Everything was for sale — from politicians to kidneys.
Separate federal probes targeting rogue rabbis in Brooklyn and corrupt public officials in New Jersey led to the arrests yesterday of 44 people, including three mayors and five religious leaders.
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All the suspects in both investigations were brought down by the same shady developer, who wore a wire for three years while he bought off politicians, passed supposedly dirty money for laundering and even arranged for a $160,000 kidney sale.
“The list of names and titles of those arrested today sounds like a roster for a community leaders’ meeting,” said Weysan Dun, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark office. “Sadly, these prominent individuals were not in a meeting room, but were in the FBI booking room this morning.”
The rabbis and politicians — among them the mayors of Hoboken, Ridgefield and Secaucus, and the Jersey City Council president — were hauled into court in handcuffs to answer a staggering number of charges that shocked even the most jaded Jerseyans.
One suspect, Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, a Democrat, was caught on tape at a diner bragging, “I could be indicted and still get 85 to 95 percent of the vote,” said acting US Attorney Ralph Marra.
At the center of the stings by the FBI and the IRS was Solomon Dwek — a real-estate developer busted in May 2006 for trying to rip off $50 million from PNC Bank through a check-kiting scheme.
He was identified by sources as the confidential witness in the case.
Dwek’s original brief was to expose international money laundering by rabbis in Jersey and Brooklyn.
Once flipped by the feds, the 36-year-old posed as a crooked businessman looking to launder proceeds from fraudulent bank loans or sales of fake designer handbags to accomplices who would launder the money through charities in the United States and Israel.
They moved “at least tens of millions of dollars through charitable, nonprofit entities controlled by rabbis in New York and New Jersey,” Marra said.
Dwek boasted to his unsuspecting clients that he “schnookied,” or fooled, the banks into giving him the loans — and needed to clean the money so it couldn’t be traced back to him. But the clients turned out to be the schnooks.
The various rabbis operated independently or in small groups, rather than as one network, authorities said.
Dwek, who ran a Deal, NJ, yeshiva that catered to Sephardic Jews, also offered to bribe officials to smooth the way for his real-estate projects. That phase of the ruse ensnared the politicians.
Cammarano, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez, Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega Jr., Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, and Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith, were allegedly captured on tape seeking to trade their influence for cash, according to federal complaints. All are Democrats except for Van Pelt, a Republican.
The investigation was described by the feds as “dual track,” because the political corruption and laundering probes were separate.
The only overlap occurred when alleged money launderer Moshe Altman of Hudson County allegedly washed $600,000 in FBI checks provided by Dwek.
Altman introduced Dwek to Jersey City buildings inspector John Guarini, who took $40,000 in bribes, authorities said.
Perhaps the most shocking charge to rock the Jewish community involved Brooklyn rabbi Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, 58, who allegedly said he could broker the sale of a kidney for $160,000.
On tapes, Rosenbaum allegedly boasted to Dwek that he’d been an organ “matchmaker” for more than 10 years and could bring over an Israeli donor for a “schmear,” or money.
Other prominent busts in the Jewish community included:
* Eliahu Ben Haim, the principal rabbi of Congregation Ohel Yaacob synagogue in Deal, who allegedly laundered up to $160,000 by cashing checks made out to his tax-exempt charities and an Israeli connection, then keeping a 10 percent commission.
* Saul Kassin, 87, the chief rabbi of Sharee Zion synagogue in Brooklyn, who allegedly accepted Dwek’s checks to launder money.
* Two Brooklyn brothers, Mordchai Fish and Lavel Schwartz, both rabbis at Congregation Sheves Achim in Brooklyn, who also allegedly were caught boasting they could launder millions. Agents raided the offices of Dial-a-Beeper in Williamsburg, where the holy men allegedly picked up their “washed” cash.
“These are the biggest leaders of our community,” said Steven Esses, a member of the Ohel Yaacob congregation. “It’s hard to believe they could do something like that when these people, all day long, teach the importance of being an ethical person.” But he insisted, “I still have faith in them.”
On the corruption case, Marra said, “The politicians willingly put themselves up for sale. They existed in an ethics-free zone.”
Cammarano pleaded not guilty and was released on $100,000 bail.
His lawyer, Joseph Hayden, said the mayor is “innocent of these charges. He intends to fight them with all his strength.”
Assemblymen Smith and Van Pelt were also busted for allegedly accepting cash to facilitate permits and approvals for Dwek.
Suarez was charged with taking a $10,000 payment for his legal defense fund. Elwell was accused of taking $10,000.
Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini was charged with conspiracy to commit extortion by taking $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions.
“The scale of the corruption we’re seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated,” said Gov. Jon Corzine.
Corzine’s director of community affairs, Joe Doria, whose home was searched as part of the investigation but who has not yet been charged, resigned yesterday. With Post Wire Services