Yep, your clues are adding up nicely- "Think about it. If Metter was dirty he would hire some slimeball scummy auditor who would sell his mother for a buck and would be happy to have done expidited work for a large "look the other way" fee. I am sure New York City has some smaller audit firms that would have signed off on a 10k in a hurry for big bucks. BUT .... Metter hired one of the biggest and best in the country."
The longer time passes the bigger and better SPNG will be. The non plumiting PPS nature is becoming sweeter with time. Tic Toc === less pain for most. Retail shorters have never applied here.