The investigation into Governor Spitzer did not start with prostitution but with a probe into possible money laundering. So what kind of trouble could he be facing? It all depends on what kind of deal Spitzer is able to make with prosecutors. He's already hired a high-profile law firm.

Eliot Spitzer has not been charged with any crime - yet. Spitzer is accused of paying for the services of a high-end call girl at a Washington, D.C. Hotel. Spitzer reportedly won't face charges for the prostitution itself...but for how he paid for it.

Former U-S Attorney Kendall Coffey said, "Apparently there was a byzantine maze of transfers, some which may have been concealed. There may have even been attempts to use a certain amount of cash and avoid reporting requirements." Such illegal money moves can carry a 20 year prison sentence.

"You could definitely see him going to jail," said local defense attorney Paul Cambria. As talk swirls on Spitzer's pending resignation, Cambria says it's common for defense attorneys to use that as a negotiating tool. "You can trade resignation for perhaps a better resolution. Any competent lawyer's going to say let's not give that bargaining chip away yet. Let's see if we can negotiate."

Spitzer has hired Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison -- a well known New York City based law firm with expertise in corporate and personal representation. Said Cambria, "The question really is there how much influence do they have?"

Perhaps a lot. Paul Weiss represents Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff who went on trial for lying to investigators in the CIA leak case. With a democratic governor up against a republican justice department, Spitzer would need a powerful lawyer to get him the best deal. "I'd like to think decisions are not made in district attorneys' and U.S. attorneys' office based on politics but I've been around long enough to know those things do work their way into the mix," said Cambria.

When he was New York's Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer developed a reputation as a moral crusader -- rooting out evil across the state. "There is a massive need for fundamental change...in state government," he said during a stop in Buffalo just over three years ago.

In 2004, the then-Attorney General lodged criminal charges against 16 alleged members of a State Island prostitution ring.

"This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multi-tiered management structure," Spitzer said at the time. "It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring, and now its owners and operators will be held accountable."

The reputed king pin of the operation, Frank Farella, took a plea deal and served two years in prison. His attorney calls Spitzer a hypocrite. "A person who is supposed to be of high moral standards or at least portrays himself as such turns out to be someone with a darkside," said Vincent Romano. "It's the old adage people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

Romano is now considering filing a motion to vacate his client's conviction -- questioning whether Spitzer was using prostitutes at the very time he was cracking down on prostitution.