FIN_sin

[John Young <jya@pipeline.com>]

   The January 22 New York magazine, a local weekly, reports
   in "The Money Plane":

      Five nights a week, at least $100 million in crisp new
      $100 dollar bills is flown from JFK nonstop to Moscow,
      where it is used to finance the Russian mob's vast and
      growing international crime syndicate. State and federal
      officials believe it is part of a multi-billion-dollar
      money-laundering operation. The Republic National Bank
      and The United States Federal Reserve prefer not to
      think so.

      "That money is used to support organized crime; it's
      used to support black-market operations," says one
      federal official. "In my personal opinion, this is an
      abomination. Yet it appears that at least part of the
      federal government sees nothing wrong with it."

      FINCEN director Stanley Morris is more blunt: "Russia's
      banking system is a cesspool."

   FIN_sin