A New York rabbi has pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge in New Jersey's largest federal corruption sting.
Rabbi pleads guilty in NJ sting
Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. — A New York rabbi has pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge in New Jersey's largest federal corruption sting.
Mordchai Fish, the principal rabbi of Brooklyn's Congregation Sheves Achim, entered his plea Friday in a Trenton courtroom.
Prosecutors say Fish conspired to launder approximately $900,000 he thought was criminal proceeds from Solomon Dwek, an undercover government cooperator posing as a businessman.
According to court filings, Dwek gave Fish checks payable to a religious charity that the rabbi converted into cash to give back to Dwek, minus a 10 percent commission.
Three others accused of conspiring with Fish have pleaded guilty.
Fish was among 46 people, including 5 rabbis, arrested in July 2009 in the culmination of a federal investigation into money laundering and public corruption.
If you want to read a comprehensive account of this sting and the multiple layers of crimes and criminals involved, read the book currently advertised immediately to the right of this post, The Jersey Sting.