Robert J. Cooke is a veteran Special Agent with the FBI's Newark Field Office in New Jersey. He gained prominence for his central role in Operation Bid Rig, a multi-phase FBI investigation into public corruption, money laundering, and related crimes in Hudson County, New Jersey, spanning from 2002 to 2009. As a key figure, Cooke meticulously prepared and swore to numerous affidavits that formed the basis for search warrants, arrest warrants, and criminal complaints, leading to high-profile arrests in Bid Rig III on 2009-07-23, which targeted 44 defendants including rabbis accused of international money laundering schemes disguised as charitable activities and illegal organ trafficking. His affidavits detailed undercover operations involving FBI informant Moshe Altman, who posed as a corrupt politician to expose bribery networks linking public officials and members of the Syrian Jewish community in New Jersey. Cooke's work contributed to federal indictments, trials, and convictions, such as those of Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini and rabbis like Saul Kassin. The investigations revealed a complex web of corruption involving over $50 million in laundered funds from Israel and elsewhere. Cooke has been referenced in subsequent court proceedings and media coverage of the Bid Rig cases, underscoring his expertise in public corruption probes. No public information is available on his personal life, education, or post-Bid Rig assignments.