By: Vickie J. Rubinson
The public prosecutor's office today asked a Jerusalem court to authorize the extradition to the U.S. of 11 Israelis suspected of swindling elderly Americans in a lottery scam while several rabbis from New Jersey were charged with offenses ranging from the trafficking of kidneys from Israeli donors to laundering proceeds from selling fake Gucci and Prada bags.
Israeli public radio said the 11 suspects, all of whom are in custody, are accused of extorting several million dollars from retired Jews living in the U.S. by telling them they had won the Israeli national lottery.
The victims, who were contacted by telephone, were told that in order to collect their winnings they first had to pay taxes and adminstration fees.
Meanwhile, U.S. agents arrested 44 elected officials and Jewish rabbis in New Jersey today in a huge anti-corruption sweep across the state.
Charges of extortion, bribery, money laundering and human organ trafficking were stunning even for a state long notorious for official corruption and organized crime.
Five rabbis were among the suspects, along with the mayors of Hoboken, Secaucus and Ridgefield and numerous other politicians. 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.
The sweep was believed to be one of the biggest such actions ever in a state long associated with corruption and famous as the setting of the hit Mafia TV drama the "Sopranos."
Officials said the arrests were part of an ongoing 10 year probe into statewide corruption code-named "Bid Rig."
FBI officials painted a picture of brazen criminality.
The money laundering ring allegedly stretched from New Jersey and New York to Israel and Switzerland, while politicians easily exploited loopholes in state law to disguise bribes as campaign contributions.
Although New Jersey is more famous for a history of Mafia Italian families, it was Jewish clergy who allegedly played a central role in the crime network.
Authorities raided several synagogues and among those arrested was the chief rabbi of Syrian Jews in the U.S. One rabbi, Levy Rosenbaum, was charged with conspiring to broker the sale of a human kidney for transplant.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra told a press conference that Rosenbaum's "business was to entice vulnerable people to give up a kidney for $10,000 which he would turn around sell for $160,000."
He'd allegedly been peddling kidneys for a decade.
The public prosecutor's office today asked a Jerusalem court to authorize the extradition to the U.S. of 11 Israelis suspected of swindling elderly Americans in a lottery scam while several rabbis from New Jersey were charged with offenses ranging from the trafficking of kidneys from Israeli donors to laundering proceeds from selling fake Gucci and Prada bags.
Israeli public radio said the 11 suspects, all of whom are in custody, are accused of extorting several million dollars from retired Jews living in the U.S. by telling them they had won the Israeli national lottery.
The victims, who were contacted by telephone, were told that in order to collect their winnings they first had to pay taxes and adminstration fees.
Meanwhile, U.S. agents arrested 44 elected officials and Jewish rabbis in New Jersey today in a huge anti-corruption sweep across the state.
Charges of extortion, bribery, money laundering and human organ trafficking were stunning even for a state long notorious for official corruption and organized crime.
Five rabbis were among the suspects, along with the mayors of Hoboken, Secaucus and Ridgefield and numerous other politicians. 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.
The sweep was believed to be one of the biggest such actions ever in a state long associated with corruption and famous as the setting of the hit Mafia TV drama the "Sopranos."
Officials said the arrests were part of an ongoing 10 year probe into statewide corruption code-named "Bid Rig."
FBI officials painted a picture of brazen criminality.
The money laundering ring allegedly stretched from New Jersey and New York to Israel and Switzerland, while politicians easily exploited loopholes in state law to disguise bribes as campaign contributions.
Although New Jersey is more famous for a history of Mafia Italian families, it was Jewish clergy who allegedly played a central role in the crime network.
Authorities raided several synagogues and among those arrested was the chief rabbi of Syrian Jews in the U.S. One rabbi, Levy Rosenbaum, was charged with conspiring to broker the sale of a human kidney for transplant.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra told a press conference that Rosenbaum's "business was to entice vulnerable people to give up a kidney for $10,000 which he would turn around sell for $160,000."
He'd allegedly been peddling kidneys for a decade.
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