More than forty people including politicians and rabbis have been arrested in the US state of New Jersey, as part of a massive FBI anti-corruption sting. In a state with a long history of bribery, mob wars, corruption and gang crime, some reactions are surprisingly muted.

Three mayors, two state legislators, and four rabbis are among those facing charges of money laundering, bribery, and in one case even trafficking in human organs.
 

'Pervasive nature'
Immediately after the unprecedented police operation – which took place on Thursday – the details of this case were made public. US Attorney Ralph Marra said the investigation indicates “the pervasive nature of public corruption” in New Jersey, a state already known (or notorious) for its long history of corruption and bribery.
 

Springsteen
The state even served as the backdrop for one of the most popular mob-series of all time, The Sopranos. And New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen has pointed at the darker side of his home state in many of his songs, most notably in “Atlantic City”, a song on mob wars in which he stated that “the D.A. can’t get no relief”.
 
After unveiling Thursday’s operations, Mr Marra accused state politicians of “willingly putting themselves up for sale to the highest bidder”.
 

Informant
At the centre of this latest case is New Jersey real estate mogul Solomon Dwek. He wasn’t very successful in his trade, though, as he went bankrupt a few years ago, after trying to pull off a 50 million dollar bank scam. The FBI secretly hired Mr Dwek as an informant to reveal even more scams and scandals.

“He would call on politicians and offer them bribes, saying he could contribute to their campaigns if they would help him in his development projects”, says Paul Cox of the New Jersey Star Ledger newspaper. Some politicians gladly accepted the invitations.
 

Jewish community
But there was more, says Mr Cox. “Mr Dwek is part of a Jewish community, which he used for his money laundering activities. He’d offer religious officials contributions to their synagogues and religious schools in exchange for kickbacks in a money laundering scam.  Apparently he attracted quite a few participants from that community”.

In a state which is used to crimes like these, reactions vary from muted to shock. “Some people say: ‘We’ve seen it before, it’s just the fabric of life here’”, says Paul Cox. “It’s hard to shock New Jerseyans, apparently. But other people find it hard to accept that their politicians are enriching themselves and favouring others in business deals. These people are understandably outraged”.

Listen to a Newsline interview with Paul Cox:

Photo by David Iliff (under Wikimedia Commons license)