From the WSJ …

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, was taken into police custody after being removed from an airplane at Kennedy Airport. According to the official, Mr. Strauss-Kahn allegedly forced a cleaning woman onto his bed and sodomized her at about noon Saturday inside his room at the Sofitel Hotel near Times Square.

Read more (sub.req.).

It should be noted that, Strauss-Kahn was (I trust the past tense is appropriate) also the frontrunner to be the Socialist Party’s candidate for president in the next election in France. So in addition to the alleged crime, this is a bombshell of staggering proportions not only in the world of global finance but French and European politics as well.

Late Update: The Times reports that the Manhattan DA’s office plans to bring formal charges against Strauss-Kahn early tomorrow morning. So it doesn’t sound like they have much doubt they have a strong case.