Informant in N.J. sting pleads guilty

NEW YORK (JTA) – The informant who helped bring charges against a number of rabbis and politicians in New Jersey pleaded guilty to money laundering.

Solomon Dwek admitted Tuesday to trying to cheat a bank out of $50 million as part of a plea bargain, Reuters reported.

In return for cooperating with authorities, prosecutors asked Dwek be sentenced to nine to 11 years in prison for the offense, which carries a 30-year maximum term.

In 2006 Dwek began working undercover for police after he was charged with money laundering. He helped gather evidence in a government probe into an alleged illegal operation run by members of New Jersey’s insular Syrian-Jewish community that laundered millions of dollars.

The investigation expanded into public corruption charges against several New Jersey politicians and dozens of arrests this summer.