Rabbis and mayors arrested in New Jersey raids

Several rabbis were among 30 people including politicians arrested in an FBI investigation into public corruption and money laundering in New Jersey.

Those held by the FBI in a morning sweep across the state included Peter Cammarano, who took office only three weeks ago as mayor of Hoboken, near New York City, as well as Dennis Elwell, mayor of Secaucus, and Leona Beldini, the deputy mayor of Jersey City.

Federal prosecutors, who described the alleged money laundering as "high volume", said several rabbis from affluent Syrian Jewish enclaves in New York and New Jersey were also arrested.

The arrests followed a two-year investigation by the FBI and the Inland Revenue Service that is understood to have initially focused on money transfers by Syrian Jews in Deal, New Jersey, and Brooklyn.

Investigators also removed boxes of papers from the Deal Yeshiva, a prestigious religious school which teaches children in the Sephardic Jewish tradition, and from a nearby synagogue.

Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark who has fought corruption in New Jersey's largest city, described the events as "unbelievable".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5894868/Rabbis-and-mayors-arrested-in-New-Jersey-raids.html

"When I open the police files I find detailed reports about Jewish criminals. The archives have enough material for 100 historians and for 100 years, and even then they won't finish." -- Haartez News. Jerusalem, Tuesday, November 2, 2004

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Top NJ religious and government leaders arrested in black market organ scandal

New Jersey top government officials and religious leaders, according to MSNBC, have been arrested in connection with a supposed "major corruption and international money-laundering conspiracy." Reportedly it was also discovered that many were involved in a black market organ ring.

Among those arrested are two New Jersey mayors, an assemblyman, and a city deputy mayor. Several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the IRS, are said to be involved in this sting operation that has resulted in approximately 30 arrests.

This is a breaking story so details are still minimal. But what has been said so far is that the mayors of Hoboken, Peter Cammarano, and Secaucus, Dennis Elwell, have been arrested. Also included in the arrests were Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, state Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, and some rabbis from New York and New Jersey.

A press conference is scheduled for today at noon EST. examiner.com