NJ corruption arrests net mayors, rabbis

Corzine said he asked Doria to step down, and Doria agreed to leave office. When asked why he made the request, Corzine said "Simple: can he be effective in the office that he holds under the conditions that there is a serious investigation going on in the context of this deep vein of corruption that was unveiled today - and the answer is no."

The number of arrests was noteworthy even for New Jersey, a state that has seen more than 130 public officials plead guilty or be convicted of corruption since 2001.

"New Jersey's corruption problem is one of the worst, if not the worst, in the nation," said Ed Kahrer, who heads the FBI's white collar and public corruption investigation division. "Corruption is a cancer that is destroying the core values of this state."

Corzine reacted to the corruption probe by saying, "any corruption is unacceptable - anywhere, anytime, by anybody. The scale of corruption we're seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated."

The 32-year-old Cammarano, a Democrat who won a runoff election last month, is accused of accepting $25,000 in cash bribes, including $10,000 just last Thursday from a government witness posing as a real estate developer. Elwell is charged with taking $10,000.

Joseph Hayden, an attorney representing Cammarano, said his client "is innocent of these charges. He intends to fight them with all his strength until he proves his innocence."

Suarez, who is also an attorney, is charged with agreeing to accept an illegal $10,000 cash payment for his legal defense fund.

Van Pelt is accused of accepting $10,000 from a cooperating government witness posing as a developer who sought help in getting permits for a project in Ocean County.

Smith, a former Jersey City mayoral candidate who served four years as the city's council president, and several other current and former Jersey City public officials also are accused of accepting money to help the fake developer gain permits and approvals.

The Jersey City officials include:

"I have full faith in Leona," Healy said. "She's a good friend of mine - was and will be."

In secretly recorded conversations outlined in the complaint against Cammarano, the candidate made it clear to prospective campaign donors that he was a friend of developers.

When the cooperating witness posing as a developer, who was donating $5,000 to the campaign, told Cammarano just days before the mayoral election that he wanted to make sure he had his support with "some properties we're working on," Cammarano is quoted as saying, "I'll be there."

Authorities also raided several synagogues, arresting rabbis from New York and New Jersey who are accused of money laundering. The rabbis were charged with offenses ranging from the trafficking of kidneys from Israeli donors to laundering proceeds from selling fake Gucci and Prada bags. One of the suspects, Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum, is accused of enticing people to give up a kidney for $10,000 and reselling for $160,000.

The suspects were brought to FBI Headquarters in Downtown Newark. Officials say the arrests were made by agents with the FBI and IRS.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who has fought corruption in New Jersey's largest city, says it was "an unbelievable morning."

Full list of those arrested and charges:

Political Corruption

Money Laundering/Illegal Money Remitting

Human Organ Trafficking