-104.jpg)
Money Laundering -Sopranos Style!
New Jersey has been shocked by the arrest of 44 people including 3 city mayors, 5 rabbis and 2 state politicians. The FBI and IRS (Internal Revenue Service) raided a number of government buildings and even synagogues as part of an investigation into a case of mass corruption and money laundering.
The Mayor of Secaucus was charged with accepting $10,000 in bribes, and the President of the city council and the Deputy Mayor of Jersey City were also charged with accepting illegal contributions.
5 Rabbis were also charged over using religious charities to launder money between New Jersey, Switzerland and Israel. Saul Kassin, Grand Rabbi of the Syrian Jewish community was also charged for laundering $3million between June 07 and July 09 – it is believed the money came from the sale of fake designer handbags.
In other cases, synagogues were being used to clean dirty money in return for fees, and the FBI is now looking into 28 bank accounts they believe were used to clear and place illegally gained funds.
Another man was also arrested in connection with the case, and has been charged with arranging the sale of a human kidney for transplant. Details like this, and the widespread nature of the corruption has led the press to compare the arrests to the TV programme the Sopranos, and highlights the serious organised crime that money laundering is often used to conceal.
Print page
