Israelis and Rabbis caught in US crime scandals

The public prosecutor's office on Thursday asked a Jerusalem court to authorize the extradition to the United States 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 United States 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 administration fees.

Rabbis arrested

Meanwhile, U.S. agents arrested 44 elected officials and Jewish rabbis in New Jersey on Thursday 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, the Jersey City deputy mayor and council president, two state assembly members, and numerous other politicians, prosecutors said.

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.

Any corruption is unacceptable -- anywhere, anytime, by anybody

Democratic State Governor Jon Corzine

Arrests part of a 10 year probe

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 television drama the "Sopranos."

Officials said the arrests were part of an ongoing 10 year probe into statewide corruption code-named "Bid Rig."

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.

FBI officials painted a picture of brazen criminality.

The scale of corruption we're seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated

Corzine

Crime ring from New York to Israel

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 Italian Mafia 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 United States.

One rabbi, Levy Izhak 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 dollars which he would turn around and sell for 160,000 dollars."

He'd allegedly been peddling kidneys for a decade.

The dramatic crackdown came as Chris Christie, a crusading former U.S. 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.

(Rabbi 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

Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra