US rabbi held over 'kidney trade'

Suspects were taken to the FBI office in Newark A US rabbi accused of kidney trafficking is among dozens of politicians and other rabbis held in a major corruption sweep. Three mayors from New Jersey and two members of the state legislature were among more than 40 people held. Three hundred FBI agents raided dozens of locations across New Jersey and New York as part of a 10-year probe into corruption and money laundering. Cars carrying suspects were parked four deep outside FBI offices in Newark. 'Piece of the action' Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini and Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez were among those arrested. State legislators Harvey Smith and Daniel Van Pelt were also arrested. Law enforcement officials say the investigation 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. It widened to include alleged official corruption said to be linked to a New Jersey construction boom. Acting US Attorney, Ralph 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". "These rings, led by clergymen, cloaked their extensive criminal activity behind a facade of rectitude," he added. 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. The BBC's Jane O'Brien says the money laundering ring reportedly spanned the US, Israel and Switzerland. Prosecutors accuse one rabbi of dealing in human kidneys for transplant for a decade. It's 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).