Doria Resigns

The Star Ledger is reporting that Governor Corzine asked for and received DCA Commissioner Joe Doria's resignation today, after the news broke that the FBI search Doria's home and office.

Corzine also said that he thought Assemblymen Daniel Van Pelt and Harvey Smith should resign.

To quote my friends at InTheLobby,

"Funny, but we don't remember the governor feeling the same about Sens. Sharpe James or Wayne Bryant needing to resign when they were indicted.

What could have changed?"

ITL is also citing a Wall Street Journal report naming Solomon Dwek as the cooperating witness who brought down 44 public officials, so far, in the current investigative sweep:

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has more on the cooperating witness who brought down the house of cards:

The key to the investigation was an Orthodox Jewish real-estate developer, according to a person familiar with the matter. Solomon Dwek was arrested on bank-fraud charges in 2006 and was forced to seek bankruptcy protection for himself and his companies, which owned about 300 residential and commercial properties. Mr. Dwek, 36 years old, a religious-school head and philanthropist from Ocean Township, was charged with defrauding PNC Bank out of $25 million. Mr. Dwek remained free on a $10 million bond. A lawyer for Mr. Dwek couldn't be reached for comment.

To ensnare most of the defendants, the Federal Bureau of Investigation used Mr. Dwek to attempt to bribe numerous public officials in New Jersey, including Hoboken and Jersey City, according to a person familiar with the matter. The probe roped in several other real-estate developers who also wanted to bribe officials. The criminal complaints unsealed Thursday referenced an unnamed "cooperating witness" who represented himself as a real-estate developer seeking to pay bribes. A person familiar with the matter said Mr. Dwek is the witness.

"The politicians willingly put themselves up for sale," Mr. Marra said in an afternoon news conference. "They existed in an ethics-free zone."