STATEWIDE — Solomon Dwek, an FBI informant who offered bribes to local political officials and candidates in a statewide sting operation in 2009, will be sentenced in October for the bank fraud case that led to his agreement to be an informant, according to NJ.com.
Dwek, a Monmouth County native, had been arrested in 2006 after depositing a fraudulent $25 million check in a bank. Eventually, he agreed to be a government informant.
In spring of 2009, as part of Operation Bid Rig, he met with local officials and people running for office. He offered to give them campaign donations, saying he would like favoritism for his development deals.
That July, more than 40 people were arrested, including local mayors including Dennis Elwell in Secaucus and Peter Cammarano in Hoboken.
The grand totals? NJ.com has this count: 32 people pleaded guilty, charges were dropped against four, four were convicted, two were acquitted, two await trials, one (local political consultant Jack Shaw) has died, and one has avoided capture.
Dwek will find out in a few weeks whether he gets a reduced sentence due to his cooperation.
For a related story, watch this weekend’s Reporter newspapers, either in print or here at hudsonreporter.com.