KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES A 32-YEAR SENTENCE FOR BOROUGH PARK RABBI CONVICTED OF SEXUALLY ABUSING A 16-YEAR-OLD BOY!
Brooklyn, April 12, 2010 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the sentencing of Baruch Lebovits, to 10-and-two-thirds to 32 years in prison for sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy on eight occasions in 2004 and 2005.
On March 8, Lebovits was convicted of eight counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the Third Degree, a Class-E Felony. Today he was sentenced to the maximum sentence on each count, one-and-a-third to four years, to run consecutively, for a total of 10-and-two-thirds to 32 years.
The victim knew Lebovits as a rabbi and prominent businessman in the Borough Park community, where they both lived.
Lebovits is also charged in two other cases of sexual assaults on minors. Those cases are pending.
The case was prosecuted by Miss Gregory, First Deputy Bureau Chief in the Sex Crimes Bureau. Rhonnie Jaus is Chief of the Sex Crimes Bureau.
http://frumfollies.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/speech-by-father-of-lebovits-victim-to-sentencing-judge/
Speech By Father of Lebovits Victim to Sentencing Judge
by Yerachmiel Lopin on 04/12/2010
Below is the prepared text that the father of the victim shared with me yesterday and delivered to the judge in Brooklyn a few minutes ago. I will announce sentencing as soon it happens. The text has has been edited to remove names and other identifying information.
"I would like to thank the judge, The Honorable Patricia M. Di Mango, for giving me the opportunity to speak at the sentencing of Baruch Mordechai Lebovits.
King David wrote: ”I thank G-d with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright” (Psalms 111:1). There is no more righteous place than where justice is done and executed. The prophet Isaiah said, “Zion should be redeemed through justice. I would like to thank the Honorable Justice Di Mango for conducting the trial with truth and dignity. I have to admit that I had my doubts about the outcome, but I know that if you have truth on your side justice will prevail. As Shakespeare said: “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is”.
I want to thank Ms. Gregory and her staff and the DA’s office for endless hard work and sleepless nights to bring this case to trial regardless of the dark clouds, She directed those clouds at Mr. Lebovits so the sun should shine again on my son. It is said that in every dark place there is a spark of light that is called hope.
I thank Detective Steve for his tireless work and the fact the he was always available to us 24/7. I also want to thank Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg and the father of another victim. Without you I would not be here today. You were like Pinchus in the Bible.
I want to thank my wonderful parents and family who stood fast in the biggest crises facing them in and out of the community for giving our son emotional support, a hug, a laughter and sometimes, a tear. You kids are all standing tall as victory marches on and history was made.
It is said that you leave the best for the last. And so my beloved son, my heart is always with you. We are one soul in two bodies bonded forever. I am very proud of you as are all your friends, family and all those who took part in this case. You had the courage to bring to the authorities that evil man, who is a rabbi and a prominent businessman with many connections to top leaders in the community. You refused to be bribed to drop the case. You were subjected to mud slinging and character assassination in front of the entire community as you testified in the witness chair. But you persevered because you had one thing on your side and that is the truth.
The holy book The Zohar states that “Truth stands on its own feet and lies do not stand.” And so the jury gave it’s verdict siding with the truth.
My son, with your courage to come forward you made history, helping to put away this evil man. You made the community safer for other children. Martin Luther King Jr. said “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed.”
I want to look this evil a man in his eyes.
What this man did is not some tale or script in a horror movie. It is a real horror story of a man who lived in our community, was trusted by the children and the people. He went on to ruin so many innocent lives just to serve his own selfish sick pleasures. I ask you Mordechai Lebovits, where is your soul? After you had your sick fun you discarded these innocent children like trash. You wished to see them completely destroyed so they would not be able to testify against you. You never showed or had any remorse.
You tried to destroy our son and his testimony by bringing in a rabbi, Berel Ashkenazi, who himself is a alleged child molester, to testify on your behalf. But you just dug a deeper hole for yourself. As King David wrote “He who dug a pit has fallen into the ditch which he made. (Psalms 7:16).
But you cannot escape from the hands of G-D. Our son pulled himself out of the pit that you dug for him. He will go on with his life and G-D will give him strength and success while you will rot in a pit. .
Now, let me turn my attention and address the Lebovits family, friends and the so-called rabbis. You are not innocent either. You share the same guilt that Mordechai Lebovits does. You are just as guilty as he is because you all knew who he was, what he was doing and how he was destroying so many innocent children for years. You all came to support him while smirking and laughing at our son as he bravely testified.
Our great Sages said that the one who sees someone committing evil and is silent is just as guilty as the evil perpetrator and gets the same punishment from G-D as the evildoer. There were rabbis who called me form Israel and asked me not to prosecute him and just let him off the hook for his family’s sake. I told them that there is nothing in the Bible or the Talmud that tells us that justice should not be served for the sake of the family of the criminal. I ask those who pleaded mercy for this man, did Mordechai Lebovits ever have mercy on the children he molested? Did he ever ask for their forgiveness for ruining their lives?
I would like to give you a summary of a quote from the Chief Rabbi Strenbuch of the ultra-Orthodox Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem (II:627). “It is not only allowed to bring the criminal to the authorities but it is a command to hand over such a person to the authorities. By handing him to the authorities you will eliminate desecration of G-D. There is no greater desecration of G-D than allowing a criminal like this to escape justice.”
I have a message for all those children molested by this or any other evil man and to their families. It took a long time for this man to be brought to justice, but as a Russian poet once wrote “Justice is like a train that always arrives late”. It is better late than never. Don’t be afraid to bring a perpetrator to justice.
In conclusion, I would like to ask the Honorable Justice Patricia M. Di Mango to impose the maximum sentence for the crimes committed by Mordechai Lebovits as he inflicted maximum suffering on his innocent victims with no remorse.
Thank you very much Justice Di Mango. May G-D bless you and G-D bless America!"
146 comments:
Arizona Rabbi Arrested for Allegedly Raping Child Ten Years Ago
Bryan Bramley, 45, was arrested in the parking lot of the Temple Beth Sholom Synagogue in Gilbert by members of the U.S. Marshals' Child Predator Apprehension Team and New York detectives.
Rabbi Bramley is accused of raping a seven-year-old girl in March 2000 in New York City.
It is alleged the incident occurred while the girl was spending the night at Bramley's family residence.
Bramley and his family were living in New York while he was completing his studies to become a rabbi.
The victim, now aged 17, reported the incident in August 2009.
Bramley is being held at the Maricopa County Jail while awaiting extradition to New York to face rape charges.
United States Marshal David Gonzales said the service places a high priority on arresting persons accused of sex crimes, particularly those involving children.
justice FINALLY served... moshiach must be on his way
Rabbi Sentenced 32 Years For Sexually Abusing Teen
By MARY MURPHY wpix.com
5:12 PM EDT, April 12, 2010
BOROUGH PARK, N.Y. (WPIX) - Rabbi Baruch Lebovits, 59, the wealthy owner of a travel agency in Borough Park, Brooklyn, was hit Monday with a lengthy prison term for sexually abusing a then-16 year old teenager from his neighborhood.
Lebovits, a father of seven children and grandfather to twenty four, had long been the subject of talk in his community, but no action was ever taken against him, until three alleged victims came forward a couple of years ago.
Judge Patricia DiMango, of Brooklyn Supreme Court, sentenced Lebovits to a maximum term of 10 2/3 to 32 years. The victim in this first case told the jury that Lebovits performed oral sex on him in the rabbi's silver Toyota, between May 2004 and February 2005. The victim, now 22, testified he turned to drugs and alcohol after the abuse. The defense attorney, Arthur Aidala, argued the allegations were made up, as part of an extortion attempt, because Lebovits' son is a multi-millionaire.
In a surprise courtroom revelation, the judge read portions of Lebovits' probation report, where the rabbi confided to authorities that he himself was a victim of sexual abuse, when he was a boy. Lebovits said he was victimized the first time by an uncle in London, when he was just 11-years-old. He said a teenager abused him again, a year later, when he was 12.
Lebovits' victim, who admitted he stole money from poor boxes in the synagogue to feed his drug habit, read a statement to the judge before sentencing.
"Some people are telling me I'll regret going to the police. I feel every day Baruch Lebovits is in jail is a day kids in our community are safe," he said.
The victim's father then read his own statement to Judge DiMango, swaying back and forth at the table like he was saying daily prayers in his Orthodox Jewish faith:
"I ask you Mordechai Lebovits--where is your soul? You destroyed these children," said the victim's father,
Later, outside of court, the man revealed to PIX 11 News how community members from the synagogue lashed out against the family after they went public with the abuse complaints.
"Somebody almost kicked me .. they threw me out of the synagogue," he said.
Defense attorney, Arthur Aidala, took note that Lebovits worked for many years as a kindergarten teacher and there was never one word of complaint from parents. He pointed to more than 100 letters of support for the rabbi, written by his family and other community members.
"In my religion, you would call the life Baruch Lebovits lived a saint --this is a non-violent crime. Keep in mind, this is his first contact with the system," said Aidala.
But Judge DiMango was not swayed, although she noted, "Sex abuse often leads to sex abuse." Before imposing the maximum sentence, she said, "Abusing and harming children will not be tolerated."
A group of young men who say they're survivors of sexual abuse by teachers and counselors turned up in court to support the victim.
The defense plans to appeal the harsh sentence, claiming Lebovits is being punished, because he turned down a "plea bargain" offer before trial that would have carried a 1 1/3 to 4 year maximum penalty. Now the rabbi is looking at 32 years.
Amen to that speech!
http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/30301/bishop-blames-jews-catholic-criticism
An Italian website, which quoted an Italian bishop as saying Jews were behind the criticism of the Catholic Church over sex abuse claims, has upheld the quotes.
The Catholic website Pontifex published comments from Bishop Giacomo Babini, 81, the emeritus bishop of Grosseto, Tuscany, in which he said he believed the current attacks raging against the Catholic Church were a “Zionist attack”, proven by the “powerful and refined” nature of the criticisms.
He reportedly said: "They do not want the Church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers."
The American Jewish Committee, which spotted the comments, described them as “slanderous stereotypes, which sadly evoke the worst Christian and Nazi propaganda prior to World War II."
But the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI) denied the bishop had ever given the interview. Bishop Babini said: "Statements I have never made about our Jewish brothers have been attributed to me."
However, Pontifex later published a statement, standing by its story and declaring that for “men of the church”, denying previous statements was “a habit”.
It also claimed that Bishop Babini had made other antisemitic statements earlier this year which he had never denied, and said it wanted to “refresh the memory” of the CEI.
It quoted the Bishop as saying on January 25 that "The Jews are not our closest brothers, they overslept on the arrival of Christ and the Old Testament; in doing so, they then chose not to be our closest brothers."
It also quoted the bishop as saying that Jews use the Holocaust “like a club”.
It will be a happy day when the molesters in Ramat Beit shemesh are given prison sentences.
http://nymag.com/realestate/neighborhoods/2010/65356/index2.html
ottlieb’s, a kosher deli on Roebling, offers a pastrami egg roll, a tongue sandwich, and a bowl of chicken soup filled to the rim with twisty, delicious bird stomachs. It also serves as one of the main marketplaces for Hasidic gossip in town. Right now, on a slow Thursday afternoon, the talk of the deli is Rachel, an 18-year-old Hasidic girl who “went off”—the local term for breaking with tradition.
“She got a huge tattoo,” reports Baruch Herzfeld to a gangly copper-haired cook in full beard and payess.
“No way,” says the cook, ecstatic. “No. Way.”
“Seriously. She shows it if you ask, too. Right here”—Herzfeld points at his thigh. “So f* hot.”
The cook just grins.
“What, you don’t believe me?”
Herzfeld grabs his iPhone and opens Facebook, searching for photos of Rachel. The Hasidic Facebook is its own phenomenon, a parallel universe where the prim girls you see on the street in turban hats and snub-nosed forties shoes post their bikini snapshots and glamorously lit studio pictures. Herzfeld enthusiastically scrolls through his four-figure friend list, picking out the hotties for us to look at. “Esther. Hot girl. Her father is super-religious. The interesting part is how many friends they have. Look: 273 friends. Most of them are Hasidic guys.”
Baruch Herzfeld, 38, is a classic macher and motormouth with a foot in both the Hasid and hipster worlds. He is an Orthodox Jew with close ties to the Satmars who also calls the Satmar leaders “Talibanowitz” and says things like “There is no community more homoerotic than the Hasidim, they’re so fucking gay.” Within minutes of our acquaintance, he offers me a hookup with a lapsed-Hasid girl and invites me to the Dominican Republic to report on a business dispute of his currently making its way through the rabbinical court. He is dressed in a denim jacket that looks slept in, and a flannel cap that he can’t stop turning backward, forward, and to the side. His real bread and butter is some sort of telephone-card business, which finances his largely nonprofit bike shop with the awesome name Traif Bike Gesheft—Unclean Bike Business.
For South Williamsburg’s Hasids, Traif Bike Gesheft functions as a semi-secret window onto the larger world and a clubhouse of mild transgressions. Herzfeld rents bikes to Hasids at no cost, just to get them to venture beyond the neighborhood. (Among Satmars, bicycles are not specifically disallowed but are considered taboo nonetheless.) Inside the shop, otherwise righteous men let down their guard. Tongues loosen. “The men, they don’t know how to have a conversation with a woman,” Herzfeld explains, talking a mile a minute. “Whenever they come to the bike shop, the first thing they ask me to find them a prostitute. I tell them, look, you’re searching for answers. You’re not going to find them in the vagina of a woman you’re paying $200 an hour. If you want to meet somebody, you need to step outside of the community, you need to get a hobby. Come over, and I’ll teach you how to fix a bike. So the bike shop is a kind of outreach program.” A friend of Herzfeld’s also uses the shop to slip Hasids traif books like The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby.
AP
California officials say former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson has failed to pay $493,000 in personal income tax. Anderson is on the annual list of delinquent taxpayers released Monday by the California Franchise Tax Board.
The 42-year-old actress is currently competing on the television show "Dancing With the Stars."
Anderson is among 250 individual and business taxpayers that owe more than $100,000 in back taxes. State records show a tax lien for $493,144 was filed against Anderson in April 2009.
Lolo Soetoro, Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro, baby Maya Soetoro, and
9 year old Barry Soetoro.
This registration document, made available on Jan. 24, 2007, by the Fransiskus Assisi school in Jakarta, Indonesia, shows the registration of Barack Obama under the name Barry Soetoro made by his step-father, Lolo Soetoro.
Name: Barry Soetoro
Religion: Islam
Nationality: Indonesian
How did this little INDONESIAN Muslim child - Barry Soetoro, A.K.A. Barack Obama get around the issue of nationality to become President of the United States of
America?
PART 2:
In a move certain to fuel the debate over Obama's qualifications
for the presidency, the group "Americans for Freedom of Information" has released copies of President Obama's college transcripts from Occidental College
The transcript indicates that Obama, under the name Barry Soetoro, received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia
while an undergraduate at the school. The transcript was released
by Occidental College in compliance with a court order in a suit brought by the group in the Superior Court of California. The transcript shows that Obama (Soetoro) applied for financial aid and was awarded a fellowship for foreign students from the Fulbright Foundation Scholarship
program. To qualify for this scholarship, a student must claim foreign citizenship.
This document provides the smoking gun that many of Obama's detractors have been seeking - that he is NOT a natural-born citizen of the United States - necessary to be President of these United States. Along with the evidence that he was first born in Kenya, here we see that there is no record of him ever applying for US citizenship.
Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation has released
the results of their investigation of Obama's campaign spending. This study estimates that Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds in the past year with eleven law firms in 12 states
for legal resources to block disclosure of any of his personal records.
Mr. Kreep indicated that the investigation is still on-going but
that the final report will be provided to the U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder.
Mr. Holder has refused comment on this matter
(04-13) 04:00 PDT Sacramento --
Nearly two months after a convicted sex offender was arrested on suspicion of raping and killing San Diego teenager Chelsea King, a bipartisan group of legislators on Monday introduced "Chelsea's Law," a measure they said will help protect children from sexually violent predators.
The proposed law by Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, would put some people who sexually assault children behind bars for life and increase the penalties for others. It also would increase the time a convicted child molester remains on parole, allowing officials to monitor some violent sex offenders for life. And it would bar registered sex offenders from visiting parks where children gather.
All the Rubashkin bashers will be able to sleep well tonight knowing that the the US justice system will be protecting them from the machinations of this "evil" man.
https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/127f71d5fa0a338d
Bungalow Putz Neuhoff's favorite librarian:
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100413/NEWS/4130339
04/13/10
MONTICELLO — Former Monticello Village Clerk Edith Schop pleaded guilty Monday to two felonies in a case of double-dipping.
Schop, appearing with her attorney, Henri Shawn, admitted to faking time cards and stealing hours as a part-time state law librarian in the Sullivan County Courthouse.
She was accused of multiple felony grand larceny and fraud counts for punching in at the librarian job and then leaving and working her other job as clerk at the village.
She pleaded guilty to defrauding the government and grand larceny from June to Sept. 1. In return for the plea, prosecutors are recommending a sentence of five years' probation and community service, to be set by the judge. Some 38 other counts have been dismissed. Schop will also have to repay $1,393, and has resigned.
If the case had gone to trial and she was convicted, she faced 11/3 to four years in prison.
"She is 68 years old," District Attorney Jim Farrell said. "I think the disgrace that comes with a felony conviction and the plea here is appropriate punishment. She admitted what she did."
Shawn said that Schop did come to work on weekends and after hours, but that she would have trouble proving that she made up sufficient hours.
"She was facing state prison," Shawn said after the plea. "The decision was hers."
Schop had no comment leaving the courthouse, where she had worked for several years as the librarian. She previously resigned from her clerk's position. She will be sentenced on July 12.
Arthur,
Google mail links do not work outside of your computer.
"Google mail links do not work outside of your computer."
The prosecutors have asked for a sentence of life imprisoment for the "arch villian" Rubashkin.In almost all federal cases ,if found guilty the Judges follow the prosecutions recomondation for sentencing.
http://www.lohud.com/article/20100402/NEWS03/4020382/Cops--Monsey-teens-burglarized-synagogue-charity-boxes?obref=obinsite
MONSEY — Two Monsey teens are facing felony charges and another will be headed to Family Court after the trio were arrested in connection to a string of burglaries in the hamlet that have targeted several synagogue charity boxes, according to Ramapo police.
Shmuel Z. Chapler, 16, of 17 Brewer Road and Daniel Ben-Arbon, 16, of 395 Saddle River Road are scheduled to appear in Ramapo Town Court next week to answer to three counts of third-degree burglary, and one count of fourth-degree grand larceny, felonies; and two counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief, one count of petty larceny, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, misdemeanors.
The third suspect, a 14-year-old whose name was withheld by police because of his age, is scheduled to appear in Family Court after being arrested for juvenile delinquency, according to police.
Arthur,
What makes you imply that Rubashkin is not evil?
Did he not steal and mistreat people and refuses to make restitution?
Much of the latest legal troubles are also of his own doing. If he wouldn't akshin zich so much he could have a plea bargain, but no, he insists he is 100% "innocent".
Prosecutors are now asking for life because he will not produce any records that they ask for.
NEW SQUARE — A top village official today disputed the Hillcrest fire chief's contention that 20 students were trapped inside a school with padlocked or dead-bolted exits during an arson fire.
The Hillcrest fire chief, however, stood behind his comments that his firefighters found students pounding on the door trying to escape the burning two-story building with dormitories and the locked doors endangered not only the students but firefighters.
While no classes are taking place at Yeshiva Avir Yakov until the new semester starts April 12, Building Inspector Manny Carmona will inspect the building tomorrow and will ensure there are no safety violations before the school reopens, Deputy Mayor Israel Spitzer said today.
http://www.lohud.com/article/20100405/OPINION/4050307/-1/newsfront/Jail-time-would-fit-in-Monsey-larceny?obref=obinsite
Monsey couple Nathan Myski and Mindy Myski accepted a plea bargained deal in Rockland County Judge Charles Apotheker's court. The couple has been sentenced to five years' probation; Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe called the sentence appropriate for first-time offenders.
Who does D.A. Zugibe think he's kidding? This sentence screams of preferential treatment! They are "first-time offenders" because this is the first time they were caught. Between February 2006 and April 2007, the Myskis illegally obtained $26,238 in federal Section 8 rent subsidy benefits; between April 2006 and February 2008 the couple collected $49,661 in food stamps and Medicaid benefits, according to prosecutors.
I think a more accurate example of a first-time offender is a young girl who steals some makeup from a local department store and gets caught — one crime, one time.
These "first-time offenders" are tied to the theft of Section 8 benefits and food stamps and Medicaid benefits; submitting false documents on numerous occasions to government agencies to facilitate their thefts; failing to report bank accounts containing hundreds of thousands of dollars. All of this while they lived in a $775,000 home, and held mortgages on several properties in Rockland and Sullivan counties.
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=infdco20100305889
Remember Shulem Weiss who escaped to Vienna after the biggest insurance fraud in history?
Who is this Goldie Feig who is challenging the govt's confiscation of his assets?
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=innjco20091231235
The Jewish Press is being sued for defamation and they hire Margo's lawyers from Moskowitz Book to defend them.
JERUSALEM (AP) Israel issues 'urgent' warning to its citizens to leave the Egypt's Sinai Peninsula immediately.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) An Oregon jury finds Boy Scouts negligent in 1980s abuse, awards victim $1.4 million.
The victim and his father in the Lebovits case are heroes in every sense of the word. Because of their mesirus nefesh, thousands of children and teens are now safe from that sexual predator. They have been bullied and threatened continuously ever since the victim took the bold step and went to the police. The father was attacked just yesterday morning as he davened in his synagogue. He had his tallis thrown off, was kicked and then thrown out. I've read several comments on VIN of people making more threats.
The verdict and sentence handed down in this case shows how far we have come in this war which was started some four years ago. However, the continued attacks, threats, bullying and intimidation tactics by the so-called "frum" community, shows how much more work there is to be done. Lebovits turned down the plea bargain that would have landed him in jail for a little over a year. Instead, he thought that he and his cohorts will succeed in bullying the victim and his father into submission, just like he seduced the victim the first time. He used his friend and fellow molester, the self-proclaimed "Holy Man", Berel Ashkenazi, Shem Reshaim Yirkav, to try and bribe the victim. Ashkenazi tried to first intimidate him by telling him what a chillul hashem he is causing. When he saw the victim wasn't moved, he tried to offer money. When that didn't work, he offered to testify on Leibovits' behalf about the victim's lack of credibility. Instead of helping his fellow molester's cause, he ended up hitting a grand slam for the prosecution! Ashkenazi was himself exposed as a child molester, having molested several children in the Spinka yeshiva.
After the conviction, Leibovits' cohorts resorted to trying to influence the judge, writing some 80 letters about how wonderful a person he is. The judge acknowledged the letters but also noted that NOT ONE OF THOSE LETTERS MENTIONED ANY SYMPATHY FOR THE VICTIMS! This was Yona Weinberg redux, where the judge "bitch slapped" the community for similarly showing sympathy for the criminal and none for the victims. This letter writing strategy also miserably backfired as the judge threw the book at Leibovits, sentencing him to the max. I am glad that the jury and judge saw right through the whole charade that Leibovits, his attorney and his cohorts were putting on.
In a civilized society, such antics cannot be tolerated. Only in the Orthodox Jewish community of 2010 are the criminals glorified and the victims villified. I think it's about time these misguided fools joined the civilized human race. I think it's time they start learning some real halacha and stop perverting the laws of mesira, lashon hara and pidyon shvuyim. It's about time that the psakim of Rav Elyashiv, Rav Sternbuch and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach are followed.
This mentality of defending criminals, no matter how heinous the crime and no matter how overwhelming the evidence, is mindboggling. EVERYBODY in Boro Park knew about Leibovits. He victimized over one hundred children over a thirty year span. He was known as the Atlantic City Rebbe because he would take children to AC where he would fulfill his gambling addiction and his sexual desires. Yet, the BP community was willing to look the other way and allow this menuval to continue his rampage, destroying one soul after another. After all, he had a beautiful voice! Even Shlomo Carlebach said so. The victims? It was all consensual! Which 16 year old wouldn't be turned on by a 55 year old obese pig? Consensual? Tell me, when a child of any age is molested, does he usually scream? Does he kick? No. The reason is because his molester has "groomed" him. Our justice system understands very well what this means. The Torah understands it as well. That is why a child molester is a criminal and a rodef no matter if the victim is 6 or 16! They need to be put away before they can destroy any other innocent lives. Thanks to child advocates like UOJ, who began this holy war four years ago, the message is finally starting to trickle down. We finally have brave and heroic victims coming forward and risking their lives in order to do the right thing. Ashreichem!
UOJ,
It's after Pesach. Are we finally going to hear the rest of the YTV story ?
LiveScience.com livescience Staff
livescience.com – 2 hrs 38 mins ago
An early ancestor of the cockroach that lived around 300 million years ago has been revealed in a 3-D virtual fossil.
The new 3-D model is derived from a fossilized specimen of Archimylacris eggintoni, which is an ancient ancestor of modern cockroaches, mantises and termites. This insect scuttled around during the Carboniferous period 359 - 299 million years ago, which was a time when life had recently emerged from the oceans to live on land. The fossils of these creatures are normally between 3/4 and 3.5 inches (2 cm and 9) cm in length and approximately 1.5 inches (4 cm) wide.
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/Boruch+Dayan+Emmes/53306/Petira+Of+Chief+Rabbi+Of+Amsterdam,+Rav+Meir+Just+ZATZAL.html
Is this true?
The alter Vizhnitzer Rav Yust who was dayan in Amsterdam was niftar now at 100 years old.
He had a machlokes with Aryeh Ralbag of Flatbush over the eruv there. Ralbag wrote to all the gedolei Eretz Yisroel who sided with him. But someone writes in comment #17 that the gedolim were chozer when Rav Just told them about the details that Ralbag kept from them and the Tzitz Eliezer printed a retraction at the back of his sefer.
BEIJING (AP) Chinese authorities say 67 people have died in earthquake in western province.
*
The Chinese financial earthquake that will tear at the fabric of the global economy is not that far off!
UOJ
MH:
I'm going to do it in segments, starting shortly!
Steve:
You were one of the early supporters; I don't forget my friends.
In that context, David Framowitz's bravery can not be ever forgotten.
Toady Mordy Mehlman's erev Pesach "Flatbush Jewish Journal" rag keeps up its glorification of Aron Shechter with yet another misty-eyed photo, centrally placed on the main pics page: "Harav Aharano Schechter with a Yeshiva Bochur" but he's yet again into one of Aron Shechter's favorite hate objects: The Pizza stores of Flatbush. Never mind that Shechter is in full court press strategizing and protecting the menuval shebemenuvalim Tropper, but true to form Shechter uses Toady Mordy's new shmatta to hit at Flatbush pizza stores.
Just listen to the way Toady Mordy pushes "letters to the editor" against local pizza stores, when one wishes he would push against the ever-increasing numbers of cabaret dance clubs all along Coney Island Avenue not far from the Chaim Berlin yeshiva that no doubt is a far worse danger than a greasy piece of chalav yisroel, pas yisroel, yashan, shomer shabbos owner made pizza:
"Pizza Erev Shabbos: ...the pizza shops are full of teenagers of both genders whose choice of which establishment to frequent on Fridays may not be as innocent as is being assumed...the yetzer hara has home court advantage. This oversight is not limited to the pizza parlors of Avenues J and M. Rather it is an epidemic..."
Shaitel stores, musicians like LIPPA and pizza stores must bite the dust according to this new Gospel of Shechter of Chaim Berlin, while perverts like Leib Tropper and Nate Segal and abusers like Michael Hirsh must be protected and glorified. Welcome to the Flatbush of the charedi ayatollahs who make up their own farfrumte craziness and impose it on others by force.
Parsahs Ki-Taitsai 25:11
"v’ishilcha yada v’hichzika b’imivushav v’ikatsosa es kapo lo sochas aincha - she grabbed his humiliation - she molested him, cut off her hand, do not have any pity".
The Mishna in Baba Kama in Perek Hachovol lists five monetary obligations of a Mazik – one who damages. One of the five is titled Boshes - humiliation. The Talmud derives all forms of humiliation from this aforementioned verse. The Talmud also says that the words “chop off her hands” are not to be taken literally but rather that the perpetrator is obligated to pay money to compensate for the pain of the humiliation.
Hear though the words of the Rambam on this aforementioned verse: “One who sees someone running after an individual either to kill him, or after a forbidden sexual relation to rape (him) and does not attempt to save him violates three Torah transgressions: V’ikatsosa es kappa (cut off her (the molesters) hands), Lo sachos aincha alav (have no pity on him) and Lo sa’amod al dam rai’acha (do not stand by your brother’s blood).”
Hamaivin yovin
The following charlatans sent a "discharge" letter to Yeshiva Kol Yaakov over a month ago proclaiming themselves as the "roshei yeshiva & mashgichim" and dismissing the current administration:
Leib Tropper
Chaim Weiss
Mendel Ashkanazy
Nachman Kramer (Bais Yaakov Monsey)
Eliyahu Berney (son of Nosson Berney)
Then 2 weeks ago, Tropper submitted a notarized affirmation to the the court that while he was oyver on some little "indiscretion", he remains the "rosh yeshiva" and the people running the yeshiva, specifically Moishe Raice, are "immoral".
Tropper claims to the court that R' Moishe Green, R' Aron Schechter & R' Elya Ber Wachtfogel agree with him on this.
Kol Yaakov's lawyer filed a counter-affirmation as follows:
Tropper had once invested $1 million of the yeshiva's money with Nosson Berney's investment firm. They are now trying to bankrupt the yeshiva by giving much of the money away to Tropper's friends in the Rabbonus with the remainder being pocketed by Tropper. Nachman Kramer padlocked the yeshiva office so that no one can get all the documents that prove this.
R' Reuvein Feinstein issued a written psak to the Monsey beis din that Tropper cannot take back his resignation and that there is no issur arkaos to stop him in court. (Does this mean there is no more money being doled out by Tom Kaplan?)
Meanwhile, Berney sent the following checks out to the rabbonim, as submitted as evidence to the court:
Rabbi Zaks, Chofetz Chaim Monsey $75k
R' Shmuel Gorelick, Kollel Beer Mordechai Monsey $50k
Rabbi Malick, Ohr Moshe Monsey $40k
Keren Ezra, 11 Gwen Lane Monsey $25k
Rabbi Holzcer, Ohel Avrohom Monsey $25k
R' Amram Rosenberg, Chasidim Tovim Monsey $25k
Chasdei Avos, 8 Elyon Rd Monsey $25k
Mesila Baarav, Yerucham Israel $15k
R' Moshe Mosebacher, 5 Carlton Lane Monsey $15k
R' Michel Yuda Lefkowitz, Ponvizh $5k
R' Doniel Alter, Gur $5k
R' Shaul Kanievsky $3.5k
R' Eliyahu Levin $2.5k
R' Chaim Kanievsky, Bnei Brak $2k
R' Moshe Solomon $2k
R' Zalman Dovid Zuckerman $2k
R' Dovid Rotenberg, Yershalayim $2k
R' Yaakov Kupshitz, Beit Shemesh $2k
R' Yosef Kupshitz, Beit Shemesh $2k
R' Efraim Kupshitz, Beit Shemesh $2k
R' Tzvi Kupshitz, Yerushalayim $2k
R' Nechemia Waldenberger, Beit Shemesh $2k
R' Efraim Frank, Beit Shemesh $2k
R' Pesachya Sternberg, Beit Shemesh $2k
R' Yoel Turczin, Beit Shemesh $2k
Rav Sokolover, Beit Shemesh $2k
R' Nosson Kupshitz $1.8k
R' Moishe Mordche Schlesinger $1.8k
R' Yitzchok Scheiner, Kaminetz $1.8k
R' Shmuel Deutsch, Kol Torah $1.8k
R' Y. Levy $1.8k
R' Nechemia Zuckerman $1.5k
R' Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz $1.5k
R' Moshe Carlebach $1.5k
R' Yomtov Stern $1.5k
R' Nochum Schiller $1.2k
R' Moshe Sumter $1.2k
R' Yitzchok Kalmanowitz $1k
R' Osher Kalmanowitz, Mir $1k
R' Yehuda Kravetz $1k
R' Chaim Zeibald $1k
R' Eliyahu Rimmer $1k
R' Sar Shalom Marzel $1k
R' Shlomo Krauss $1k
Rav Schmeltzer (Telz / Monsey / Miami?) $1k
R' Yitzchok Kossovsky $1k
Rav Eltovitzky $1k
R' Netz Elzas $1k
R' Aryeh Kanievsky $1k
R' Mordechai Carlebach $1k
R' Refoel Shapiro, Beit Shemesh $1k
R' Avrohom Rivlin, Beit Shemesh $1k
R' Chaim Jacobowitz, Beit Shemesh $1k
R' Eliyahu Mittelman, Beit Shemesh $1k
R' Chaim Solomon $800
R' Refoel Solomon $800
R' Moshe Battelman $800
Rav Klein $600
R' Avrohom Bernstein $600
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/faith/2010/04/guest_post_tea_partiers_and_or.html
Tea Partiers and Orthodox Jews
Rabbi Yaakov Menken • Baltimore Sun
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/14/world/AP-EU-Vatican-New-Strategy.html
April 14, 2010
Vatican Goes Into Damage Control Mode Over Abuse
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:10 a.m. ET
Remember that jokester who impersonated Neuhoff / Bungalow Hundt about the Pesach seder for dogs?
It turns out it was no joke as the seder was being run by Joel & Holly Sher, the criminal owners of the CRC-Chicago kosher certified pet food company.
Even Rubashkin was never this brazen.
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/2121067,pet-food-energy-scheme-032410.article
During today’s bond hearing, Holly Sher’s attorney asked that his client be able to attend a pet show in Orlando, Fla. and a Seder celebration for dogs and cats in Las Vegas.
Allegations of Bryks committing crimes in Queens are coming to light for the first time.
At Rabbi Nisanov's Yeshiva Berachel David in KGH where Bryks was a rebbe until being forced out by the RCA, he is said to have played "games" with young boys that are eerily similar to Lanner's escapades at NCSY. This includes kneeing boys in the groin and some kind of odd "game" centering around imitation milk moustaches and simulated kissing.
Whenever Rabbi Nisanov is approached about Bryks he brushes off anything he hears, that Bryks is a "tzadik". Nisanov is a former Queens Vaad President.
Current Queens Vaad President Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is said to voice his distaste for Bryks while making clear that he is not interested in doing anything about him, despite that Bryks has two positions with the Vaad.
A mother of a former student at Berachel David had no idea Bryks was a molester at all, let alone of her own son. She spoke to Bryks about her son's strange behavior and lack of interest in shidduchim. Bryks immediately demanded to speak to the boy in private and locked the door for 45 minutes. The mother says that Bryks later advised her to send the boy to hang out with gay men in Miami as it would be therapeutic for his particular situation. The mother was shocked & started asking around which is when she learned of Bryks's sordid history.
Bryks has just built a mansion across the street from his original home on 116th St. He has made a fortune off being a mortgage broker to the local frum community and from his businesses on the side with Rabbi Belsky and Queens Vaad Av beis din Rabbi Peretz Steinberg in which they act as guns for hire to the highest bidder in nasty divorce cases.
Bryks was earlier "teaching Torah" on a KGH based website but after this was exposed by UOJ & Jewish Survivors blog a few years ago, some rabbis asked the administrator to block Bryks from participating there. Bryks has since started his own website www.RebTorah.com.
There is someone who has Bryks on tape in what may be incriminating evidence. We will be emailing UOJ to get this tape into his hands and hopefully posted here for the world to listen to.
http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2010/04/12/spring-cleaning/
Our community has numerous apologists who continue to portray our world as a bed of roses, reinforcing their views with statistically unproven assertions of how much better we are than “them.” According to this view, we have no real problems; simply a media that is biased against us and outsiders who, as a means of justifying their refusal to recognize and accept the truths of our lifestyle, resort to hatred and bashing. I hate to spoil the image, but the rose garden is full of thorns!
Has the time not arrived to climb down from our ivory towers of self-deception and take an honest look at what is transpiring? We live in a generation where we have created yeshivot that are in danger of becoming bastions of beinoniut because we compel every male interested in a decent shidduch to commit himself to a program that is clearly not responsive to his needs or interests. Our daughters are often instructed that aspirations of anything other than kollel life are illegitimate; other ideas are to be quashed as being indicative of CBW [chronic bitachon weakness]. We have a problem with sexual abuse that has been festering for years and which many of our leaders still refuse to face. We have a yeshiva system that is bleeding children who are leaving the derech; both from the MOs and the UOs! We have rabbinical leadership that is imprisoned by askanim who filter information and are suspect of being loyal to personal agendas of self-advancement.
Years ago a leading rosh yeshiva said publicly that he shudders to think that the major accomplishment of the American yeshivot might be the production of a generation of talmidim who are functionally illiterate in three languages. I would expand that and claim that today many yeshivot can take credit for hastening the ultimate redemption in fulfillment of the dictum that b’ikvasa demeshichah chutzpah yasgeh.
I contend to you that one child forced off the derech might well negate all of the accomplishments of the teshuvah movement; that’s not my analysis, it was said by the Steipler!
I am scared not of the media and not by the hostility of chilonim. I am frightened by unzere who are perverting Torah haskafah to create a box with dimensions that are continuously shrinking, wherein eilu v’eilu has become an obscene phrase, and where a reign of terror prevents leaders from speaking the truth. I say drop the yehora of deluded shalom yiyeh lebaisai and let’s start getting our house in order.
[Rabbi Dovid Landesman, a veteran mechanech, resides in Ramat Beit Shemesh and looks at the world outside his windows with increasing trepidation. He recently published There Are No Basketball Courts in Heaven.]
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Gay groups and politicians condemned Pope Benedict's number two on Wednesday for calling homosexuality a "pathology" and linking it directly to sexual abuse of children.
The comments made by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone during a visit to Chile, and the controversy they caused, were splashed on mainstream Italian newspapers on Wednesday.
Let's hope that Margo's thievery is included in the upcoming segments on YTV.
http://www.dogguide.net/blog/2010/04/the-worlds-largest-passover-seder-for-dogs-was-a-barking-success/
Why do you think it was a joke?
I was very serious about the Pesach seder.
I showed up to challenge UOJ and ask ma haeidus vehachukim of R' Shraga Feivel's letter from 1923.
Israel - According to Yediot Ahronot, former Jerusalem mayor and ultra-orthodox Jew Uri Lupolianski, was arrested today for allegedly being involved in the Holyland scandal.
6:45PM IL: The gag order has been lifted, permitting the release of the arrest of former Jerusalem Mayor R’ Uri Lupoliansky, who has been remanded and ordered held over for an additional five days in the Holyland investigation.
According to the information released by officials, the former mayor held numerous positions in Jerusalem City Hall from 1993-2003, then assuming the role of acting mayor following the departure of Ehud Olmert from the post. Lupoliansky was then successful in his mayoral bid.
The state alleges that Lupoliansky accepts millions of NIS in bribe funds, some of which were funneled through his Yad Sarah organization, laundered as donations to the tax-exempt charitable organization.
The former mayor faces charges including breach of trust, bribery, fraud, tax evasion, conspiracy to commit a crime and money laundering. According to the allegations, the former mayor accepted NIS 3 million in bribery funds in the Holyland case, some of which was allegedly laundered via his son’s kollel in addition to Yad Sarah.
Additional arrests in the case are expected.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel
http://www.ydr.com/ci_14881172?source=most_viewed
Robber flees Walmart in his underwear
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/nyregion/14torah.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print
I head the Save a Torah Foundation that is covering up for Rabbi Menachem Youlus's scam now that more holes have been punched in his story by the NY Times and Holocaust expert Dr. Michael Berenbaum.
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/when-and-why-you-should-record-customer-service-calls/?hp
Mr. Szczepanski, 22, an entrepreneur and who works in quality assurance, first got the idea to record customer service calls about three years ago after repeated instances when customer service representatives promised him discounts, bill corrections or credits that never actually happened. “After listening to enough messages where they say ‘all of this will be recorded for quality assurance purposes,’ I thought why not do my own quality assurance,” he said.
He now records conversations with customer service representatives whenever he calls about problems with his bills or to make changes. He credits the recordings — and just the mention of them — with helping him get problems fixed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/business/15mortgages.html?hp
The number of homeowners who secured cheaper mortgages through the government’s modification program only to default again nearly doubled in March, continuing a worrisome trend that threatens to undermine the entire program.
This animal Ephraim Bryks is still afforded all kinds of protection and favors by the Queens Vaad, who still lists him on the Vaad website as running their hachnosas kallah gemach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5DB3o3mRwk&feature=player_embedded
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/world/middleeast/15israel.html?hp
JERUSALEM — Israeli officials say that Syria has delivered accurate long-distance Scud missiles to the Lebanese group Hezbollah, placing Israeli cities deep in its heartland, including Tel Aviv, within range.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/justice-interrupted-radio/id295453559?i=81916622
Interview with Vicky Polin.
Click on 3/28/2010
Free to listen. Apple iTunes download may be required.
The intro is very, very long until they discuss anything of substance.
Vicky said she was shopping at Baltimore's 7 Mile Kosher Market when a woman starting screaming at her for exposing molester Rabbi Eisgrau and spit in her face.
Vicky goes on to say that Facebook is not very cooperative when told that molester rabbis have pages on their site.
The following article is from The Des Moines Register:Written by a gentile.
I get get sick to the stomach when I read some of the comments written by the holier then thou "rachmonim bnai rachmonim" on this blog site.Their achzorious is beyond belief.
"In early December 2008, Bernie Madoff was arrested by federal agents for allegedly masterminding a $65 billion, decades-long Ponzi scheme. Yet, within days of his arrest, the government agreed to allow the accused swindler to remain free on bail. Granted, the bail conditions under which Madoff was forced to live were onerous, and included surrendering his and his wife’s passports, 24-7 monitoring of his penthouse apartment, and severe restrictions on his movements outside the walls of his home.
The Madoff case illustrates that even for one of the most infamous white-collar criminals in modern times, there was a way to both satisfy the government’s interest to ensure that a defendant shows up for court proceedings and at the same time provide an opportunity for a defendant to maintain some semblance of a family, professional and religious life while his or her case proceeds through the justice system.
Surprisingly, however, in another case – this one still unfolding – the Department of Justice is being overly parsimonious in refusing to allow bail for a defendant charged with white-collar crimes far less serious than those to which the disgraced Madoff pleaded last year.
The case now pending in federal court presents a host of interesting issues; not the least of which is the fact that it revolves around an orthodox Jewish businessman recently convicted of bank fraud involving loans to a kosher meat plant (now bankrupt) in a small town in northeast Iowa that was the target of a massive immigration raid in May 2008. Undeniably, being convicted on 86 counts of financial fraud in November 2009 is serious. However, as with many federal criminal cases, the number of counts with which a person is charged, or on which they are convicted, fails to convey a true or full picture of either the government’s or the defendant’s behavior.
Thus it is with Sholom Rubashkin and the company he used to manage, Agriprocessors. Until the criminal charges were levied against Rubashkin, Agriprocessors was by far the largest employer in Postville, but also the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the entire country.
What makes the Rubashkin story even more intriguing is that the initial case against Agriprocessors – stemming from the much-publicized immigration raid – was later abandoned by the government, which opted to go after him for “paper crimes” involving bank forms and statements, and not immigration violations.
Part two
Also interesting was the manner in which the government raid was carried out. While a kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa is hardly the venue from which one might expect organized armed resistance, the raid on Agriprocessors was carried out with massive military force, including some 600 agents in heavy riot gear and Blackhawk helicopters circling overhead.
The government’s show of force and its grant-no-quarter approach has never let up. Now, nearly two years later, the government is refusing to agree to allow the orthodox Jewish ex-CEO to remain out of jail on bail while he awaits sentencing and prepares his appeal. Federal law does permit a federal judge to detain someone after they have been convicted but before sentencing and prior to an appeals court ultimately deciding their case, if there is evidence of a risk of flight or violence. Absent such evidence, such defendants frequently are permitted to remain with family, reflecting both humanitarian concerns as well as economic considerations.
However, in this case, the feds thus far have been unyielding in their opposition to bail. Rubashkin’s lawyers have taken extraordinary steps to convince the court their client will remain accessible and show up for court. Rubashkin already has surrendered his passport, and he has proposed the most strenuous restrictions on his movements (including a 24/7 security detail and home confinement) if allowed bail pending appeal. Yet, what was good enough to convince the government that the notorious Mr. Madoff would not flee apparently is insufficient for Mr. Rubashkin. Indeed, the degree of overkill employed by the government against Rubashkin raises troubling questions."
For one, Maddof admitted his crimes and cooperated with the government, Rubashkin did not. He was arrogant and defiant and blamed everybody but himself.
He was warned and advised to change the way he operated his business but with his arrogance he refused .. oh well
Is Vicky Polin currently shomer shabbes? They mention in the interview that she went to Nvei seminary in Israel. If she is then why does she give chashivus to all those Reform & Conservative rabbis?
Arthur should be ashamed of himself.
For the purpose of covering up for a fellow Lubav, he completely disregards the chiyuvim of teshuva which Rubashkin has no shaychus to. There is a common denominator here with those who cover up for unrepentant molesters.
Rachmonus where not appropriate leads to achzoriyus, Chazal say. It is Arthur's attitude exactly that allowed Rubashkin to be abusive to his workers leading to tremendous chilul Hashem and aivah and even abusive to Lubavs that worked at Agri.
Go preach to the choir of the like minded morons at YWN, Matzav & Chabad.info.
Shtetil Hustler
I suggest that you go back to the original article in the Des Moines Register and read the feedback to this article.You and some of the other "oihaiv Yisroelnics" posting above sound just like some of the bigoted ,anti semitic remarks in response to this article.Oh but i forget Ahavas Yisroel does apply to "Lubabs".Their really not part of Am Yisroel.
We are proud to announce that, for the first time ever, the No. 1 spot on What Wouldn't Jesus Do? isn't being inhabited by a pedophile priest or preacher -- but a pervert of the non-Christian persuasion. Give it up for Rabbi Baruch Lebovits for busting glass ceilings...
My brother Baruch, with the beautiful voice is nebich in jail without the necessities like a mikvah and a car in which to give driving lessons.
I have spent my whole life trying to understand these things. R. Yoelish didnt understand and kicked me out of Williamsburg because of my interest in my chassidim and my mesiras nefesh in giving up hours of my time to ask my chassidim about every detail of their sex lives. A Rebbe has to be interested in every aspect of the lives of his chasidim.
f you're arguing the claim of employment of illegal aliens that was dropped but anyway. How does employing non-citizens make him a "vicous criminal" in nature? Do you know him personally, because I don't think you have proof on that one, the support in the trial actually brought evidence of the opposite:that he's a kind-hearted man who did not mean to cause the bank or anyone else harm. Numbers: numbers here: less than 400 aliens. I'm not asking that we ignore this, I am merely asking for some justice. In 2006 Swift and Co (largest in US) was busted for employing almost~1,300~ aliens and no one has been prosecuted. In 2007 a Co. in Massachusetts was discovered as employing 326 aliens, head was sentenced to a year in prison. Bank "fraud:" he only paused in loan payment due to the Federal raid. Mark Turkcan was charged for costing the bank about 35 million and was sentenced a year. So tell me guys, where is the "just" precedent for Shalom Rubashkin's LIFE SENTENCE
http://www.emunahmagazine.com/david-lichtensteins-park-avenue-bank-headed-for-fdic-takeover/
David Lichtenstein ... Living in Lakewood NJ for many years Mr Lichtenstein quickly became one of the wealthiest frum jews around. Known for his many tzedakas and employing many in the frum community many thought he was untouchable.
Perhaps the current economic recession is unbiased in who it attacks and it seems like Mr. Lichtenstein is in for some tough times. Lightstone Group is the name of David Lichtenstein’s company ( lightstone in yiddish is lichtenstein ) and is primarily invested in real estate. Famous for his disastrous buyout of Extended Stay Hotels, He used an $8 billion leveraged takeover and is now headed towards another crises with his ownership stake in Park Avenue Bank. However , this time the taxpayers are getting involved in the form of the FDIC. According to Forbes, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is set to take over the bank citing documents filed at New York Supreme Court
http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/03/lichtenstein-park-avenue-business-wall-street-fraud.html
“Lichtenstein, founder of real estate investment firm Lightstone Group, ventured into banking by purchasing a controlling stake of Park Avenue Bank in 2004….”
“David Lichtenstein … is now facing accusations of corporate waste and unjust enrichment involving a bank he partly owns. A minority shareholder in Park Avenue Bank has sued Lichtenstein, alleging he used a separate lending firm to siphon profits from the bank.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/park-avenue-bank-president-arrested-for-ripping-off-fdic-tarp-2010-3
“[R]egulators closed New York's small Park Avenue Bank and the FDIC was named receiver. Now, the former president, Charles Antonucci, has been arrested on allegations of self-dealing, bank bribery, embezzlement, and fraud on the New York State Banking Department, FDIC, and TARP….”
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2010/04/12/daily35.html%3Cbr%20/%3E
“Imperial Casualty and Indemnity Insurance Co. and its executives operated with ‘a pattern of complete and utter disregard for Oklahoma law’ and the insurance business is now financially insolvent, stated Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Karen Holland in a court motion for a permanent receivership…. Imperial’s troubles started when its former holding company, Providence Property and Casualty Insurance Co., was sold in January 2009 to an affiliate of Park Avenue Bank, a small bank based in New York City. Park Avenue financed the purchase of Providence by borrowing against Providence’s own $56 million bond portfolio, according to the insurance commissioner’s office.”
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticlepaged/articleid/3975509/pageid/1
“Lichtenstein's involvement in all of this not entirely clear, and he has not been accused of any wrong doing, but prosecutors hint there is more to come. At the same time that the bank was under review by the state banking superintendent, Lichtenstein approved an $11 million infusion into Park Avenue Funding LLC, a company run by Lichtenstein and closely associated with Antonucci. Among other endeavors, Park Avenue Funding makes loans to Park Avenue Bank and its customers. This included 10 loans to Solomon Dwek, the central figure in a $50 million bank fraud and New Jersey political corruption scandal.”
Mr. Rubashkin, a father of ten including an autistic child, will be sentenced on April 28 and the feds are requesting life in prison, far beyond the sentences imposed on others whose crimes were significantly more severe than anything Mr. Rubashkin may have done.
Mr. Rubashkin should be treated like any other American.
Jurors concurred that Rubashkin did not gain personally from the legal mistakes he made and had no intention causing any monetary loss to anyone. Mark Turckan, who pled guilty to a 21 year cover up of misapplying funds from the same bank, and was found to have caused a similar loss to what DOJ argues was caused by Sholom Rubashkin, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Tyson Foods and others did the same thing and were let off with a fine quietly. Its crazy
http://rabbipinchoslipschutz.blogspot.com/2010/04/his-story-is-ours.html
This has got to be his biggest pile of b.s. propaganda yet.
Larry King and 7th wife Shawn Southwick file for divorce after claims he slept with her kid sister
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/04/14/2010-04-14_larry_king_files_for_divorce_from_7th_wife_shawn_southwick_citing_irreconcilable.html#ixzz0lAwdfdOD
For the prosecution to ask the court for a life sentence for Rubashkin, is nothing less than obscene and inexplicable!
While not every shyster has had the govt's wrath come down on him like Rubashkin, Rubashkin was given many chances & warnings to behave to which he responded with the proverbial and brazen middle finger.
Don't expect the govt to not get pissed in the face of such chutzpah.
It is clear that Rubashkin has no to blame but himself.
http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=159932,00.html
FRIVOLOUS TAX ARGUMENTS
3. Contention: African Americans can claim a special tax credit as reparations for slavery and other oppressive treatment.
Proponents of this contention assert that African Americans can claim a so-called “Black Tax Credit” on their federal income tax returns as reparations for slavery and other oppressive treatment suffered by African Americans. A similar frivolous argument has been made that Native Americans are entitled to a credit on their federal income tax returns as a form of reparations for past oppressive treatment.
The Law: There is no provision in the Internal Revenue Code which allows taxpayers to claim a “Black Tax Credit” or a credit for Native American reparations. It is a well settled principle of law that deductions and credits are a matter of legislative grace. See, e.g., Wilson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-139, 81 T.C.M. (CCH) 1745 (2001). Unless specifically provided for in the Internal Revenue Code, no deduction or credit may be allowed.
I think the prosecutors know Rubashkin will not be sentenced to life. This is a type of bargaining ploy where the judge will decree some kind of middle ground between a lot of jail time and the 6 years that the Rubashkin defense is requesting.
It is true that Rubashkin's mechutzef attitude led to the massive immigration raid. He violated his first parole by destroying evidence (proven) and allegedly bribing the mayor and sneaking into Agri.
His continuing intransigence is not helping his cause in the least either.
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=212606
The Exeter Township supervisors approved a cease-and-desist order against Mehadrin Kosher Poultry at 1100 Lincoln Road for multiple wastewater and fire-code violations.
Sewage plant superintendent Paul A. Herb said the poultry plant discharges double and triple its daily permitted 75,000 gallons of wastewater. And, he said, the chemical content of the discharge exceeds the treatment plant's permit and could present a hazard to public health.
Exeter Township Deputy Fire Chief Steven M. Rhoads said poultry employees recently denied access to fire personnel after fire alarms went off and reset the alarms themselves.
"That's really unsafe because they burned two years ago," he said.
Supervisor Gary E. Lloyd noted that the poultry plant is behind more than $100,000 in payments and fourth-quarter charges.
And township engineer Cheryl A. Franckowiak said the business wants to expand.
Baltimore Jewish Times publisher files Chapter 11
April 15, 2010
(JTA) -- The publisher of a Jewish newspaper in Baltimore filed for bankruptcy protection.
Alter Communications, which puts out the Baltimore Jewish Times and other publications, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday, the Baltimore Sun reported.
The Baltimore Jewish Times, a weekly in the city since 1919, will continue to be published, the company told the Sun. It has a circulation of more than 50,000.
The filing comes in the wake of a dispute between Alter Communications and its former printing vendor over printing costs. The publisher told the Sun that it was overpaying as a result of a long-term contract it had signed 20 years ago and hired a new printer.
H.G. Roebuck & Son Inc. sued Alter in 2009 over the broken contract.
Alter has laid off 20 employees in recent years due to the recession, the Sun reported. Since 1996 the company, under the leadership of Andrew Alter Buerger, sold off Jewish newspapers in Detroit, Atlanta, Palm Beach and Boca Raton, Fla., as well as Vancouver, British Columbia.
Vogel sends his kids to the modern orthodox Yavneh school in Paramus.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/041410_Disbarred_attorney_admits_defrauding_investors_in_Paramus-based_real_estate_investment_company.html
Peter Vogel, a disbarred attorney from Teaneck, pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court in Manhattan Wednesday for his role in defrauding investors in a Paramus-based real estate investment company out of more than $31 million.
Two other defendants, including former Elmwood Park Council President Joseph Mongelli, still face charges for their roles in the alleged Ponzi scheme. Mongelli succeeded Vogel as attorney for Maywood Capital Corp., which was run by admitted swindler Joseph Greenblatt.
The three were arrested in November 2007 on a 28-count indictment, but prosecution was delayed until Greenblatt completed a 40-month federal sentence on unrelated fraud charges.
Vogel, who has cancer, will be sentenced on May 26. He pleaded guilty to 13 counts, but will escape jail time because of his health, said Michael Bachner, his attorney.
Instead, he will be ordered to serve 3,000 hours of community service over five years and to make restitution – along with other defendants – that could be as much as $31 million, Bachner said.
Greenblatt initially used Vogel as the company attorney, but Mongelli took over after Vogel’s 2000 disbarment for misappropriating client funds.
Prosecutors said Greenblatt and Maywood Capital promised to buy, renovate and flip inner-city commercial properties for a double-digit profit. The problem, prosecutors say, is that he sold multiple first mortgages and in many cases never even recorded those investors on deeds. And, in classic Ponzi fashion, he used money from new investors to repay early investors, including many elderly retirees in Florida, officials say.
http://www.projo.com/news/content/ROBERT_D_FELNER_04-11-10_DOHE6K8_v41.389e65c.html
He learned authorities had launched a criminal investigation in Kentucky into whether Felner had misappropriated a $694,000 federal grant. That probe eventually uncovered that Felner had embezzled $1.7 million from the URI educational research center he had founded.
His story was a compelling one. He told of his days as a teenage truckdriver cut short by a persuasive rabbi who encouraged him to head back to school. His GED certificate and his Ph.D. hung on the wall. He described himself as a gritty Brooklyn kid raised in the shadow of Ebbets Field and unapologetically acknowledged that some people liked him while others did not.
Fourteen years after coming to Rhode Island, his career trajectory has crashed amid scandal. He is awaiting sentencing in western Kentucky Friday for embezzling $2.2 million from URI and the University of Louisville. Prosecutors say he and a former colleague diverted money to accounts for a dummy organization and then used it for personal expenses and investments.
He spent five years as an assistant professor in clinical psychology at Yale University, beginning in 1976. It’s there that glimmers of a pattern that dogged him throughout his career appeared. Within a year, some female students circulated a petition accusing him of sexual harassment, recalls Lisa Willner, who was then a freshman at Yale.
Felner inexplicably asked Willner, an attractive 18-year-old, to assist him in a research project and offered her the chance to take graduate-level courses. At the same time, female classmates were urging her to sign the petition critical of Felner’s behavior. She remembers feeling so uncomfortable that she switched her major to avoid the conflict.
“It really had a profound impact on my life,” said Willner, now executive director of the Kentucky Psychological Association. Willner felt vindicated three decades later upon learning of the allegations her former professor faced. “The charges just kind of affirm some of the doubts and questions I had about him.”
Felner arrived full of charm and chutzpah, Carothers said. “I think we saw him as a big-time researcher and grant getter.”
By 2001, three women had filed complaints about his “abusive” behavior, intimidation and sexual harassment, court records show. Though URI’s affirmative action officer cleared him in all three cases, one woman, Theresa Watson, filed a civil lawsuit against Felner and URI. The suit accused the school of knowingly allowing Felner to perpetrate his actions. It was settled in 2008 under undisclosed terms.
“Anything you’ve ever read about a workplace bully he did it,” said Watson, now an elementary school teacher in Westerly. He belittled and bullied staff and then warned them “to keep things in the family,” court records show.
The inquiry led to URI, where federal authorities say he and a former Illinois coworker, Thomas Schroeder, embezzled $1.7 million from the National Center on Public Education and Social Policy from 2001 to 2008. Under the scheme, prosecutors say the pair created a phony nonprofit in 2001 with a name deliberately similar to the URI center
In addition, federal prosecutors say Felner and Schroeder used the dummy account to embezzle another $576,000 from the University of Louisville and attempted to skim another $240,000. Felner, now of Prospect, Ky., pleaded guilty in January to conspiring to launder money, mail fraud, conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and tax evasion. He faces 63 months in prison.
Felner, now divorced from his fourth wife, Marilyn, has agreed to pay $1.64 million in restitution to URI and forfeit properties he owns in Florida and Illinois. Weygand said he is “not overly optimistic” the full sum will be repaid.
Arthur,
Pinny Lipschutz has a track record of presenting the dishonest party line, whether about molesters or Rubashkin.
And when it came to his chavrusa Moishe Finkel, he was silent even when it was in style for the establishment to blast him.
Speaking of jerks and moral pygmys, you might want to look in the mirror.
Pinny Lipchutz is dead wrong on a "million" issues (although he's come around a bit)...parts of his Rubashkin rant are definitely something for all of us to pay heed.
Hospital that collaborates with the OU to persecute a mashgiach who does his job in protecting people from eating treif food:
http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2010/apr/mfcu_2009.pdf
Statewide Audit of Hospitals and Hospices to Uncover Double-billing:
Montefiore Medical Center
reached a settlement requiring it to pay restitution of $120,940.
Remember that Bobover woman Helen "Chayie" Sieger in the nasty divorce who sued half the rabbonim in Brooklyn?:
http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2010/apr/mfcu_2009.pdf
Nursing Home and Its Owner Charged with Paying Kickbacks to Hospital
Employee for Patient Referrals
This past fall, the NYMFCU filed criminal charges and a civil lawsuit seeking actual and treble damages of at least $5 million against Kingsbridge Heights Rehabilitation and Care Center, its owner and former Chief Executive Officer Helen Sieger, and Frank Rivera, formerly a social work assistant in the Discharge Planning Unit at New York-Presbyterian
Columbia University Medical Center.
Kingsbridge and Sieger stand accused of paying Rivera to refer patients to Kingsbridge and then billing Medicaid for their care, falsely claiming that they rendered services to these patients in accordance with the law. New York State law explicitly prohibits Medicaid providers from accepting payments for referring services (i.e., patients) or offering any payment to induce referrals for any services for which Medicaid pays.
As alleged in court documents, beginning in January 2005, Siegel and Rivera entered into an illegal kickback scheme. Rivera steered patients being discharged from New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center to Kingsbridge in return for payments
from Sieger once Kingsbridge admitted the patients. Rather than furnishing patients with the names of five nursing homes as required by hospital policy, Rivera presented discharging patients seeking nursing home care with four, three of which routinely denied Rivera’s referrals. Thus, patients’ only remaining option would be to seek admission at Kingsbridge.
From approximately November 2005 to June 2006, Sieger paid Rivera at least $19,750 in checks drawn from the Kingsbridge bank account for these referrals. Through February 9, 2009, Kingsbridge received from Medicaid approximately $1.25 million for patients Kingsbridge admitted under the illegal kickback scheme.
Kingsbridge and Sieger are charged with grand larceny in the first degree and all three defendants are charged with violating the New York Social Services anti-kickback law, a class E felony.
UOJ, kindly check your email regarding Ephraim Bryks.
I don't think it has anything to do with anti-semitism. As Archie mentioned, SMR had several chances, first to straighten out his corrupt business and then to plea bargain himself out of a long prison sentence. He also violated his parole agreement, which denied him bail. There is plenty of blame to go around, from Weissmandl and the OU who knew of all the violations and looked the other way, to his family who were co-conspirators, and his other "loyal" employees. However, the bottom line is that he is a grown man who is responsible for his own actions. This is truly an enormous tragedy, but it is one that can easily have been avoided. I did sign the petition asking for leniency in his sentencing. A life sentence is definitely uncalled for. However, one should not point fingers at our justice system and use the race card. There was ample opportunity to avoid this whole mess. Unfortunately, SMR and his accomplices thought they knew better. They were all dead wrong.
Says here that Motty Borger confided to his shver right after the chassuna that he was sodomized by Lebovits.
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=34721
Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg, who has for over ten years been strongly encouraging victims to bring sexual offenders before a secular court, said he was now considered an outcast in Brooklyn. He was excommunicated two years ago after he launched a hotline to “teach victims and their relatives how to react when they are confronted with a sexual abuse situation.” “Today, there isn’t one synagogue in this borough that will accept me, even the most liberal ones,” Rosenberg said. “Such pressure has been made on every rabbi in Brooklyn that now I have to go pray in Manhattan, and even there, my rabbi received several calls from leaders in Williamsburg asking him not to let me in anymore. But he answered ‘No one rules in my synagogue but me!”
Federal prosecutors, on the payroll of the U.S. government, asking the judge to put away Rubashkin for LIFE - the same penalty Charles Manson received!
Nobody said Rubashkin is innocent of whatever, or that he's not a stupid smart-ass, or that the entire group of idiots got bad legal advice, or that Rubashkin should get some time in prison, BUT LIFE???
Paid for you the taxpayer.
http://www.hedgefund.net/publicnews/default.aspx?story=11167
Legislators Propose Madoff Feeder Fund Victim Relief
but even I who hold the Rubashkin clan to be the biggest Chotei u'Machteis and Chilul Hashems to walk the Earth find this excessive. Throw the book at the arrogant jerk? Sure. But who gets life these days?
April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Seven former UBS AG clients, including two who pleaded guilty, were accused of collectively hiding more than $100 million from the Internal Revenue Service as the U.S. extends its crackdown on offshore tax evasion.
U.S. prosecutors in New York today released indictments against Shmuel Sternfeld, Sybil Nancy Upham, Ernest Vogliano and Richard Werdiger, as well as a criminal complaint against Kenneth Heller. Federico Hernandez, 44, and Jules Robbins pleaded guilty today in federal court in New York. Upham, 72, and Werdiger, 62, pleaded not guilty to their indictments.
“We’re sending the message that the rich are not different, the rich are not special,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in an interview. “Multimillionaires with Swiss accounts have to pay their taxes like everyone else.”
Robbins, who distributed watches, and Hernandez, a financial adviser, admitted they filed false tax returns that failed to disclose offshore accounts. Both also agreed to plead guilty in state Supreme Court in New York. Robbins, who admitted his UBS account held almost $42 million in 2007, will pay a $20.8 million civil penalty for failing to file reports of foreign bank or financial accounts, or FBARs. Hernandez will pay a $4.4 million FBAR penalty.
Robbins, of Jericho, New York, admitted he began hiding money at UBS in 1967 and transferred those assets in 2000 to a sham Hong Kong corporation set up with the help of a U.S.- educated Swiss lawyer. Robbins admitted he took many steps to conceal his account. Under his plea deal, he faces six months to a year in prison.
Upham’s lawyer, Elkan Abramowitz, declined to comment.
Werdiger, 62, of Purchase, New York, sold diamonds and other jewelry through companies including Michael Werdiger Inc., according to the indictment against him.
From 1986 to 2000, Werdiger opened three UBS accounts through sham entities in Panama and Liechtenstein, and he communicated with the bank through the code name “Trygon,” prosecutors said. By 2003, his accounts totaled $7 million, according to the government.
Heller, 80, is a disbarred New York maritime attorney who opened a UBS account in 2006 with $26.4 million, prosecutors said. He later transferred $20 million to a smaller private Swiss bank, prosecutors allege.
Sternfeld, 64, of Tel Aviv, Israel, opened a UBS account in 2004 in the name of a Hong Kong shell corporation, prosecutors said. He transferred money to buy a condominium in Florida and later transferred funds to an account in the Czech Republic, prosecutors said. His account was valued at $2.9 million in 2005.
He remains at large, and the identity of his attorney wasn’t immediately available.
Does Kenny Heller know Belsky?
Heller is one of seven former clients accused Thursday of tax evasion and hiding money overseas.
A foul-mouthed lawyer disbarred in 2004 for screaming and threatening judges, he allegedly pocketed $7 million in unreported income from the accounts, evading at least $2 million in federal taxes, according to the complaint.
Heller panicked when he learned that UBS officials were in hot water for helping Americans dodge Uncle Sam and started transferring more than $20 million to another Swiss account, prosecutors said.
He was busted in Hoboken, N.J., Thursday afternoon and will face charges in federal court Friday.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/04/15/2010-04-15_manhattan_lawyer_charges_swiss_bank_ubs_turned_over_his_info_after_he_tried_to_h.html#ixzz0lCzoYYOl
This is the Bocharian jerk who built the mansion across from Rav Ashkenazy's shul.
Bryks was incidentally once in charge of the mikva in this shul too.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/doc_bitten_in_assets_Pm6FrzuJAVOzsxhPfuJ1gJ
State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is moving to seize millions of dollars of allegedly ill-gotten assets from a series of "Medicaid mills" run by a businessman who was a dentist in the former Soviet Union, according to papers filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
The legal action comes just three weeks after a Post exposé on the three dental clinics run by David Ibragimov, an Uzbek immigrant, who allegedly enticed destitute Medicaid-card holders from homeless shelters and drug rehab clinics with promises of cash.
Ibragimov, 48, along with his son, Arthur, and son-in-law, Mikhail Isakov, ran an "illegal scheme [that] garnered millions of dollars, and covered its trail with phone invoices, shell companies and street-hustling 'flyer boys,' " the complaint charges.
In addition to seeking $7 million in what he says were illegally obtained assets, Cuomo wants to take Ibragimov's mansion on Beverly Road in Kew Gardens, Queens.
As The Post reported last month, Ibragimov ran clinics in The Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn that used street touts to bring thousands of Medicaid-card holders into his bare-bones offices.
There, they would receive "substandard treatment" but get cash or gifts like MP3 players in exchange for providing their Medicaid card numbers.
Giving gifts or money is a serious violation of anti-kickback laws and often a sign of greater fraud, according to investigators.
On Thursday, officers from Cuomo's office seized computers and records from all three clinics, which employed 35 dentists.
Ibragimov, who is also fighting a deportation order, hung up when reached by The Post on his cellphone.
Cuomo's office declined to comment.
Medicaid was billed for an alleged $7.2 million between January 2007 and March 2010, according to the papers.
Four of the dentists turned state's evidence, according to the complaint, and gave investigators an inside look into the operation.
One dentist "further admitted to knowing that 'flyer boys' went around rounding up patients in the area, mostly from homeless shelters, and brought them to the clinics in groups."
He even witnessed a fistfight between Arthur and a tout over pay, according to the papers.
That dentist billed Medicaid for $300,000 between May 2007 and May 2008 at the clinic at 575 Fulton Ave., Brooklyn, and $70,000 for work at the Bronx clinic.
Another dentist at the Bronx location on 2471 Morris Ave. said he was paid $1,500 a day, but later took home one-third of all Medicaid bills while kicking the remaining two-thirds to Ibragimov.
Meanwhile, the entire operation was structured to falsely appear like the dentists were running the business and Ibragimov was simply an office manager.
The clinics went by several names, including Dental Plaza, Fulton Gentle Family Dentistry and Jamaica Family Gentle Dentistry.
Junior Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has garnered the approval of Brooklyn party boss Vito Lopez, "killing any chance of her facing a primary,"
Israel's Olmert denies bribery allegations (Reuters)
Syria denies it gave Hezbollah Scud missiles (AP)
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/26/liquor-heiresses-reportedly-blew-m-cult/
Billionaire mogul Edgar Bronfman Sr. is “considering legal action” to restrict the trust funds of daughters Clare, 30, and Sara, 33, after they lost $65 million in a commodities-trading scheme, according to one insider.
Among Edgar Bronfman’s options, said a source, is to have his girls declared “financially incompetent.”
The failed investment plan and the Bronfman sisters’ staggering financial loss were revealed in court papers filed in Los Angeles and first reported by the Albany Times Union.
The scheme was engineered by Keith Raniere, a Brooklyn-born smooth talker who has been investigated for fraud in several states and is described in legal documents as a “compulsive gambler.”
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20100405/EDIT02/4060367/Unfortunate-message-to-our-mixed-race-children
Last week, President Obama gathered fanfare from national media. Despite the obvious existence of his white mother, he checked just one box on his census form regarding his racial identity: "Black, African Am., or Negro." By ignoring the option of checking multiple boxes (or of writing in a word like "multiracial"), Obama sent an unfortunate message to America's mixed-race children.
Despite the mythologies some of us have been raised to believe, there is nothing "stronger" about black blood. It does not "take over" a baby's genes if one parent is black and the other white. These ideas were promulgated by racists who wanted to scare white people into thinking their genes would be obliterated by the act of intermixing with blacks.
To assist more than 153,000 New Yorkers whose personally identifiable information was recently stolen from ECMC, a Minnesota-based guarantor of federal student loans, the State Consumer Protection Board (CPB) is recommending steps that affected borrowers can take to help prevent the possibility of falling victim to identity theft and financial fraud.
According to ECMC, the theft of data included the name, address, Social Security number and date of birth of 3.3 million people nationwide.
• Place a fraud alert with the three credit reporting agencies: Report the breach to the three major credit reporting agencies by calling any one of the following toll-free fraud numbers: Trans Union 1-800-680-7289, Experian 1-888-397-3742 and Equifax 1-800-525-6285. You will reach an automated telephone system that allows you to flag your file with a fraud alert at all three agencies. A fraud alert can help stop an identity thief from opening new accounts in your name.
• Order your credit reports for free: You may order one free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies every twelve months. You can place your order online or by phone at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. We recommend that you order one report from a different credit reporting agency every four months to help maximize your protection. Should you become aware that you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an additional free credit report each year.
• Consider placing a security freeze on your credit reports. In most cases, a security freeze will block someone from opening a new account or borrowing money using your name or personal information. Under New York State law, the first security freeze is free.
• Watch for signs of fraud:
-Carefully read all financial and credit card statements. Be on the lookout for any unauthorized transactions.
-Read your credit reports and watch for signs of fraudulent activity, such as accounts you don’t recognize, especially accounts opened recently. Look in the inquiries section for the names of creditors from whom you haven’t requested credit. As a general precaution, check in the personal information section for any address listed for you where you’ve never actually lived.
• Close all compromised accounts. This is the best way to reduce your risk from a data breach.
• Retain all paperwork. Maintain a file documenting all the actions you have taken along with copies of all the letters you have written and the documents you have reviewed.
• Learn more about information privacy, including fraud alerts and security freezes, at http://www.nysconsumer.gov/internet_security.htm.
• Find general consumer protection resources at www.nysconsumer.gov.
• Should you have evidence that you are a victim of identity theft:
-File a police report. Under NY State law, you are entitled to a free copy.
-File a report and an affidavit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to provide the details of your case. Visit www.ftc.gov or call 1-877-IDTHEFT.
-File a complaint online with the CPB at: http://www.nysconsumer.gov/complaint.htm. If you do not have access to the Internet, you may contact the CPB’s Consumer Helpline at 1-800-697-1220.
-Place an extended fraud alert on your credit file with the credit reporting agencies.
continued...
The company faces at least 30 pending lawsuits from patients and their families who have accused KV Pharmaceutical of making and selling medicines that caused bodily injury and/or economic harm, including 15 wrongful death suits.
In addition, KV has more than 200 pending claims that may or may not get to court — 26 of those claims involve a patient's death. It also faces a $100 million suit from CVS Pharmacies for allegedly breaking a supply contract.
Marc Hermelin, the firm's chief executive and founder's son, was ousted by the board of directors in December 2008
Hermelin's wife, Sarah Weltscheff, a senior vice president for human resources, and his son, David Hermelin, a vice president for corporate strategy, also were let go. Marc Hermelin, who owns a spacious home in Jerusalem, contends he resigned before the board fired him and is entitled to $36.9 million in retirement benefits.
The family also has been beset by infighting. In 2007, Victor Hermelin sued his son Marc in an attempt to remove him as trustee on a trust established to benefit the elder's wife and children.
Victor Hermelin's widow, Margie, said the rift between her husband and stepson began at least 35 years ago, when Marc Hermelin took over the company. She claims that Marc Hermelin duped his father by telling him that managers would quit unless the elder Hermelin resigned.
"Victor always wanted to do the right thing," she said. "He always believed in doing what the FDA wanted. But when his son took over the company, he did what he wanted. He didn't listen to anyone because he thought he was a genius. And Victor had problems with that. He got disgusted with his son."
Despite the recent turmoil, the Hermelin family and its allies remain the controlling shareholders in the company. Marc Hermelin and his son David Hermelin remain on the board.
The Hermelin family bankrolls all the mosdos in town, including the Agudah.
CHESED V EMET V AVIGDOR BEN YOSEF FAMILY FOUNDATION run by Marc Hermelin has given $100,000s to yeshivos and rabbis in St. Louis and abroad according to Guidestar records.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/0/B0C2F13DDBB4B69B862576FA00160CBB?OpenDocument
By 2008, KV was considered one of the most successful publicly traded companies based in the St. Louis area, posting nearly $600 million in revenue and employing 1,700 people.
Today, it's a broken company with a criminal record.
Regulators say KV produced medicines of the wrong size that endangered public safety. Its products were pulled from pharmacy shelves, and its manufacturing has been idle for 15 months.
Short on cash with no meaningful revenue stream, the company has shed three quarters of its work force, including 289 layoffs last week. The drugmaker is still waiting for permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to resume manufacturing — and the pressure is rising.
"It's a disaster," said Lawrence Solow, an analyst at CJS Securities, a New York brokerage and research firm. "If within six months they don't start generating revenues, they may end up in bankruptcy."
KV was founded in 1942 by Victor Hermelin and Bob Keith, both of St. Louis. Hermelin, who died last year, was a chemical engineer who went on to hold about 100 patents, including one that allows pharmaceuticals to be produced in the now familiar time-release form. He was succeeded in 1975 by his son, Marc.
Even in its early days, KV's products, at times, were scrutinized. In 1947 and again in 1950, the company faced criminal charges for shipping vitamin capsules that had less than the required amount of vitamins.
In the early 1990s, the FDA raided its facilities and seized its drugs. Then, in 1995, the company pleaded guilty to federal misdemeanor charges for misbranding a children's antibiotic, paying $600,000 in fines and costs. Regulators concluded that the recalled drug could lose its potency prior to its expiration date.
By January 2009, after running afoul with regulators, the company announced that it had ceased production. Two months later, KV signed a consent decree with federal prosecutors in which the company agreed to destroy all finished drug products in its possession, to refrain from manufacturing drugs and to change its manufacturing processes in compliance with the FDA.
http://www.frumforum.com/ny%E2%80%99s-do-nothing-attorney-general
Last year, New Yorkers learned that 90% of Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) employees retire with disability benefits, thanks to a retirement system loaded with loopholes. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) vowed to crackdown on abuse and to prosecute those responsible for fraud. At the expense of taxpayers Cuomo, the man who expects to be anointed New York’s governor this November, launched a massive investigation and subpoenaed over 108 in an effort to combat wrongdoing.
The only problem was that the LIRR retirement system is regulated largely by the federal Railroad Retirement Board, which also pays disability benefits to retirees. The Railroad Retirement Board has a history of being lax; 98% of American railroad workers who file to retire on disability are granted such status. When Cuomo launched his investigation, he had to have known that, as a state prosecutor, he would have little jurisdiction over federal regulations.
One year later, Cuomo announced that… surprise, he had delivered few results other than fining a crook employee $1,500, and asking the LIRR to hire someone to enhance its ethics training.
When asked why his office had accomplished so little, Cuomo and the LIRR blamed the Railroad Retirement Board, as if it was news to him that he had no jurisdiction over a federal matter. But he didn’t appeal to the federal government to push the Railroad Retirement Board to change its rules to stop manipulation of the system. Cuomo didn’t actually want the retirement rules to change for a large group of union employees whose money he’ll need when he runs for governor.
The LIRR case underscores a fact about Cuomo that the media will not report: other than suing investment banks and health insurance companies, along with anything that contributes to the state’s tax base, he hasn’t accomplished much. Cuomo’s career as attorney general has been mostly a dog and pony show, making him look like a crusader against corruption, while in reality he has done little for taxpayers other than issue press releases about his do-nothing “investigations.” All of which are snapped up by an adoring New York media. Cuomo knew that he’d get nothing accomplished with his LIRR case. But he also knew that the media wouldn’t hold him accountable for wasting money on a phony investigation.
Cuomo’s inaction as attorney general has occurred while corruption throughout New York’s government remains rampant. Cuomo hasn’t even touched news that over 700 full-time New York City teachers get paid to not work. Of course he hasn’t: he needs the teachers’ union to support his bid for governor.
Someone did point out last week that everything Obama does is geared to be a handout to Black people.
http://www.frumforum.com/bailing-out-higher-ed
President Obama signed a bill into law over the weekend, which raises government aid for college students. The bill, which increases Pell Grants 17%, was hailed as a “sweeping change” which will “make college affordable” by Democrats.
In reality, all that Obama is doing is using more taxpayer money to subsidize skyrocketing tuition. Colleges, like states, have gone on spending sprees: hiring too many employees and giving these employees lavish contracts. Why worry about keeping costs down when you can raise tuition with impunity?
Over the past ten years, the cost of college has risen by more than double the rate of inflation. This is because payrolls have mushroomed as staff sizes for administrative positions have soared. Daniel L. Bennett, in an article for Forbes last summer entitled “Bureaucrat U”, found that colleges have spent the past decade hiring armies of administrative staff, and creating positions like “recreation therapist” at the University of Florida and a “director of Fraternity and Sorority Life” at the University of Maryland. By 2014, Mr. Bennett notes, there will be more administrative employees at America’s colleges than teachers.
Obama’s plan does nothing to rectify the situation. All it does is “bail out” universities; they get additional subsidies in the form of grants given to students, and can continue to ignore their costs. Perhaps a decade from now, when the costs of attending some four-year colleges will be nearing $100,000 per year, Congress will again heed the call to “make college affordable” and will raise Pell Grants again, along with an additional burden to the national debt. The president once said that “no one should go broke because they choose to go to college,” but taxpayers shouldn’t go broke because colleges choose to ignore costs.
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-woman-body-found-queens,0,5055688.story
Montefiore is the location of the Rebbe's ohel.
NEW YORK (WPIX) - The CEO of Jennifer Convertibles was arrested and charged with DWI after he struck and killed a 45-year-old bus depot security guard in Queens Wednesday night, law enforcement officials confirm to PIX 11 News.
Harley Greenfield, 65, was driving southbound on the Whitestone Expressway, when his 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt struck Mohammed Rohman around 10:45 p.m. Roham was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators say Roham, who worked for Summit Security and was contracted to guard the MTA's College Point depot, was on his way to Burger King.
Greenfield, who lives in a posh apartment on York Avenue on the Upper East Side, stayed at the scene of the fatal accident, cops said. However, officers say he refused to take a breathalyzer test.
Officials say Greenfield could face more charges.
As CEO of Jennifer Convertibles, Greenfield oversees a corporation that owns a chain of sofabed specialty retail stores and leather specialty retail stores located throughout the United States. The company's stores include 175 Jennifer Convertibles stores and 16 Jennifer Leather stores.
Is Rabbi Menachem Greenblatt still at the Agudah in St Louis?
His father, the tremendous talmid chacham from Memphis is now living in Israel without a penny to his name after being comfortable for many years.
He was interviewed recently about how he nebich lost his life's savings to Bernie Madoff.
Do you really thinks it's right to judge Orthodox Judaism by what the crazies do? G-d forbid someone should judge Judaism by what some of the completely secular Jews have done! It's better just not to judge at all!
You see, now no one can have taynos on me for letting molesters drop out of the treatment program!
http://www.wktv.com/news/local/90901279.html
Sex offender accused of exposing himself to Sex Offender Treatment Facility employee
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/us/16indict.html?hp
Only a small number of prosecutions have been brought against government officials in recent decades for improperly disclosing information. Such cases often provoke a public debate over the tradeoff between protecting government secrets and covering up government wrongdoing or incompetence.
The indictment suggests the Obama administration may be no less aggressive than the Bush administration in pursuing whistleblowers and reporters’ sources who disclose government secrets. In a little-noticed case last December, a former contract linguist for the F.B.I., Shamai Kedem Leibowitz, pleaded guilty to leaking five classified documents to a blogger.
The RCA and Rabbi Lookstein should very proud of themselves. Donald's Trump's daughter, who they personally helped obtain an express questional conversion, keeps forgetting that's she supposed to be an Orthodox Jew.
Ivanka Trump showed up at an event yesterday showing a lot of cleavage and baring most of her back. Ivanka doesn't even pretend to be sincere about her "conversion." That only lasted until her "Jewish" wedding.
Ivanka's "conversion" should be revoked immediately. I really doubt that will happen. The RCA are too cowardly to do it and Rabbi Lookstein is the one to blame for this mess.
Another example of what a joke Orthodox conversions are becoming.
1. Yes, Rabbi Menachem Greenblatt is still the Rov of the Agudah. I really hardly know him, but I have only heard great things about him from people that I trust and that are very discerning with regards to character. B"H, his father lives b'simcha and that counts more than any amount of money.
2. The Hermelin family of St. Louis is a bit on the strange side.
3. I would love to know who Mr, Ms., or Mrs. St. Louis is.
At 3rd meal in shul this week, there was a UOJ inspired comment made about Ivanka that sent one baal teshuva into a hissy fit.
He insists that Ivanka dresses very tznius at Lookstein's shul and therefore must be doing so everywhere else and that she cannot be eating treif food even though she publicizes it on her Twitter feed and cannot be writing those posts on Shabbos even though they are time stamped.
I wonder if the poor guy ever got over it.
David Mandel is on the right track.
After consulting with the Gedoylim, we have decided to completely shut down Ohel's treatment program in case another molester does something prust like expose himself to the secretary.
This is of course another way I can settle old scores with Dov Hikind, who won't be able to use the money from Paterson.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/23163378/detail.html
A new report by Boston-based medical researchers concludes that life and health insurance companies across the country have a dirty little secret -- nearly $2 billion worth of investments in the nation’s five largest fast-food conglomerates.
WCVB-TV in Boston said Thursday that the report, by Dr. J. Wesley Boyd, is published in the American Journal of Public Health. Boyd is affiliated both with the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School.
“The insurance industry does not care at all about your health and well-being,” said Boyd. “They will invest in the very things that make you sick and kill you if that's what it takes to make money.”
Fast food consumption is linked to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, all leading causes of illness and death in the United States, where a third of adults are considered overweight or obese.
WCVB's medical editor Dr. Timothy Johnson said, “I must admit I didn’t know this and I’m stunned to hear it. I think it’s bad public relations at the very least.”
Boyd's report claims Prudential, Northwestern Mutual, and Massachusetts Mutual are among the largest investors in the fast food industry, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Jack in the Box and Yum! Brands, the company that owns KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and other fast-food chains.
“If you eat a lot of fast food and have an illness as a result of it, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular,” Boyd said, “they're going to charge you higher premiums and make money off of your bad habit.”
Prudential told WCVB, “Unfortunately, we can't discuss specific investments,”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/opinion/16fri1.html?hp
EDITORIAL
Fighting Foreclosures
Lawmakers should revive the fight to let troubled homeowners use bankruptcy court to avoid foreclosure.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/laughlines/petey.jpg
Pictured from left to right: Buckwheat, Bungalow Hundt Neuhoff, Spanky
Jack Kay is a major donor to YU and has given Toronto tzedakos at least $80 million that I know of.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/business/16generic.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print
Federal regulators have raised another red flag about the quality of generic drugs, sending a warning letter to a leading maker about manufacturing violations.
In the letter, posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site late Wednesday, the agency cited lapses at Apotex, Canada’s biggest drug company, that included charred particles in a diabetes drug; contamination of an antihistamine, and drug cross-contamination that resulted from inadequate cleaning of manufacturing equipment.
The letter also said the company had failed to notify regulators in a timely fashion about such problems.
Apotex, with headquarters in Toronto, was the eighth-largest provider of generics in this country last year, with $879 million in American sales, according to IMS Health, an industry research firm that tracks drug sales. In 2009, American pharmacies filled 94 million prescriptions with Apotex medicines, IMS said.
Apotex did not respond to a phone message or e-mail request on Thursday seeking comment about the letter.
Taken together, the violations “demonstrated a lack of adequate process controls and raised serious questions regarding your corporation’s quality and production systems,” agency officials wrote to Jack M. Kay, the president and chief operating officer of Apotex, in the March 29 letter.
“This warning letter is being issued because of serious and repeat violations from the 2008 and 2009 inspections and because your response,” the agency wrote, “is inadequate and lacks sufficient corrective actions.”
Many Americans first heard the name Apotex in 2006 when the company briefly flooded the United States market with a generic substitute for the blood thinner Plavix before the name-brand drug’s main patent had officially expired.
A federal judge later blocked Apotex from selling the generic until a court could rule on the patent’s validity. The patent holders, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis, eventually won on appeal.
Apotex produces more than 300 kinds of generic drugs in about 4, 000 dosages and formats, according to the company’s Web site. Apotex, which is privately held, has annual revenue of more than $1 billion Canadian, the Web site said.
“We pride ourselves on being a leading maker of top-quality generic pharmaceuticals,” Mr. Kay, the Apotex executive, said in the September statement.
http://www.hcn.org/issues/42.6/eligible-mustangs
The U.S. Land Bureau’s Rather Flirtatious Personal Ads for Horses — Nick Neely, High Country News
http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/201901/Three_taxes_more_likely_than_a_VAT
There is growing speculation that Obama is poised to introduce a European-style Value Added Tax. My bet is Obama will opt for sneakier tax hikes — like these
POSTED ON APRIL 15, 2010
Squeeze 1: The Alternative Minimum Tax.
Since its creation in 1969, the AMT, which once hit only the super elite, has reached more and more American taxpayers. But for Congress’ repeated – yet temporary --“fixes,” the AMT would today apply to tens of millions of taxpayers.
President Obama has talked of seeking a permanent solution. But there are many ways to “fix” the AMT, and not all of them would offer relief to taxpayers. For example, taxpayers subject to the AMT must calculate both the AMT and their regular tax obligation and then pay whichever amount is higher. After 2010, the Bush income tax cuts expire and -- presto! -- millions of Americans will discover that their AMT burden is now the lower figure. Merely by raising the income tax, you can dispel a big part of the AMT burden. That’s a fix all right, but hardly an improvement.
Alternatively, the AMT could be suspended for lower-income taxpayers and then indexed to inflation at some plausible-sounding threshold, say, $125,000. At $125,000, it would protect more than 80 percent of the government’s take from the AMT, while usefully (from the government’s point of view) splitting opposition to the tax.
So beware.
Squeeze 2: The Mortgage Interest Deduction
Since the 1980s, the mortgage interest deduction has been steadily squeezed. Once available in unlimited amounts on multiple residences, now it applies only to the first million of debt on a principal residence (plus another $100,000 in home equity loans).
This deduction reduces federal revenues by about $100 billion, with the greatest relief being conferred on the wealthiest households. While a direct attack on the deduction would trigger mass outrage, especially at a time of weak housing prices, a revenue-hungry administration might be tempted to shave another slice off the deduction.
Last year, the administration raised the threshold for Fannie Mae “conforming loans” from the old $419,000 to $729,750 in expensive real estate markets – effectively reducing the interest rates paid by many upper-middle-income families. Lucky them. Now it may be payback time.
Suppose the administration lowered the maximum deductible loan amount from $1.1 million to that same $729,500. In one step, it would add the interest owed on that $370,000 to the adjustable gross income of upper-income mortgage holders. Since the top tax rate paid by those same people will soon revert to almost 40 percent, the scaling back of the deduction could extract a big new tax bite.
Gotcha.
Squeeze 3: The New Medicare Payroll Tax.
Currently the Medicare payroll tax is 2.9 percent on all wages, half of it paid visibly by the employees, half paid invisibly by the employer in behalf of the employee. Under Obama’s new health-care plan, that tax will rise another 0.9 percent for individuals earning more than $250,000. But guess what Congress forgot to do? That’s right – once again they forgot to peg the new tax threshold to inflation. Silly old bears.
These days, $250,000 may sound like a lot of money. But the tax goes into effect in 2014. By the time it’s up and operating at decade’s end, we may have entered a period of inflation, in which case more and more Americans each year will be exposed to the new payroll tax, especially since it is applied to gross income, not adjusted income.
Think about that possibility as you file your final returns of the low-tax Bush era.
"G"et Arthur on the case said...
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-woman-body-found-queens,0,5055688.story
Montefiore is the location of the Rebbe's ohel."
I'm working on this case already.It must be some "Lubab" conspriacy to chap all the maisem buried in Montifiore.Will keep you posted as the investigation goes on.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/us/16hooks.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print
Benjamin L. Hooks, who for 15 years led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as it struggled to remain an effective champion of minorities in an era of rising political conservatism, died Thursday at his home in Memphis. He was 85.
Leila McDowell, a spokeswoman for the N.A.A.C.P., said the cause was heart failure.
“Black Americans are not defeated,” Mr. Hooks told Ebony magazine soon after he became the association’s executive director in 1977. “The civil rights movement is not dead.
Mr. Hooks had a varied career. He was a lawyer, a businessman (he owned fried chicken franchises in Memphis that ultimately failed) and a Baptist minister
“I wish I could tell you every time I was on the highway and couldn’t use a restroom” because it was reserved for whites, he once told U.S. News & World Report. “My bladder is messed up because of that.”
Amram Bendahan the Hollywood FL youth director accused of molesting numerous boys in Florida, Toronto and Atlanta is on the move again.
His house is for sale and rumor has it that he has another job (Phoenix??).
This man should NOT be working with children! Please stop more tragedy from happening. A man who is wanted on a child abuse felony should not be around children.
Yet, Rabbi Edward Davis of the Young Israel lets him hang out in the vestibule Shabbat morning stalking his next prey.
http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2002/ucm145195.htm
What is it with these generic drug makers?
The baal teshuva Dr. Richard "Kasriel" Roberts living in Lakewood had the FDA come after him too.
He owns the $3 billion company Mutual Pharma / URL Pharma.
Beware of this guy who has an attitude that he can do whatever he wants because he has money. He is one strange bird.
The Agudah Fressers are charging $50 this Sunday for a workshop at Agudah of Ave L to teach people not to break the law in business and avoid winding up as the latest scandal on the front page of the NY Times.
No wonder the stock price is collapsing this morning:
By LOUISE STORY and GRETCHEN MORGENSON
1 minute ago
Goldman Sachs, which emerged relatively unscathed from the financial crisis, was accused of securities fraud in a civil suit filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which claims the bank created and sold a mortgage investment that was secretly devised to fail
Bendahan sits in the vestibule Shabbat morning waiting for a child to wander off from a distracted parent. Then Bendahan disappears for 40 minutes with the child while the frantic parents search the shul.
Suddenly the child is 'found" with Bendahan right behind him looking like the hero.
All of the kids in the community know that this guy is molesting boys.
He is wanted in GA on a child abuse felony. He did it in Toronto, he was fired from B'nai Sephardim among allegations of molesting. Rabbi Davis knows all about it and has seen enough himself that he believes that Bendahan is a molester.
WHY??? is this man permitted to hang out in the shul hunting his prey???
Meanwhile, the family who reported seeing him molest an 8 year old at Bnai Sephardim is still banned from that shul and treated like a cherem in all of the others.
WHY???
J'accuse!!! All of the Rabbis in South Florida of aiding and abetting this animal!
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-sham-charity-organization,0,3699109.story
Haven't figured out yet if this putz is a WASP or Reform Jew. He lives at a massive estate by the water in the Kings Point section of town.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/three-suits-claim-labor-law-violations/
A class-action suit filed Tuesday charges that the Census Bureau’s policy of screening out job applicants with arrest records violates the Civil Rights Act because African-Americans, Latinos and Native Americans are more likely to have arrest records.
Benjamin Hooks is full of it. There are plenty of White folks who don't use public restrooms either because they are filty so they relieve themselves in private behind a building or in the woods on the side of the highway.
Gadol kavod habriyos ...
"he owned fried chicken franchises in Memphis that ultimately failed"
Sounds like he has a lot in common with Shmarya who owned a now-defunct delicatessen.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/04/14/2010-04-14_iraq_vet_heroically_saves_choking_woman_in_tyhe_stands_at_yankee_stadium.html
A National Guardsman leaped into action at Yankee Stadium to stop the wife of Rabbi Avi Weiss from choking to death on a piece of London broil.
Ouri's catering who runs the kosher concessions there was thrown out at the end of last season by OK, because even Levy couldn't take the repeated kashrus violations anymore.
Rabbonim were speculating that it might be the end of the line for Ouri as probably no hashgocho with any self-respect would agree to work with them.
Lo and behold, Star K jumped into the fray to grab this cash cow account for 2010.
Which blog got the documents from Leibowitz?
A New Jersey man was arrested after Philadelphia Police say he intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old-girl and her father during a Phillies game.
According to police, Matthew Clemmens, 21, of Cherry Hill made himself vomit on an off-duty police captain and his daughter after his friend was kicked out of the stadium for unruly behavior.
Easton Police Captain Michael Vangelo was also punched in the side of his head by Clemmens.
The incident occurred Wednesday night during the Phillies game against the Nationals.
Clemmens was arraigned Friday on charges including simple assault, reckless endangerment, harrassment and disorderly conduct.
Some further news on the Montifiore case.There is a strong suspicion that the arch criminal and boss of bosses of the Lubab crime cartel, the Lex Luthor of the Jewish Mafia, Rubashkin, may be the brains behind this entire incident.After all, since he's been accused of everything from manufacturing drugs to the torture of illegal aliens and G-D knows what else, why not accuse him of this crime to? Maybe we can get Pinny Lipshutz to bring up this question on one of his many visits to Rubashkin,even though he was never exactly known to be a lover of Lubabs.Time will tell.
The Goldman Sachs scandal was in concert with John Paulson (no relation to Hank Paulson), the hedge fund star who raked in $4 billion by betting that the mortgage market would collapse.
That's a pretty easy bet when the outcome is fraudulently manipulated by your criminal buddies at Goldman.
I am always willing to lend a hand to cover up scandal, be it Amram Bendahan or when my pal Chometz-for-Pesach Lerner asks me to join the Gilligan's Island tour of Rubashkin to assure the public that everything is "kosher".
http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2010/04/15/brooklyn/courier-yn_brooklyn_front_page-wb_roseemails_2010_04_23_bk.txt
I might have pulled something slimy here but the newspaper missed that I was backing up Vito Lopez on this one.
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/dear-flofab-my-boyfriend-was-raised-by-wolves/?hp
Dear FloFab,
My boyfriend has horrible table manners: using his fingers when it’s not appropriate, eating as if meals are a race, etc. Think of how a 4 year-old eats and you get the picture. I enjoy going to restaurants very much, but I’ve stopped suggesting going out because his bad manners are kind of embarrassing. Do you have any suggestions about what I can do to improve his table habits without making him feel self-conscious?
By: Bob Chapman
We are in a vast home inventory expansion and builders are going to build 535,000 new homes. The projected foreclosure rate could give us as much as a 3-year home inventory, up from present levels of about a year, if one includes the lenders shadow inventory. As you can see bubbles have a way of not wanting to die quickly. This is caused by man’s disparately wanting to cling to the past attempting to take the easy way out rather than adapting to change. Government tries to keep sections of the economy alive rather than letting the cleansing process take its course.
The subsidization of the housing market is doomed to failure, because there simply isn’t enough money and credit available to keep it going indefinitely. All government is doing is re-flating a dying bubble. These Socialist/Marxist policies just won’t work. Whether government likes it or not interest rates are headed higher, probably by 1% or more by the end of the year as government in its quest for more money to cover its debts crowds most others out of the market. This can be accommodated by the Fed, but not without higher inflation or perhaps hyperinflation, which in turn will drive interest rates even higher. We are seeing the reigniting of speculative mania in other markets as well – in the stock market and particularly in the low quality sector of the bond market worldwide. The mis-pricing of investments and finance is resulting in terrible distortions, mostly the result of Fed and government policy.
We have spent more than 70 years as Americans and we gasp at the criminal enterprise that America has become. Lawbreaking has become as casual as running a business, whether it is on Wall Street or within the beltway in Washington. Worse yet, almost all malefactors never see the inside of a jail, they just have their corporations pay fines and go back to doing what they were doing, which was breaking the law.
One of the ultimate insults comes from the FDIC requesting donations. 200 to 500 banks will fail this year because of incompetence and terrible investments. We believe, as the year progresses, bank failures will explode. One of the factors leading us to this conclusion is that more than 1,000 banks have professionals overseeing bank operations from the Comptroller of the Currency’s Office. Worse yet, we are seeing many banks and credit unions telling depositors they may have to wait seven days or more for their money. Can bank holidays be far behind? We believe it will happen over the next couple of years.
If Bendahan is going to Arizona, maybe he can take over the position of the Conservative Rabbi Bramley who was extradited to NY for child rape.
This would not be unusual since Bendahan had a job at Shaarei Shamayim in Toronto 30 years ago, which at that time was not orthodox.
There may be a case for Rubashkin deserving life in prison if R' Yudel Shain is correct. He has written that he was given videotaped evidence by disgusted whistleblower insiders, that he cannot publicize yet, showing that Rubashkin was a chotay umachati ess harabim by pushing from the treif side of the operation to the kosher side to double his profit. I think the readers here are aware of what the poskim say of such a miscreant.
Furthermore, Rabbi Hertzfeld of the National Synagogue in Washington DC has told rabbonim he has a suspicion based on circumstantial evidence that the drugs sought in the raid may have been used to prop up downer cows for slaughter. A makeshift meth lab can be hidden in something as small as a gym bag so it is no pircha that it was not found.
Another point that has not been raised is that Rubashkin really angered the goyim (misgareh ba'umos) by throwing that ridiculous Mountain Dew fueled party and broadcasting it on the internet when so many people were suffering as a result of his behavior. This could further explain the govt vendetta against him which is mostly of his own doing imo.
The Florida Attorney General is investigating the time share industry for fraud.
Over 10,000 people have filed complaints of being ripped off which is bigger than mortgage fraud.
Companies subpoenaed:
Coastal Timeshare Solutions Inc., Boca Raton Z Worldwide Resorts Direct Inc., and Worldwide Marketing Solutions of Palm Beach Inc., doing business as Worldwide Timeshare, West Palm Beach Z TS Luxury Group Inc., Lake Worth
C&G Marketing Associates, LLC, doing business as Premier Timeshare Solutions, Palm Beach Gardens Z Nationwide Marketing Solutions Inc., doing business as Magnum Advertising Services Inc., Lake Worth Z International Resort Solutions, LLC, Lake Worth Z E.A.T. Sales, LLC, Boca Raton Z Euroamerican Timeshare, LLC, Boynton Beach Z Transatlantic Timeshare, LLC, Boynton Beach Z International Marketing and Finance, Wellington Z Executive Timeshare Marketing Inc., Tamarac Z Seabreeze Advertising Corp., aka SBA Corp., Daytona Beach Z Timeshare Market Pro, Davie Z Gold Crown Property Management Inc., Dunedin Z Vacation Property Resales Inc., doing business as buyatimeshare.com, Tampa Z Timeshare Only, Orlando Z PFS Concepts Inc., doing business as US Vacation, Largo
http://www.wftv.com/news/23164979/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss
ORLANDO, Fla. -- It's called the Tower of Terror, but one man says the real terror happened after he rode it. He says the ride caused him to have a stroke and now he's suing Disney.
It is extremely rare for a personal injury case over a theme park ride to go to trial and most are settled or dismissed. Marvin Cohen’s incident happened in 1998. It has taken until this week to go to trial.
Cohen said the ride itself is flawed. The man's attorneys argue the ride is dangerous and Disney failed to warn riders of the safety risks.
“Do you have any comment about the case?” WFTV reporter Mary Nguyen asked Cohen.
“No, I cannot comment,” Cohen replied.
Marvin Cohen, 80, would not talk to WFTV about his case against Disney, because his attorney and Disney agreed not to talk to the media about the case until after the trial.
“I'll talk with you after the case is over,” Cohen's attorney said.
Cohen's attorney said his client was physically active when he first rode the Tower of Terror in 1998, but 23 days after he rode it he had a stroke.
When people ride the Tower of Terror they get onto an elevator-like ride; it then drops several floors in a matter of seconds, as well as going back up.
Cohen’s attorney said the ride can create whiplash that can seriously injure riders. An expert witness said she believes the ride caused the stroke.
“This dissection could only have occurred from a severe torsional rotation about his neck that occurs hours to weeks prior to the stroke itself,” the expert said.
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=213259
An Exeter Township poultry-processing plant today asked Berks County Court to prevent the township from enforcing an order that would close the plant.
If the Mehadrin Kosher Poultry closes, 185 employees would lose their jobs, said Joseph T. Bambrick Jr., a West Reading lawyer representing the plant.
The township supervisors Wednesday ordered the plant to stop discharging excessive waste into the township sewer plant, which flows into the Schuylkill River.
The order required the plant stop discharging waste today at 3:30 p.m.
"As a result of the order, the plant cannot operate," Bambrick said.
The plant, 1100 Lincoln Road, produces kosher chickens.
Troy S. Bingaman, township manager, declined to comment.
Solomon Weider, company president, said he has complied with all township and state regulations.
The township order said the plant is discharging 329,000 gallons a day into the sewer plant, exceeding its daily limit of 75,000 gallons.
Township Supervisor Dona Starr said the company owes $100,000 in overdue sewer bills.
"They are not complying with our sewer agreement," Starr said. "They are discharging much more than what is allowed."
According to the company's request:
The plant, formerly operating as G&G Poultry, was destroyed in a fire in February 2009. The plant resumed operating June 14 . Since then, $10 million in improvements have been made to the facility.
The plant has a chemist on site to monitor the discharge into the system.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/rabbi_shmuley/item/does_a_kosher_butchers_fraud_mandate_a_life_sentence_20100416/
As for the outcry from the Hassidic community that Rubashkin is being treated unfairly and that his yarmulke and beard make for a prosecutorial bull’s-eye, I love America too much to believe any of it. This is the fairest, most decent country on earth. But I do believe it possible that when an overtly religious person perpetrates a crime – especially one that involves companies catering to religious needs – there is a feeling on the part of many that the hypocrisy mandates an even harsher sentence.
Rubashkin is no hero. Whatever the nobility of his intentions, he is a poor example to religious youth. His behavior must and should be condemned. He has been found guilty of a crime and he must do the time.
But he is no monster either. Unlike Wall Street bankers, he did not bet the farm and other people’s deposits in order to buy himself a Ferrari. Unlike AIG executives, he did not cost the government billions in bailouts and then get a bonus. And while I, of course, understand that criminal conduct is infinitely more serious, so is prosecutorial overzealousness that borders on fanaticism.
The time that Rubashkin serves must be fair and just. This is America. Just as there is no room for toleration of criminal conduct, there is also no room for a lynch mob mentality. I realize I am not a lawyer. But I have enough sense to understand that a punishment of a few years in prison sets an unassailable example that criminal conduct is utterly inexcusable. Anything more than that for a crime of this nature gives the false impression that the American justice system is prejudicial and untrustworthy.
As for the outcry from the Hassidic community that Rubashkin is being treated unfairly and that his yarmulke and beard make for a prosecutorial bull’s-eye, I love America too much to believe any of it. This is the fairest, most decent country on earth. But I do believe it possible that when an overtly religious person perpetrates a crime – especially one that involves companies catering to religious needs – there is a feeling on the part of many that the hypocrisy mandates an even harsher sentence.
So let’s be clear.
This is not in any way analogous to other ugly religious stories dominating the news like pedophile priests. There is no suggestion that Rubashkin’s crimes be covered up. Less so is there any insinuation that Rubashkin be moved to another state where he can start up a new kosher meat plant. Rubashkin’s trustworthiness in the American Jewish community is finished.
But there is an insistence that he be treated like a human being. That it be taken into consideration that he has no prior offenses and that his company provided kosher meat to hundreds of thousands of people at affordable prices so that more Jews could observe their faith. That he and his family are legendary in the Hassidic community for their charitable giving, their hospitality, and their communal involvement. That Rubashkin himself devoted a substantial portion of his profits to funding a soup kitchen and supporting organizations like Collel Chabad that feed the hungry and the poor. To disregard all these considerations when it comes to sentencing is to disregard the universal belief that the good we do is not cancelled out by our horrendous mistakes.
I know my own limitations. Perhaps Rubashkin’s prosecutors ought to know theirs as well.
Did you know that the defense has insisted that falsifying documents is not a crime unless it is used to defraud someone. If the bank knew of the corner cutting and crooked accounting, then they were not defrauded. This hasn’t cost the bank a PENNY. So, as distasteful and as fixing the books may be, in this case it was not a CRIME.
"There may be a case for Rubashkin deserving life in prison if R' Yudel Shain is correct. He has written that he was given videotaped evidence by disgusted whistleblower insiders, that he cannot publicize yet, showing that Rubashkin was a chotay umachati ess harabim by pushing from the treif side of the operation to the kosher side to double his profit. I think the readers here are aware of what the poskim say of such a miscreant."
Can you please indicate the date that Reb Yudel published the above allegation.I have gone through his posts from late 2009 to the present day and have not found any such statement.I also fail to understand why he cannot release video taped evidence of this allegation.
As to Rabbi Hertzfeld of the so called "National Synagogue" in Washington DC and his "circumstantial" evidence the less said the better.
http://www.wfmz.com/news/23175977/detail.html
READING, Pa. -- A judge has denied an injunction that would have prevented a poultry plant from being forced to close.
Mehadrin Kosher Poultry asked the judge to prevent Exeter Township in Berks County from following through on a cease and desist order against the company until a trial on the case could be held.
The judge scheduled a trial for Monday afternoon.
Mehadrin said the lack of an injunction against the township means it will not be able to open for business or accept product on Monday, leaving about 185 people out of work.
Exeter Township issued the order for Mehadrin to cease and desist its operations because it said the plant is violating sewer use laws and is late paying its sewer bills.
The plant's owners said they were stunned by the township's action.
How do BTs from all over the country (even not from Kol Yaakov) come to view Chaim Berlin's Schechter as their guru?
Many of them are in contact with him. Schechter, who takes their phone calls to offer his advice on wide-ranging matters, is telling them that Tropper is innocent and should be reinstated as "rosh yeshiva".
Arthur,
Read attached document from Rabbi Shain:
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/files/agri-weismndl-4-english.pdf
re Mordechai Lebovits
No sympathy for him at all?
Would anyone in their right mind choose these kinds of behaviors? If he is a monster, and there is no doubt that he is, based on how he horribly he affected his victim(s?) ,how is such a monster created?
Was he molested himself? What were his emotionally formative years like? What compelled him to do the kinds of things he did? Did he have free choice in committing these acts? How can anyone make such a terrible choice?
Does anyone stop and ask, "If I were given his nature and nurture circumstances, would I be any different?"
No sympathy for him at all?
Absolutely NOT!
Would anyone in their right mind choose these kinds of behaviors?
He's obviously a psycopath. So was Hitler, Stalin, Haman, Mondrowitz, Kolko, etc. Does that exonerate them?
If he is a monster, and there is no doubt that he is, based on how he horribly he affected his victim(s?) ,how is such a monster created?
That's for scientists like yourself to find out. Our job is to put these monsters away for good so that they do not endanger anyone else.
Was he molested himself?
He claims to have been. So?
Did he have free choice in committing these acts?
Free choice is one of the fundamental principles of Judaism. Hashem gives everyone free choice.
"If I were given his nature and nurture circumstances, would I be any different?"
I should hope so. If not, then I would ask to be locked up and away from society.
Any other questions from Mr. ACLU?
Reb Steve
In answer to
"If I were given his nature and nurture circumstances, would I be any different?"
you said , "I hope so"
that is precisely the point, you answered honestly when you said you can only HOPE that you would act differently, but you can't be certain.
As a father of 3 kids, I think he deserves to be jailed , and removed from any possibility of recurrence, but I have sympathy for him. Nobody wants these kinds of behaviors for themselves, even if they never get caught. It must be horrible living with yourself.
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