Money laundering? Do people TRY and make their crimes fit the stereotype? Lol?
LOL
I cant believe this made mainstream news.
Allah never changes a Blessing that He has bestowed upon a nation until they first change themselves. And, certainly, God it is Who is Hearer, Knower. -The Holy Quran 8:53
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Serve Allah by serving humanity.
More than 40 people, including politicians, officials and several rabbis have been arrested in a major FBI operation in the US.
Three hundred agents raided dozens of locations in New Jersey and New York as part of a 10-year probe into corruption and money laundering.
Three mayors from the state of New Jersey and two members of the state legislature were among those held.
One man is accused of kidney trafficking involving Israeli donors.
Prosecutors say the arrests were part of a "dual-tracked" investigation.
Acting US Attorney Ralph Marra told reporters there were 29 suspects on what he termed the "public corruption" side of the investigation, including the politicians.
On the other side, he said, there were 15 suspects in connection with alleged international money-laundering, including the rabbis and their "associates".
Prosecutors accuse one man of dealing in human kidneys from Israeli donors for transplant for a decade.
It is alleged that "vulnerable people" would give up a kidney for $10,000 (£6,000) and these would then be sold on for $160,000 (£97,000).
Informant
Officials say investigations originally focused on a network they allege laundered tens of millions of dollars through charities controlled by rabbis in New Jersey and neighbouring New York.
Investigators used an informant to approach a group of rabbis from the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn and the New Jersey borough of Deal for help hiding his assets.
The rabbis cashed cheques he made out to charities they oversaw and paid the money back to him, minus a cut, investigators say.
The probe then widened to include alleged official corruption with links to a New Jersey construction boom.
The informant was introduced to a series of politicians and powerful local officials. Posing as a developer, he offered bribes to return for favourable treatment.
State legislators Harvey Smith and Daniel Van Pelt were arrested, as well as the mayors of some of the state's major cities and boroughs.
A number of city building, planning and fire inspectors were also held.
Mr Marra said: "It seemed that everyone wanted a piece of the action. The corruption was widespread and pervasive. Corruption was a way of life for the accused."
He said politicians had "willingly put themselves up for sale" and clergymen had "cloaked their extensive criminal activity behind a facade of rectitude".
'Misunderstanding'
The BBC's Jane O'Brien says the money laundering ring reportedly spanned the US, Israel and Switzerland.
Jon Corzine, the Governor of New Jersey, said: "The scale of corruption we're seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated."
Ed Kahrer, an FBI agent who has worked on the investigation from the start, said: "New Jersey's corruption problem is one of the worst, if not the worst, in the nation.
"It has become ingrained in New Jersey's political culture," he said.
Another FBI agent said: "The list of people we arrested sounds like it should be the roster for a meeting of community leaders, but sadly they weren't meeting in a boardroom this morning, they were in the FBI booking room."
Most of those arrested have been released on bail.
Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano was accused of taking a bribe. His lawyer said he intended to fight the charge "with all his strength until he proves his innocence".
A lawyer for 87-year-old Rabbi Saul Kassin of Brooklyn said it was a shame his client had been "caught up in this misunderstanding".
Correspondents say the number of people arrested is large even by New Jersey standards, where more than 130 public officials have either admitted to corruption or been found guilty of it since 2001.
I was just about to post this.. it is horrible.. I am from NY.. I saw the faces of these poor poor with their kidneys and such harvested la 7wala wla qiwta illa billah..
US - organ trafficking
Police arrest politicians and rabbis in corruption sweep
Article published on the 2009-07-24 Latest update 2009-07-24 13:44 TU A rabbi exits federal court surrounded by supporters trying to block journalists from taking photographs
(Photo: Reuters)
Police in the US state of New Jersey have arrested dozens of politicians and Jewish rabbis in an anti-corruption swoop on allegations of money laundering, extortion, bribery and trafficking in human organs. Print the article Send the article Comments on article
On Thursday federal police staged simultaneous raids on suspects’ addresses after a two-year investigation into a money-laundering ring which wtreteched from New Jersey and New York to Israel and Switzerland. Forty-four people have been arrested including three New Jersey city mayors, two state parliamentarians and five rabbis.
Acting US Attorney Ralph Marra told a press conference that politicians had “willingly put themselves up for sale". He added that the arrests demonstrated "the pervasive nature of public corruption in this state".
The New York Times has compared the case to the famous New Jersey-based TV series “The Sopranos”, which features the illicit dealings of a local Italian Mafia family, although it was Jewish clergy who allegedly played a central role in the crime network.
Some of the money laundering is alleged to have revolved around bribes to politicians – disguised as campaign donations - in exchange for favours and contracts in the state’s lucrative construction sector.
In addition 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".
State Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat, described the scale of the corruption “outrageous”.
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
Well, where their is law, it will be broken. Can't stop all crime-breakers, cause a lot of the time, the people who are meant to stop it, are part of it. Crooked Cops=haha
Israeli donors? they probably take them by force from palestinians, i'm sure. Even the people being murdered in Iraq with their bodies mutilated, i wonder if their organs are taken from them first??? this is really sick.
Israeli donors? they probably take them by force from palestinians, i'm sure.
I think that's unlikely. This evil trade thrives wherever people are poor and desperate, where force is not required and Palestine is only one such place.
However, while I'm doing my best not to be judgemental, I do find the involvement of the Rabbis particularly disturbing. The possibilility of a well established links back to extremist Zionist groups in Israel must be investigated, and no doubt it will be.
I never like to lump individuals into groups. There are bad apples in every bunch. Muslims, Jews, and Christians all have their share of bad people. Even so, I never endorse any type of hatred towards anybody.
It's important for all of God's children to show tolerance, love and understanding....just as Allah does for his children.
It is horrible that such corruption exists, but the bottom line is that man tends to be greedy. Greed manifests much corruption and scandalous activities in order to achieve some type of wealth or power. I pray that this type of corruption will stop. All people deserve to be free from tyranny.
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