From the Asbury Park Press:
The FBI this morning made 30 arrests in a two-track public corruption and high-volume, international money laundering probe, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Those arrested include Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, R-Ocean, and several unidentified religious leaders from Brooklyn, Deal and the Elberon section of Long Branch, sources said. …
The subjects of the arrests also include religious leaders from the Syrian Jewish enclaves in Brooklyn, Deal and Elberon. The investigation involves the Deal Yeshiva, a religious school which teaches children in the Sephardic Jewish tradition, sources said. The Yeshiva has two separate divisions: a boys’ school on Logan Road in Ocean Township and a girls’ school on Wall Street in West Long Branch.
From the Star-Ledger:
The arrests are the result of a two-year FBI and IRS probe that began with an investigation of money transfers by members of the Syrian enclaves in Deal and Brooklyn. Those arrested this morning include key religious leaders in the tight-knit, wealthy communities….
Agents also raided religious institutions to make arrests and collect information.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the IRS took out at least three boxes from the Deal Yeshiva, as students were arriving at school. The Deal Yeshiva, on the corner of Brighton and Norwood avenues, is a prestigious religious school in town.
Authorities also searched the Ohel Yaacob synagogue on Ocean Avenue in Deal and removed several boxes.
