"OUR BETTERS" IN ACTION

"Three city majors, two state politicians and five rabbis were among 44 people arrested across New Jersey yesterday when federal agents cracked an alleged Soprano-style crime ring accused of bribery, money laundering and trafficking body parts and counterfeit handbags. In a sweep that shocked even residents hardened to the state's endemic corruption, officer from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raided synagogues, government offices and a Jewish school early yesterday before bussing suspects to the FBI headquarters in Newark." (Time, 24 July) RD