Mayors, rabbis arrested in NJ corruption probe

[JP8]

http://www.reuters.com/article/bonds...40189320090723

* Three New Jersey mayors arrested in corruption case

* Several rabbis, local politicians also among 44 arrested

* Case about corruption and international money laundering (Adds details)

By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - Three New Jersey mayors and several rabbis were arrested on Thursday in a sweeping federal investigation into political corruption that also uncovered human kidney sales and money laundering from Brooklyn to Israel, authorities said.

Among the 44 people arrested were Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, who took office 23 days ago.

Cammarano, at 31 the city's youngest mayor, was charged with taking $25,000 in bribes, including $10,000 last Thursday, said the U.S. Attorney's office in Newark, New Jersey.

The case exposed "a corrupt network of public officials who were all too willing to take cash in exchange for promised official action," Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra said in a statement. "It seemed that everyone wanted a piece of the action. The corruption was widespread and pervasive."

Central to the investigation was an informant who was charged with bank fraud in 2006 and posed undercover as a real estate developer and owner of a tile business hoping to build projects and win public contracts in northern New Jersey, according to documents in the case.

The undercover witness helped infiltrate a money-laundering network by rabbis who operated between Brooklyn, Deal, New Jersey, and Israel and laundered millions of dollars through charitable nonprofit entities controlled by rabbis in New York and New Jersey, authorities said.

They laundered some $3 million for the undercover witness between June 2007 and July 2009, authorities said.

Julio La Rosa, acting special agent in charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, said while traditional money laundering was once confined to narcotics traffickers and organized crime, "based on the allegations contained in today's complaints, money laundering has no boundaries and impacts every segment of our society."

HUMAN KIDNEY SALES

Rabbis accused of money-laundering were Eliahu Ben Haim, the principal rabbi of a synagogue in Deal; Saul Kassin, chief rabbi of a synagogue in Brooklyn; Edmund Nahum, the principal rabbi of another synagogue in Deal; and Mordchai Fish, a rabbi at a synagogue in Brooklyn.

Most of the defendants were arrested early on Thursday by federal agents.

One of the many criminal complaints filed in the case also accused a Brooklyn man, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, with conspiring to broker the sale of a human kidney for a transplant, at a cost of $160,000 to the transplant recipient. According to the complaint, Rosenbaum said he had been brokering the sale of kidneys for 10 years.

The undercover witness also helped infiltrate the huge public corruption scheme, authorities said.

A slew of public officials, council and mayoral candidates and associates took bribes for pledging their help in getting projects prioritized and approved or steering contracts to the witness, authorities said.

Accused were Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, state Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt and Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Also named were state assemblymen L. Harvey Smith, and Daniel Van Pelt, who were charged with accepting bribes.

Elwell was charged with taking a $10,000 cash bribe, and Anthony Suarez, mayor of Ridgefield, was charged with agreeing to accept a $10,000 corrupt cash payment.

Beldini, Jersey City deputy mayor, was charged with taking $20,000 in illegal contributions. (Editing by Doina Chiacu)

[WhiteShadow]

These people that are running things over in NJ, sure are making NJ look like a shithole. And for good reason, New Jersey is a shithole.

Its all good though. I've never trusted ANY clergy members or political figures anyhow.

I've said this multiple times before about New Jersey, and i'll say it again...This is yet another reason, why i stay my ass out of New Jersey.

[7998]

Corruption.. in New Jersey. Thats hard to believe.

[goofin]

yea what exit did this happen on?

[7998]

yea what exit did this happen on?

Exit 15 on "Da turpike"

[cgbudde]

I guess they watched the Sopranos too many times, or they thought they were trying out for the part of the assemblyman.

[jerseytactical]

yea what exit did this happen on?

Dude, I live there. I wonder if Cammarano's going to show up to work today ,business as usual, arrogant prick that he is. I was having a few beers with some Hoboken firemen last night, and they were depressed, because this was supposed to be the guy that made things better for civil servants. The city is facing layoffs, I know of at least 16 in the police department. This certainly does not make things any better. The whole Hoboken gov't system, is a corrupt, pay to play organization, and everything gets done with a wink and a nod. It makes me sick. But I'm not surprised, because Hudson County is the most corrupt in the state. Philly couldn't even hold our jockstraps when it comes to this crap. I can't wait til the whole shithouse burns down, and it stretches all the way to Trenton. For Corzine to say that he only found out about this yesterday morning, is a steaming crockpot of racoon shit. The fucker was endorsing Cammarano the other day. Corzine lives in Hoboken. Ain't no way he didn't know about this in advance. But he's an arrogant, albeit wealthy, shitbag, so maybe he thinks bribery is beneath him. We'll see, I guess.

[Berks_Iraq_Vet]

NJ is a toilet.

[Tootie]

Not all of NJ is bad. The town I grew up in was a really nice place. Of course I had no idea about what freedom actually was at that time seeing as we where not able to practice it. But, I will also say that thanks to my mothers political connections it got me some nice paying jobs

NJ has been a pay for play state forever. It is also a place that if you know the right people you can do whatever you want. One time I had a cop pull me over for speeding, once he saw my license he said "Oh your Danny's daughter, never mind" and he let me go.

[dc dalton]

I am SHOCKED, SHOCKED I say to find gambling going on in this establishment!


NJ and corruption, perfect together