Secret Government Agents Prevent Run on US Bank
Frighteningly serious questions arise when plainclothes police officers arrest bank customers while entering or exiting banks with the intention of closing accounts as happened in lower Manhattan yesterday. Approximately two dozen customers, inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement’s criticism of US banking practices, visited a Citibank brach to reportedly close their accounts. At the 1:35 mark of following video you will see the incredibly hard to fathom arrest:Open video in new window at 1:25 mark.The woman, arrested on a public plaza outside the bank, indicates she had apparently been inside of the branch conducting or attempting to conduct bank business as is apparent from the papers in her hand. It is unclear at this time if the undercover police officer knew she had been inside as a result of his covert observation inside the bank branch UPDATE: see eyewitness account linked below. As the arrest took place beyond the bank’s doors, it is hard to imagine what trespassing grounds could exist.Perhaps anticipating backlash from this highly unusual incident, Citibank proactively released the following with regard to the incident: Citibank Public Affairs issued the following statement regarding today’s incident: “A large number of protesters entered our branch at 555 La Guardia Place around 2:00 PM today. They were very disruptive and refused to leave after being repeatedly asked, causing our staff to call 911. The Police asked the branch staff to close the branch until the protesters could be removed. Only one person asked to close an account and was accommodated.”There have no statements yet issued by the FDIC or other banking regulators in response to this arrest and the approximately two dozen others which occurred at the same time. While there are no federal restrictions on customer decisions to closing banking accounts, early last spring Citibank imposed possible 7-day restrictions on withdrawals from it’s checking accounts Citi customers can see the reservation of the bank’s right to withhold withdrawals on page 22 of the Client Manual effective January 1, 2010.The value of Citibank, whose rating was cut by Moody’s last month, has declined considerably more than it’s peers since it’s 2008 near collapse and $351 Billion bailout $45B from TARP, $306B in asset guarantees. Could it be that the NYPD is the Treasury Department’s last line of defense for the banking system and has been asked to help limit further runs on what many consider the country’s weakest Too Big Too Fail bank?UPDATE 10/17 4:30 PM: Gawker publishes account of eyewitness who confirms plainclothes officer was integrated among ‘activist bank customers’ without a displayed shield. Such conduct is reminiscent of the NYPD’s targeting surveillance programs at religious groups, a practice which the NYCLU has recently asked a Federal court to enjoin.UPDATE 10/17 11:30 PM: Wonkette publishes eyewitness account of Meaghan Linick who reports that arrestees were held for thirty hours.USLAW.COM NOTE: While the videotaped arrest of a customer outside of the Citibank branch by an undercover officer may look like any of the nearly thousand other disorderly conduct arrests associated with Occupy Wall Street, this police intervention in the retail banking system could have frightening implications for confidence in the entire banking system as depositors begin to question whether they’ll have access to their savings in the current crisis and whether the anemic ~1% interest rates are worth the risk of having to confront potential police interference with their financial affairs.RELATED LINKS:Compare NYPD behavior to another department’s on a similar call.