The investigation began in mid-2006 amid evidence of corruption in the Pleasantville schools near Atlantic City.
In response, The FBI established an undercover insurance brokerage company purporting to employ the government's two cooperating witnesses and undercover agents.
Pleasantville school board members then allegedly took thousands of dollars in bribes from the cooperating witnesses, Drewniak said.
The circle of corruption widened when Pleasantville school board members referred the cooperating witnesses to public officials in northern New Jersey who also took bribes and, in turn, put them in touch with other public officials.
Those arrested allegedly demanded and accepted payments ranging from $1,500 to $17,500 and sought to perpetuate a relationship with the cooperating witnesses to continue receiving bribes, according to the criminal complaints.
Those arrested Thursday were Democratic state Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr. and Alfred E. Steele; Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera; Passaic Councilman Marcellus Jackson and former councilman Jonathan Soto; and Keith Reid, chief of staff to Newark's City Council president.
Steele has been an assemblyman since 1996, serving as deputy speaker since 2002. He's also the pastor at Seminary Baptist Church in Paterson and a Passaic County undersheriff.
Jenna Pollard, who answered the phone at Steele's Paterson office and identified herself as his chief of staff, said she had no comment and didn't know if Steele had a lawyer.
Hackett, 65, has been Orange mayor since 1996 after eight years on the city council. He's been an assemblymen since 2002.
A phone message left at Hackett's office wasn't immediately returned Thursday. Neither were messages left at Reid's and Rivera's offices.
Crump said she just found about Reid's arrest and had no comment. She said he has worked for her since she became the council president on July 1, 2006.
The arrested Pleasantville school board members are Jayson G. Adams, James T. McCormick, James A. Pressley, Rafael Velez. Also arrested was former board member Maurice "Pete'' Callaway, who is now a Pleasantville city council member. Louis Mister, of Pleasantville, a private citizen, was also arrested.
More than 100 public officials in the state have been convicted on federal corruption charges in the last five years.
Thursday's arrests were the latest in an anti-corruption campaign waged by Christie's office. Two other Democratic state senators, Wayne Bryant of Lawnside and Sharpe James of Newark, are among others facing pending corruption charges.
I'd like to be in court when the Judge asks if Mister Mister is present.