Mayors of Hoboken, Secaucus and Several Public Officials Arrested

Monti Says: I blame this all on Obama. They were just trying to accumulate as much money as they could before the Health Care and Cap & Trade bills raises taxes through the roof!

July 23, 2009

By David Voreacos

July 23 (Bloomberg) — The mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus, New Jersey, and several rabbis were among at least 30 people arrested today as part of a public corruption and money- laundering investigation by U.S. authorities.

Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, 31, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega Jr., and State Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, a Republican from Ocean Township, were among those arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They are scheduled to appear in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, later today.

“Approximately 30 arrests have occurred this morning in a two-track federal investigation of public corruption and a high- volume, international money-laundering conspiracy,” Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra, said in a statement.

The roundup of suspects is one of the largest ever in New Jersey, where more than 100 public officials have been convicted of corruption in the past few years.

Cammerano, Hoboken’s youngest mayor, was sworn in July 1. Leona Beldini, a deputy mayor of Jersey City, and several rabbis in New York and New Jersey were among those arrested.

Agents brought the suspects to FBI headquarters in Newark for processing before their appearance later today in federal court a mile away.

A press conference is scheduled for this afternoon.