Solomon Dwek, informant behind rabbis’ corruption case, released from prison

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) The 2009 sting led to charges against five Orthodox rabbis accused of using synagogues and religious charities to launder millions of dollars in illicit funds.

Solomon Dwek appeared in state Superior Court in 2012 to be sentenced on a misconduct of a corporate official charge. Photo courtesy of 
Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger
Solomon Dwek appeared in state Superior Court in 2012 to be sentenced on a misconduct of a corporate official charge. RNS photo by  Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger.

Solomon Dwek appeared in state Superior Court in 2012 to be sentenced on a misconduct of a corporate official charge. RNS photo by
Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger.

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) Solomon Dwek, the federal informant behind the biggest federal corruption sting in New Jersey history, which led to the arrest of five Orthodox rabbis, is out of prison and back home.

Less than 30 months after being sentenced to six years behind bars—far more than prosecutors were seeking—Dwek this week was let go from the federal prison in Cumberland, Md. After initially being placed in a residential re-entry center in Baltimore near where his wife and children now live, Dwek was immediately placed into home confinement, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.


“He’s under supervision and there are certain restrictions and rules he must follow,” said the spokesman, Ed Ross.

While he will be monitored, Dwek will have considerable freedoms under home confinement, including permission to come and go for work, medical and dental appointments and some family social activities. “The purpose is to help them transition back into the community. They seek employment or go to work,” Ross said.

Dwek, now 42, the son of a respected rabbi and a one-time  real estate investor, became the central figure in a three-year undercover sting operated by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office that became known as Bid Rig III.

The high-profile criminal case came to light in July 2009 with a series of early morning arrests that made national headlines, ensnaring dozens of elected officials caught taking bribes from Dwek, posing as a corrupt developer. The sting also led to charges against five Orthodox rabbis accused of using synagogues and religious charities to launder millions of dollars in illicit funds, through exchanges set up by Dwek and the FBI. And in one of the more bizarre aspects of the investigation, a Brooklyn man was caught on tape brokering black-market kidneys for a fee.

The sting, stretching from Brooklyn to the Jersey Shore, ultimately led the arrests of 46 people.

Dwek, an admitted con man, began cooperating with the FBI after he was caught trying to cover up a $400 million Ponzi scheme involving the sale and resale of properties he sometimes did not even own. While never charged in the fraud, he was arrested after depositing a worthless $25 million check on a closed account and then quickly wired out nearly all the money in an effort to cover a short-term loan that had come due. The next day, he tried to do it again.


Facing 30 years in prison for the bank fraud, Dwek soon entered into a plea deal, agreeing to cooperate in a bid to cut the amount of time he would serve.

(Ted Sherman writes for The Star-Ledger in Newark and NJ Advance Media)

KRE END SHERMAN

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!