# Hoboken and Secaucus Mayors, Rabbis Arrested in Money-Laundering Probe **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 23, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoboken-and-secaucus-mayors-rabbis-arrested-in-money-laundering-probe/503993 "2009-07-23T14:01:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoboken-and-secaucus-mayors-rabbis-arrested-in-money-laundering-probe/503993/1 "2009-07-23T14:01:02Z")
[This](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBblMZUVJ6To) certainly sounds interesting, hopefully some Jersey Dopers can check in at some point with updates. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoboken-and-secaucus-mayors-rabbis-arrested-in-money-laundering-probe/503993/2 "2009-07-23T16:02:11Z")
I heard about it this morning but I don’t know anything more than what’s in the article. Our mayor Dennis Elwell (I’m in Secaucus) was taken away from his house this morning in handcuffs. Corruption in our neck of the woods is nothing new, but it’s usually small potatoes. I’m mostly wondering about how the Rabbis were involved. I’m hoping the press conference will shed more light on what went on. Our mayor wasn’t well liked in our town in the last year or so, he spent an obscene amount of money on building a new recreation center that went way over budget and wasn’t approved by the taxpayers. He figured everybody would join and the place would start paying for itself, but that hasn’t happened. I believe he was elected in the first place because everyone liked his father who is a nice guy, I feel sorry for him. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoboken-and-secaucus-mayors-rabbis-arrested-in-money-laundering-probe/503993/3 "2009-07-23T16:46:15Z")
the press conference is happening now on cnn. unreal. the rabbis were charged with laundering money derived from criminal activity. the men were taken into custody and placed on a bus. it is amazing how many people are getting off the bus, it looks like a clown bus. it seems that the average bribe was 10,000ish thousand. i’m not a politician, but it would have to be way, way, more than 10,000 for me to chance going to jail. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoboken-and-secaucus-mayors-rabbis-arrested-in-money-laundering-probe/503993/4 "2009-07-23T16:54:53Z")
Oy oy oy! They weren’t just laundering money. They were laundering human organs!! > [@](#): > > Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum, 58, of Brooklyn was accused of conspiring with others to acquire and trade human organs for use in transplantation. Rosenbaum, who was “purportedly” involved in real estate, was approached by a cooperating witness and an undercover FBI agent about buying a human kidney from a human organ broker, according to the complaint. “You want I should give you a little liverwurst with your kidney?” ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoboken-and-secaucus-mayors-rabbis-arrested-in-money-laundering-probe/503993/5 "2009-07-23T18:00:06Z")
I’m at work so I can’t see the press conference and my lunch is just about over, but here’s a [link](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iK4nrZ7GALyorz4G34gTnFocFM9gD99K9STG0). > [@](#): > > In separate money laundering complaints, several rabbis from Brooklyn and New Jersey were charged with offenses ranging from the trafficking of kidneys from Israeli donors to laundering proceeds from selling fake Gucci and Prada bags. I’m verklempt. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoboken-and-secaucus-mayors-rabbis-arrested-in-money-laundering-probe/503993/6 "2009-07-23T18:04:18Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > I’m mostly wondering about how the Rabbis were involved. Something wasn’t kosher.