

The congress has formidable legal representation in the form of Robert Abrams, a former New York attorney general, and the Jewish Week reported yesterday that Mr. Herbits had been negotiating with Isi Leibler, the organization's senior vice president and most vigorous internal critic.

Mr. Leibler, who declined to comment, has demanded an independent audit of the organization and extensive reforms in governance and financial management.