Last Rabbi In New Jersey Corruption Case Sentenced
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A Brooklyn, N.Y., rabbi has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for his admitted role in a large-scale corruption and money laundering sting in New Jersey.
Lavel Schwartz was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day Thursday in federal court in Trenton.
The 61-year-old pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy last May.
He was one of more than 40 people arrested in July 2009. Four other rabbis already have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
Schwartz admitted laundering what he thought were illicit funds from a developer who was acting as an informant for the government.
Several hundred thousand dollars were laundered through a religious charity.
About three-quarters of the defendants arrested in 2009 have pleaded guilty or been convicted.
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