Federal agents swept across New Jersey and New York on Thursday, charging 44 people -- including mayors, rabbis, and even one alleged trafficker in human kidneys -- in a decadelong investigation into public corruption and international money-laundering.

The key to the investigation: a real-estate developer who became an informant after being arrested on bank-fraud charges in 2006, according to a person familiar with the case. The developer, Solomon Dwek, wore a wire for the Federal Bureau of Investigation while offering to bribe New Jersey mayors and other public officials, that person said.

A lawyer for Mr. Dwek didn't respond to requests for comment.

While New Jersey has a long history of dirty politics -- in newark alone, three former mayors have been convicted of crimes unrelated to Thursday's sweep -- the scale of the alleged graft shocked veterans of the state's political crises.

"This is not only a black eye, but this fans more cynicism," said Gene Grabowski,