NEWARK, N. J.—Forty-four high-ranking individuals from New York and New Jersey were charged on Thursday in an extensive federal investigation that uncovered public corruption, worldwide money laundering, and kidney sales, announced authorities.
“On the public corruption side, the FBI and IRS have arrested and noticed for arrest 29 individuals, including assemblymen and mayors, underscoring—more than ever—the basic nature of public corruption in this state,” said acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., at a press conference in the Federal Building of Newark.
“On the other side, the FBI and IRS have arrested and summoned 15 members of connected, international money laundering rings, including five rabbis and their associates,” added Mr. Marra.
The two-track investigation that lasted 10 years resulted in the arrest of most of the defendants on Thursday morning by the Newark Division of the FBI and the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS. Four of those who haven’t been arrested yet are currently on vacation.
Among those arrested was Daniel Van Pelt, a 44-year-old new Republican state Assemblyman and administrator for Lumberton Township, NJ. He allegedly accepted a $10,000 bribe from an undercover FBI informer to help push through a project in his hometown, Waretown.
Peter Cammarano III, Democrat mayor of Hoboken, NJ and an attorney specializing in election law, was also arrested.
While running for office, the then-councilman Cammarano and Michael Schaffer, his associate, also allegedly received three payments of $5,000 from the cooperative witness with the promise to sponsor zoning changes and press on building plans for a high-rise development.
Last Thursday, Cammarano allegedly accepted another $10,000 for his campaign debts. According to Marra, when offered the money, Cammarano said, “Great. And we are going to be friends for a long time.”
Other officials and politicians arrested include Dennis Elwell, mayor of Secaucus, NJ; Anthony Suarez, mayor of Ridgefield, NJ; Leona Beldini, Jersey City, NJ deputy mayor; and Louis Manzo, former New Jersey state assemblyman and unsuccessful mayoral candidate for Jersey City, NJ.
“The complaints show that for these defendants, corruption was a way of life,” said Mr. Marra. “They existed in an ethics-free zone and they exploited giant loopholes in the state’s campaign contribution rules.”
“There are easily reforms that could be made that would make our job easier, but the few people who want to change it seem to get shouted down,” added Mr. Marra.
Marra said that as long as “honest” officials are willing to stand up against such action, much of the “culture of corruption” can be prevented.
Rabbis, Jewish religious leaders, are also accused of draining at least tens of millions of dollars in an international money laundering network between Brooklyn, Israel, and New Jersey. The money appears to have mostly come from their charitable and non-profit organizations.
As written on the criminal complaint, the rabbis are accused of laundering at least $3 million from around June 2007 to July 2009.
Some of the charged rabbis include Eliahu Ben Haim and Edmund Nahum, both principal rabbis of a synagogue in Deal, New Jersey. Also charged was Saul Kassin, the chief rabbi of a synagogue in Brooklyn, New York.
A Brooklyn man, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, is charged with brokering the sale of human kidneys for transplants for 10 years. His business allegedly lured people to give up one of their kidneys for $10,000 and reselling it for $160,000.
“The list of people we arrested sounds like it should be a roster for a meeting of community leaders,” said Weysan Dun, special agent in charge of the FBI in Newark. “[But] sadly, they weren’t meeting in a board room this morning—they were in the FBI booking room.”
“On the public corruption side, the FBI and IRS have arrested and noticed for arrest 29 individuals, including assemblymen and mayors, underscoring—more than ever—the basic nature of public corruption in this state,” said acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., at a press conference in the Federal Building of Newark.
“On the other side, the FBI and IRS have arrested and summoned 15 members of connected, international money laundering rings, including five rabbis and their associates,” added Mr. Marra.
The two-track investigation that lasted 10 years resulted in the arrest of most of the defendants on Thursday morning by the Newark Division of the FBI and the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS. Four of those who haven’t been arrested yet are currently on vacation.
Among those arrested was Daniel Van Pelt, a 44-year-old new Republican state Assemblyman and administrator for Lumberton Township, NJ. He allegedly accepted a $10,000 bribe from an undercover FBI informer to help push through a project in his hometown, Waretown.
Peter Cammarano III, Democrat mayor of Hoboken, NJ and an attorney specializing in election law, was also arrested.
While running for office, the then-councilman Cammarano and Michael Schaffer, his associate, also allegedly received three payments of $5,000 from the cooperative witness with the promise to sponsor zoning changes and press on building plans for a high-rise development.
Last Thursday, Cammarano allegedly accepted another $10,000 for his campaign debts. According to Marra, when offered the money, Cammarano said, “Great. And we are going to be friends for a long time.”
Other officials and politicians arrested include Dennis Elwell, mayor of Secaucus, NJ; Anthony Suarez, mayor of Ridgefield, NJ; Leona Beldini, Jersey City, NJ deputy mayor; and Louis Manzo, former New Jersey state assemblyman and unsuccessful mayoral candidate for Jersey City, NJ.
“The complaints show that for these defendants, corruption was a way of life,” said Mr. Marra. “They existed in an ethics-free zone and they exploited giant loopholes in the state’s campaign contribution rules.”
“There are easily reforms that could be made that would make our job easier, but the few people who want to change it seem to get shouted down,” added Mr. Marra.
Marra said that as long as “honest” officials are willing to stand up against such action, much of the “culture of corruption” can be prevented.
Rabbis, Jewish religious leaders, are also accused of draining at least tens of millions of dollars in an international money laundering network between Brooklyn, Israel, and New Jersey. The money appears to have mostly come from their charitable and non-profit organizations.
As written on the criminal complaint, the rabbis are accused of laundering at least $3 million from around June 2007 to July 2009.
Some of the charged rabbis include Eliahu Ben Haim and Edmund Nahum, both principal rabbis of a synagogue in Deal, New Jersey. Also charged was Saul Kassin, the chief rabbi of a synagogue in Brooklyn, New York.
A Brooklyn man, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, is charged with brokering the sale of human kidneys for transplants for 10 years. His business allegedly lured people to give up one of their kidneys for $10,000 and reselling it for $160,000.
“The list of people we arrested sounds like it should be a roster for a meeting of community leaders,” said Weysan Dun, special agent in charge of the FBI in Newark. “[But] sadly, they weren’t meeting in a board room this morning—they were in the FBI booking room.”
