Experienced in the violent art of coercing divorce decrees out of
reluctant Orthodox Jewish husbands, Rabbi Mendel Epstein and his team of
heavies knew the value of planning ahead, authorities allege.
Epstein,
a resident of Lakewood and Brooklyn, New York, even discussed what to
do should the husband suffer a heart attack on the ride back after being
punched, kicked and tortured with a cattle prod.
“Take a right turn and let him die,” Epstein can be heard telling an undercover FBI agent.
The recording was one of several that figured prominently in the
prosecution’s closing statement Monday here in U.S. District Court,
where Epstein, his son, David Epstein, and two other rabbis are being
tried on kidnapping-related charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah
Wolfe also replayed surveillance video showing members of Epstein’s
“team” arriving at an Edison warehouse in 2013 wearing dark clothing and
disguises, including a Halloween mask. One defendant covered his long
whiskers with a plastic bag.
“These people were not here for a
religious ceremony. There is nothing religious about this,” Wolfe told
the jury of eight men and eight women watching the footage. “This is a
kidnapping.”[...]
The trial, which has lasted for seven weeks,
has included testimony from an alleged victim, Israel Markowitz, who
said he was lured to Lakewood and beaten and shocked into submission in
2009.
Markowitz identified David Epstein as one of his attackers and the driver of the van.
The
attorneys for Epstein and the other defendants — David Epstein, Rabbi
Jay Goldstein and Rabbi Binyamin Stimler —are scheduled to make their
closing statements Tuesday.
What Mengele did to the left, Mendele does to the right. He is not a bad guy, actually he is a good guy, since he prefers chasidishe schita. bechol mokom sheata poneh, tihye liyemin. These techniques he learned from other shechters while polishing their weapons in front of him.
ReplyDeleteEpstein is a violent man, the world is better of without him
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that you only bring the prosecutors side. Why are you not bringing the article of what the defense said also
ReplyDeleteIt seems that no one here cares that while M Epstein did a whole lot of talk, why were cattle prods handcuffs and other "thug" type equipment not found in the vans. Only a screwdriver rope and other common things that many of us have in our cars.
I have no clue what has happened but it seems that the American concept of innocent until proven guilty (without reasonable doubt mind you) is not something that people here understand. While they may be guilty or not why the geshmack when these innocent families of the defendants are being ruined
innocent until proven guilty (without reasonable doubt mind you) is not something that people here understand.
ReplyDeleteHe's been proven guilty, beyond any reasonable doubt. His defense is a silly and horrible attempt at perverting Halacha.
when these innocent families of the defendants are being ruined
Innocent? Was his wife not his secretary and partner-in-crime?
Did any of theses family members ever protest to Mendel about the destruction he was causing to the innocent children of his victims?
כל מי שיש לו למחות באנשי ביתו ואינו מוחה נתפס בעון אנשי ביתו
Didn't you read the minutes of Mr. Macaroni that mendele prefers Prods that don't leave a mark, so why leave around the damning evidence? Same goes for Mrs. Baloney, she should mingle in public places while the goons are prodding away. And now for the jugular, I wouldn't put it beyond mengele that when ski masked goon told "Ari call your Father", was only to plant the wrong identity only to later discredit the victim, that at the time he was in Ohio as in levalbel et hasatan. Even the Judge advised them not to go this route, since the Law of the land applies, but chacham mechukam chacham charoshim knows better.
ReplyDeleteLakewood rabbi wore 'criminal hat' when arranging forced divorces, prosecutor says
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2015/04/lakewood_rabbi_wears_criminal_hat_when_arranging_f.html
TRENTON —In his own words, Rabbi Mendel Epstein told an undercover FBI agent that he wore two hats as a religious leader - one rabbinical and one criminal.
That statement, captured in video surveillance in 2013, was played for jurors on Monday as they hear federal prosecutors' and defense attorneys' summations of eight weeks of testimony in a trial accusing Epstein and three others of conspiring to force husbands into granting their wives religious divorces.
"Mendel Epstein is telling you right here what he is - he's a criminal," Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wolfe told jurors after playing a segment of video in which Epstein claimed to describe the two roles he played in his Orthodox Jewish communities in Lakewood and Brooklyn.
"Don't confuse the defendants' religious beliefs with criminal acts," Wolfe said toward the beginning of her nearly four hours of closing arguments. "You're here to judge Mendel Epstein for acts he did while wearing his criminal hat."
...
Prosecution: Rabbis carefully planned kidnappings
http://www.app.com/story/news/local/2015/04/13/lakewood-rabbi-epstein-kidnapping-trial/25744753/
TRENTON – There was a Post-it Note left behind in the minivan, but this was no grocery list.
The jottings on it included such items as boots, a black shirt, stockings, gloves, a hat or face mask, a blindfold and cuffs.
Experienced in the violent art of coercing divorce decrees out of reluctant Orthodox Jewish husbands, Rabbi Mendel Epstein and his team of heavies knew the value of planning ahead, authorities allege.
Epstein, a resident of Lakewood and Brooklyn, New York, even discussed what to do should the husband suffer a heart attack on the ride back after being punched, kicked and tortured with a cattle prod.
“Take a right turn and let him die,” Epstein can be heard telling an undercover FBI agent.
I was using the term found in the Mishna Berura, 225 - 7.
ReplyDeletehttp://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%97_%D7%97%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%A8%D7%9B%D7%94
Epstein arranging beating husband's into giving a Get has been widely known and discussed in the frum community for well over 20 years.
ReplyDeleteHas not gone to jury yet so I would have to disagree about proven.
ReplyDeleteHe admitted it.
Goldstein ...families are innocent.
Do you mean his two sons arrested in this sting? How many times did he receive messages from Rav Elyashiv to stop writing these worthless, fraudulent papers he called a "get"?
Stimler
Who paid Nat Lewin to defend Stimler? Did Stimler agree that he was wrong, or compounded the chilul Hashem by insisting he was halachicly "correct", through the use of a high priced attorney?
Still, I do not know enough about the halloween-masked "witness".
“Take a right turn and let him die,” Epstein can be heard telling an undercover FBI agent.
ReplyDeleteQuite shocking. A short and slippery slope to retzichah.
These quotes are stated regarding the rosh hamishpacha -- the father being מתרה the אנשח ביתו. It does not say that the אנשי ביתו are expected to be מתרה the rosh hamishpacha.
ReplyDeleteStahl said prosecutors failed to produce evidence of a cattle prod, a baseball bat, plastic zip ties, handcuffs and other implements the defendants allegedly used on the men.
ReplyDelete"Where are they?" Stahl asked jurors. "The government wants you to believe that every time one of these (beatings) happens, that it must be Rabbi Mendel Epstein and his crew."
All fine and dandy. And where is the macaroni crony husband? You show me the Husband, I will show you the Prod, tapes, cuffs, and the whole KlaperGezeig. You must understand the mechanics and dynamics of a STING . By the time you hear the Bee Buzzing, you are already stung. It operates like a Stealth Bomber, in a blink of an eye it's over, and you never get to see the stingy thingy in real time. As an Attorney, you should also know that when admitting to a crime and testifying that you wore the Criminal hat, as they say the hat is burning on the Gonnifs head. Is the Prod still missing?
"It does not say that the אנשי ביתו are expected to be מתרה the rosh hamishpacha."
ReplyDeleteAnd, from where do you know this? A מקןר, please.
Defense: Rabbi exaggerating about tasers, kidnapping
ReplyDeletehttp://www.app.com/story/news/local/jackson-lakewood/lakewood/2015/04/14/rabbi-kidnapping-trial/25775777/
TRENTON – The federal kidnapping case against the Lakewood rabbi dubbed "The Prodfather" lacks a critical piece of evidence, his attorney told the jury Tuesday: an actual cattle prod...
In his closing statement, Stahl suggested that the 69-year-old rabbi was "puffing and exaggerating" when he talked to undercover FBI agents about abducting, beating and tasering Jewish men in the testicles until they agreed to grant their wives divorces.
Stahl said his client only meant to reassure someone he believed to be a "desperate" wife who was counting on the rabbi to pressure her husband into providing her with a get, the document that proves a marriage has been dissolved under Jewish law.
"He's now telling her, 'Don't worry, we're going to get you through this,'" Stahl said.
Stahl acknowledged that Epstein may have committed other crimes, such as extortion — which he isn't charged with — but not kidnapping.
"The rabbi was involved in something intended to scare, to pressure somebody to follow through, to grant their wife a divorce," Stahl said.
"It's about holding these husbands until the process of getting a get is done, but I would suggest to you it's not a kidnapping."
...
Lakewood rabbi exaggerated force used to get divorces from husbands, attorney says
http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2015/04/lakewood_rabbi_exaggerated_the_force_used_in_getti.html
TRENTON — Rabbi Mendel Epstein engaged in puffery and exaggerations when he talked about torturing husbands to extract divorces from them but he was not involved in a federal kidnapping scheme, his attorney told jurors on Tuesday.
As the federal kidnapping and conspiracy trial of the Lakewood religious leader winds down, defense attorneys are summing up two months of testimony that federal prosecutors argued on Monday shows Epstein and three others employed criminal practices to get those divorces.
"A crime may have been committed here, but it wasn't federal kidnapping," said Epstein's attorney, Robert Stahl. "We all know what the goal of what happened here was."
Stahl said Epstein was "puffing" to put at ease a woman who told him she was desperate for a divorce in order to start a new life. That woman was actually an undercover FBI agent.
...
These quotes are stated regarding the rosh hamishpacha -- the father
ReplyDeleteIt is a Gemara in :שבת דף נד. It seems as if anyone who can have an influence upon someone to prevent them from sinning, and does not, is guilty as well. The Ramabam clearly understood it this way and paskened this way.
http://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%91%22%D7%9D_%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%93%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%95_%D7%96
It is a Gemara in :שבת דף נד.
ReplyDeleteThe Rashi and Rambam are speaking about the general חיוב of תוכחה. Of course I agree that there is an obligation of תוכחה.That's the second line in the Gemara in Shabbos. The first line, the one you cited, is about the head of the household. I'm nitpicking, kinda, but that was my point.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, so far as I recall, the חיוב of תוכחה is only where there's a possibility the person will listen. It's quite possible the family of these people knew they would not be listened to, and that's why they said nothing. This seems very likely to me.
It's also altogether possible that they were מוכיח, and were ignored. That's also a likely scenario. There are many people who do not accept reproof, and feel they always know best. No one here can be certain about what happened in the privacy of their homes. I don't see how people feel comfortable being מאשים the families on the basis of mere supposition.
A person to whom a few bucks is valuable enough for him to create mamzeirim and have people be over chavei misssah thousands, and thousands of times is a person who is willing to kill others as well.
ReplyDeleteעל חייו לא חס, על חיי חבירו לא כל שכן
Can we even give him a תינוק שנשבה בין הגויים excuse - he was a rabbi? He probably probably justified himself to himself with the idea that since Bies Din can also paken chayav missah on a person... and he was a "beis din", so voilà.
Interesting,
ReplyDeletethe role of puffery and exaggeration---they deserve each other: Mendel Epstein
et al and the women Agunah International---to torture the men and the women to
pay.
Let me quote משלי:
ReplyDelete“A passerby who gets embroiled in
someone else’s quarrel Is like one who seizes a dog by its ears. Like a madman
scattering deadly firebrands, arrows, Is one who cheats his fellow and says, “I
was only joking.” For lack of wood a fire goes out, And without a querulous man
contention is stilled. Charcoal for embers and wood for a fire And a
contentious man for kindling strife. The words of a querulous man are bruising;
They penetrate one’s inmost parts” (Proverbs 26:17-22).
משלי כ"ו י"ז-כ"ב
מַחֲזִ֥יק בְּאָזְנֵי כָ֑לֶב עֹבֵ֥ר מִ֝תְעַבֵּ֗ר
עַל רִ֥יב לֹּֽא־לֽוֹ.
כְּֽמִתְלַהְלֵהַּ הַיֹּרֶ֥ה זִקִּ֗ים חִצִּ֥ים
וָמָֽוֶת. כֵּֽן אִ֭ישׁ רִמָּ֣ה אֶת רֵעֵ֑הוּ וְ֝אָמַ֗ר הֲֽלֹא מְשַׂחֵ֥ק אָֽנִי. בְּאֶ֣פֶס
עֵ֭צִים תִּכְבֶּה אֵ֑שׁ וּבְאֵ֥ין נִ֝רְגָּ֗ן יִשְׁתֹּ֥ק מָדֽוֹן. פֶּחָ֣ם לְ֭גֶחָלִים
וְעֵצִ֣ים לְאֵ֑שׁ וְאִ֥ישׁ מדונים מִ֝דְיָנִ֗ים לְחַרְחַר רִֽיב. דִּבְרֵ֣י נִ֭רְגָּן
כְּמִֽתְלַהֲמִ֑ים וְ֝הֵ֗ם יָרְד֥וּ חַדְרֵי בָֽטֶן.
No one here can be certain about what happened in the privacy of their homes. I don't see how people feel comfortable being מאשים the families on the basis of mere supposition.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. It is possible that he used to see them crying bitterly over the destruction he was causing - yet he continued doing it. I don't know. However, we cannot be asked to have sympathy on these thugs because their family may be hurt. Now they won't have to cry over the horrible sins he was transgressing.
Either way, it was an answer to those asking for sympathy to a man who has not admitted that he was wrong - and still insists that he was correct.
Epstein originally claimed this Kedas Moshe veYisrael beezwax, so is "Kivan sheHigid eino chozer umagid", under the religious hat . More so, when he was selling his brutality about the prodding, he reasoned that 1) if it can move a bull of 5 Tons, it can certainly move the reluctant husband, 2) it doesn't leave marks, 3) he even gave a name of another victim that has been so prodded, was that victim also an exaggeration. BTW, why not claim that the prosecutor couldn't produce the husband either, let alone a get, and they went to the garage only to have their vans fixed. And so it goes on and on. Haven't the pleading deal clowns admitted the these cronies were the same gang and goon squad that couldn't shoot straight.
ReplyDeleteNo, just a money-hungry, dishonest guy.
ReplyDeleteThe families deserve sympathy. I saw some dumbbell comment with a wish for them and their families to be destroyed (or words to that effect).
ReplyDelete