That’s the way to do it…….
Get all of them in one fell swoop…..
US law enforcement agents arrested dozens of politicians and rabbis yesterday in an anti-corruption sweep alleging money laundering, extortion, bribery and even trafficking in human organs.
The stunning New Jersey swoop netted 44 people across a state long seen as one of the most corrupt and crime-ridden in the country.
Five rabbis were among the suspects, along with the mayors of the cities of Hoboken, Secaucus and Ridgefield, the Jersey City deputy mayor and council president, two state assembly members, and numerous other politicians, prosecutors said.
Acting US Attorney Ralph Marra told a press conference the arrests demonstrated “the pervasive nature of public corruption in this state.”
The money laundering ring allegedly stretched from New Jersey and New York to Israel and Switzerland, while US politicians easily exploited loopholes in state law to disguise bribes as contributions in bitterly fought campaigns.
“The politicians willingly put themselves up for sale,” said Marra, while “clergymen cloak their extensive criminal activity behind a facade of rectitude.”
Although New Jersey is more famous for a history of Italian Mafia families, it was Jewish clergy who allegedly played a central role in this crime network.
The Department of Justice said in a statement that the international network “laundered at least tens of millions of dollars through charitable, non-profit entities controlled by rabbis in New York and New Jersey.”
The bribe-taking meanwhile was connected to fund raising efforts in “heavily contested mayoral and city council campaigns in Jersey City and Hoboken.”
Authorities raided several synagogues and among those arrested was the chief rabbi of Syrian Jews in the United States.
One rabbi, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, was also charged with conspiring to broker the sale of a human kidney for transplant.
Marra said that Rosenbaum’s “business was to entice vulnerable people to give up a kidney for 10,000 dollars which he would turn around and sell for 160,000 dollars.”
He’d allegedly been peddling kidneys for a decade.
Raids began shortly after dawn, officials said, targeting a who’s who of state leaders.
Television footage showed FBI and tax agents bringing a stream of handcuffed suspects, including rabbis wearing traditional Orthodox Jewish garb, into custody in the city of Newark. Other suspects were shown being put onto a bus.
The operation was believed to be one of the biggest such actions ever in a state deeply associated with organized crime, and famous as the setting of the hit Mafia television drama the “Sopranos.”
Officials said the arrests were part of an ongoing 10-year probe into statewide corruption code-named “Bid Rig.”
If found guilty, suspects face prison sentences of up to 20 years for political extortion and money laundering, 10 years for offering bribes to officials, and five years for conspiring to transport human organs.
Democratic State Governor Jon Corzine said “the scale of corruption we’re seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated.”
“Any corruption is unacceptable — anywhere, anytime, by anybody,” he said in a statement.
The dramatic crackdown came as Chris Christie, a crusading former US attorney, stepped up his campaign against Corzine in an election this November.
Christie, a Republican, previously won fame for his relentless and successful prosecution of political corruption in New Jersey.
Corzine is battling widespread dissatisfaction with his performance as the state reels from the national recession, spending cuts, and shorter working weeks for state employees.
FBI agent Weysan Dun was quick to deny any political motivation behind the arrests, a majority of which appeared to involve Democrats, rather than Republicans.
“This investigation has transcended multiple administrations of both political parties,” he said.
This is “not about politics, certainly not about religion. It is about crime. It is about criminals who use politics and religion.”
-
1
July 24, 2009 at 10:17 am -
FBI and tax agents also want to interview a drifter, known to locals as Hobo Ken, in connection with the case.
-
2
July 24, 2009 at 10:20 am -
Ken said it was a doddle to fiddle the money.
-
3
July 24, 2009 at 10:27 am -
There was a fabulous book I read in Goa I forget the name of it, about a rabbi and a synagogue being involved in keeping some woman safe and the amount of close Jewish networks being involved.
Excellent insight.
-
4
July 24, 2009 at 10:38 am -
Asked for her reaction to the revelations of kidney-traffiking, Hoboken resident DeeDee Mann summed up local feeling; “It’s just offal.”
-
5
July 24, 2009 at 12:15 pm -
Oh, for the day this happens in the UK – round up Bliar and Brown, Mandelson and Campbell….the whole fucking lot of them!!
-
6
July 24, 2009 at 1:11 pm -
Just goes to show that no matter what, or if any, religion they claim, a certain percentage of the human race is utterly corrupt. The UK needs dozens of similar major “clean ups”.
-
7
July 24, 2009 at 1:52 pm -
If further evidence was needed, how about Steven Gerrard being found not guil;ty of affray? No footballers, no celebrities and no MPs are guilty of anything in the UK – they are all whiter than white! maybe we need more than a special squad raid…..hmmmmm
-
8
July 24, 2009 at 1:54 pm -
ps. despite my defence of Liverpudlians in general, the Gerrard decision makes me wonder about their veracity and from now on I may not give them the benefit of the doubt anymore!
-
9
July 24, 2009 at 3:18 pm -
10
July 24, 2009 at 4:20 pm -
Judge Henry Globe told him: “The verdict is a credible verdict on the full facts of this case, and you walk away from this court with your reputation intact.
“You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends John Doran,” he added.
“At all times you insisted that you only ever acted in what you believed was reasonable self-defence to what you understandably, albeit you accept mistakenly, believed was an attempted attack upon you by Marcus McGee.
“What at first sight to the casual observer may seem to have been a clear-cut case against you of unlawful violence, has been nowhere near as clear-cut upon careful analysis of the evidence.”
Presumably this judge saw video evidence nobody else was privy to.
Oh Well. At least football crowds up and down the country will have a field day with this.
And to all you Scousers out there…..Calm Down, Calm Down.
-
11
July 24, 2009 at 5:44 pm -
” Marra said that Rosenbaum’s “business was to entice vulnerable people to give up a kidney for 10,000 dollars which he would turn around and sell for 160,000 dollars.” ”
Now that’s a healthy profit margin.
-
12
July 24, 2009 at 6:25 pm -
quoted elsewhere:
Fact: Gerrard initiated the confrontration displaying a quite disrespectful attitude to Mr McGee.
Fact: After the intitial confontration, Gerrard spends several minutes in an agitated state before going back to McGee for a further exchange of words.
Fact: Mr McGee is physically attacked by Gerrard’s entourage and Gerrard himself.
Fact: Gerrard admits to being in a drunken state, where his judgement on the night and recall of events afterwards can legitimately be described as questionable in the extreme: ‘I thought he was going to hit me’. Really? Are you sure?
Now if the charge was causing affray, in what way can the above facts be interpreted as not doing just that?
Additionally, all of Gerrard’s friends, in the same bar, at the same time, in the same fracas have pleaded guilty and will have their day in court or be sentenced later. Oh to be a celebrity (sic) in the UK today – have to say well done to Amy Winehouse too …. they, along with our government get away with murder!
-
13
July 24, 2009 at 6:55 pm -
So does Ms Winehouse’s hairstylist and whoever dresses her!
-
14
July 24, 2009 at 11:08 pm -
I”m not typing another comment . See if this is accepted first.
-
15
July 24, 2009 at 11:25 pm -
i think amy’s alright if she stays away from that blaaaake. really.
-
16
July 25, 2009 at 12:46 pm -
OY VEY!!!!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }