At a Newark federal courthouse, the first trial in New Jersey’s largest ever corruption probe will begin today. The public will get to see the government cooperator who secretly recorded hours of meetings at restaurants, diners and parking lots over two years, showing various states of alleged wrongdoing.
It has been six months since the mammoth corruption bust resulted in 44 arrests. The dramatic July 23 takedown featured early morning raids.
Among the defendants: Three mayors, two state assemblymen and other public officials charged with corruption, men charged with money laundering, and in one case, a man charged with brokering the sale of a human kidney.
Ten have pleaded guilty, and the rest are awaiting trial or in plea negotiations.
The first to go to trial is former Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, who faces extortion and bribery charges. Jury selection is scheduled to begin today.
Prosecutors are hoping a jury will believe the cooperating witness who pleaded guilty to a $23 million bank fraud and faces additional lawsuits for an alleged real estate Ponzi scheme.
Lawyers on both sides will be watching the first trial closely. Hints of how the defense plans to proceed were evident last week during pretrial motions, when Beldini’s attorney, Brian Neary, characterized the cooperating witness as a government-sponsored lawbreaker who helped create the crimes with which others now are charged.
{Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}
can anything positive come out of a post like this?
There is nothing wrong with reporting this the way Matzav reported it. Absolutely nothing, not halachically or hashkafically. Well done.
with the WORLD going into corruption & letting other people rule us theres no way Mashiach can come WE first need to return to Hashem with honesty & erase corruption from our lives & repent etc…