Court appearances continue in a wide ranging corruption probe that has netted more than 44 people in New York and New Jersey, including several elected officials and religious leaders.
The mayors of Hoboken, Secaucus, Ridgefield were among 40 people arrested in early morning raids across New Jersey Thursday morning as federal officials unveiled a long-ranging probe into public corruption and international money laundering, officials said
FBI and IRS rounded up various elected officials and several rabbis across the state in what is being described as one of the biggest investigations of its kind in Jersey's scandal-plagued history.
On Friday, several more suspects turned themselves in. The Mayor of Hoboken, Peter Cammarano, proclaimed his innocence and went back to work. New Jersey Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith appeared in handcuffs Friday before a federal judge in Newark, who ordered him released on a $100,000 bond.
Meantime, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said it was clear that he was "Public Official 4" as named in the federal complaints. Healy, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, issued a statement today saying "I did nothing wrong at any time. Right now we are going to continue to conduct open and honest government and are focused on using the city forward."
The corruption investigation, which has been ongoing for over ten years according to officials, dovetails with a "high-volume international money-laundering conspiracy." It is said to involve rabbis in the Syrian Jewish enclave in Brooklyn and Deal, New Jersey. It started when money transfers drew the interests of the feds who followed the trail back to small-town Jersey corruption.
“The list of names and titles of those arrested today sounds like a roster for a community leaders meeting," said Weysan Dun, Special Agent In Charge of the FBI in Newark., at the news briefing. “Sadly, these prominent individuals were not in a meeting room but were in the FBI booking room this morning."
Among those arrested were Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt (R-Ocean), Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, and Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, all Democrats, authorities said. Several area rabbis and other community leaders and politicians, including Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega, were arrested.
The scandal caused New Jersey's Community Affairs Commissioner to resign. Gov. Jon Corzine said he asked Joseph Doria to step down and Doria agreed.
When asked why, Corzine said "Simple: can he be effective in the office that he holds under the conditions that there is a serious investigation going on in the context of this deep vein of corruption that was unveiled today — and the answer is no."
Officials say separate from the corruption probe, some of the suspects charged today were also connected to an illegal human organ-selling ring. A rabbi is accused of selling kidneys for a massive mark up.
In past years, New Jersey has seen more than 100 corruption-related arrests of public officials. At a noon press conference officials detailed the charges (view as .pdf) against the nearly four dozen individuals.
Secret recordings made of the defendants show a series of shady deals and political corruption.
In April of this year, as a Hoboken councilman and mayoral candidate, the 32-year-old Cammarano, after meeting with a developer who had promised him a bribe of several thousand dollars, said “I wanna make sure that I, you know, you, you’re my man,” emphasizing that he was a proponent of redevelopment, according to court papers.
Later when asked by the “cooperating witness” who interacted with all 44 suspects if his development projects would be sped through the bureaucratic process, Cammarano said, “I promise you… you’re gonna be, you’re gonna be treated like a friend,” according to the court documents.
Law enforcment officials confirmed later late Thursday the cooperating witness is Solomon Dwek, a real estate developer in Monmouth County, New Jersey, who was charged in 2006, with scheming to defraud PNC Bank out of $50 million. Sources said he will likely receive a greatly reduced sentence for his cooperation in this probe.
Two of the Rabbis involved in the alleged money laundering scheme, Mordchai Fish, served at Congregation Sheves Achim, a synagogue in Brooklyn. He and his brother, Albert Schwartz, were caught on tape having conversations with the cooperating witness that seemed straight out of a movie script, according to court transcripts:
“I had 25 million from [the bank] – 20 million – that schnookie deal. I gave 20 million to [another bank]. I, I took five million. I sent it offshore..” said the witness, who was reputedly also involved in a counterfeit handbag racket, according to the court papers.
"These men of the cloth... hid their criminal activity behind a 'cloak of rectitude,'” said New Jersey's acting United States Attorney Ralph J. Marra Jr.
WNBC Jonathan Dienst
Jonathan Dienst WNBC
