Well Hollywood, have it. This case has it all — and then some. I nominate Joe Pesci to play one of the small town mayors.
By Ted Sherman and Joe Ryan
The Newark Star-Ledger
NEWARK — The bribes went down in diners, living rooms and parking lots. New Jersey Assemblymen took them, mayors took them, and so did dozens of others.
Orthodox rabbis, acting more like crime bosses than religious leaders, laundered millions through synagogues and yeshivas in Deal, one of the state’s wealthiest towns. And a Realtor tried to sell an informant a black market kidney for $160,000.
Those were some of the allegations federal prosecutors made today (Thurs) in what could prove to be the biggest New Jersey scandal of them all.
The revelations came after hundreds of federal agents swept across the state, arresting public servants and religious leaders as part of a two-year investigation into corruption and international money-laundering that authorities described as unprecedented – even in a state known for its scandals.
It was a sting operation that could have been taken from the pages of an Elmore Leonard novel: the FBI and IRS agents arrested five rabbis, two New Jersey state legislators, three mayors, political operatives, and many others, as part of a probe that spanned from Hoboken to Israel.
| U.S. Attorney, FBI hold press conference on corruption arrests |
