Three members of the New Jersey Assembly facing corruption charges are being stripped of their legislative salary and benefits.

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. announced the pay and benefits suspension Wednesday, following an opinion from legislative lawyers.

Roberts had already removed Assemblymen L. Harvey Smith, Joseph Vas and Daniel Van Pelt from their committee posts. Smith and Van Pelt were arrested in last week’s federal corruption sting. Vas was charged in an earlier, unrelated case.

Roberts says “taxpayers should not be on the hook for services that cannot be effectively rendered.”

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce, meanwhile, called on Gov. Jon Corzine to order a special session of the Legislature to pass a tougher ethics law.

The Assemblymen were three of the 44 suspects rounded up and arrested by federal agents last week in one of the state’s biggest corruption busts ever. Three New Jersey mayors were also arrested and charged.

On Tuesday, Secaucus mayor Dennis Elwell announced his resignation, but maintained his innocence in the case. He said he chose to step down to avoid a distraction for his town. The other two mayors in the case — Hoboken Mayor Pete Cammarano III and Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez — have declined requests by residents and Gov. Jon Corzine to resign.

(Source: CBS2 HD)