Thursday, December 20, 2007

Spinka Rebbe Indicted for Tax Fraud!

As if we don't have enough stereotypes the Grand Spinka Rabbi: Naftali Tzvi Weisz, 59, faced some serious today in LA federal court. Among them are, conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering, according to a 37-count indictment returned Tuesday.

Authorities say Weisz helped solicit millions of dollars in contributions to five Spinka charitable groups by promising to secretly refund up to 95 percent of the donations. That way, the contributors could falsely claim higher tax deductions,

In some cases, donors received cash payments through an underground money transfer network involving business owners in Los Angeles' jewelry district, prosecutors said. Contributors also were reimbursed through wire transfers from Spinka-controlled entities into accounts secretly held at a bank in Israel, prosecutors said.

Weisz is from Brooklyn, N.Y., where the charitable organizations are based.

Also indicted were his executive assistant, Moshe E. Zigelman, 60. Six of the seven charged in the case were taken into custody as federal agents conducted searches in Los Angeles and New York on Wednesday morning.

It was unclear whether the defendants had retained attorneys yet.



I hope this is all some kind of mistake but with an indictment that long what are the chances? This should strike some fear into any other organizations trying the same shtick.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

ELIEZER ( LOUIS ) Kestenbaum was also arrested with the rabbi of spinka as being a part of the money laundering team. Kestenbaum is the president of the ODA organization in Williamsburg brooklyn NY

AS said...

Scary stuff

Anonymous said...

no Kestenbaum was arrested in connection with this scheme, looks like you have an agenda, posting lies on innocent people.

Anonymous said...

As the jewish g-d chosen prophets of old said: In the times of moshiach there will be a general matzav of "PNEI HADOR KEPNEI HAKELEV"

WHEN YOU HAVE GOVERNMENT FBI OFFICIALS arresting senior Rebbe's and lehavdill CEO's THAT IS THE EPITOME OF CHUTZPAH..

May g-d send moshiach soon (AND IF NOT ALL THE AFOREMENTIONED PEOPLE SHOULD BE PARDONED AND RELEASE!!)

G-d bless.

Anonymous said...

"WHEN YOU HAVE GOVERNMENT FBI OFFICIALS arresting senior Rebbe's and lehavdill CEO's THAT IS THE EPITOME OF CHUTZPAH.."

??? So if someone is a CEO or a Rebbe they answer to a different set of laws? If they're innocent, they will be released. If they are guilty, they should do the same time anyone else would have to do.

Anonymous said...

I'll tell you whose agenda it is to smear the name of innocent people. It is Aron Teitelbaum, who calls himself "Rabbi of Kiryas Joel", and who wants to call himself the Satmar Rebbe. He has been trying dirty tricks for 8 years to take over the Satmar organization. Nothing he tried has worked–he has lost every fight in court, and now all he can do is throw dirt and try dirty tricks like vandalizing in Shul. In the last years of the life of Aron's father, Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, the Grand Rabbi begged his son to behave and act like a decent person. It was disgusting the way he treated his father in front of other people, acting in a way than no unreligious Jew would dare even in front of a third party. How can anyone call himself a "Rabbi" and act in such a way? We advise him to become a plumber instead of claiming to be a "Rabbi" and a teacher, except that he would be a bad plumber. He is only an expert in MESIRA. For the first time in history someone who says he is a "Rabbi" has spent the past eight years as a MUSER.

Jack Steiner said...

WHEN YOU HAVE GOVERNMENT FBI OFFICIALS arresting senior Rebbe's and lehavdill CEO's THAT IS THE EPITOME OF CHUTZPAH..

If the charges are true they deserve to be punished, regardless of who they are.

Anonymous said...

"If the charges are true they deserve to be punished, regardless of who they are."

Charges are just that When we have a Government out to get what they themselves call "White collar criminals" AND ARE TOTALLY INCOMPETENT OF GETTING REAL Murderers , drug dealers ETC. and other REAL Criminals (Just to mention a few names of recent history: Osama Bin Laden . . Just look @ the FBI's "FEDS" own 10 most wanted list http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/fugitives.htm
most of them commited one or the cardinal sins of the Judeo Christion religions..) and focus somuch attention and energy on traping Peaple who they claim stole $$ (as a real indicator look at a person's lifestyle.. these Rabbis (and perhaps even some CEO's) did not live overly extravigant lives with toys like yachts, private jets, multimillion $$$ gambling addictions.. BUT RATHER SUPPORTED ENTIRE COMMUNITIES OF PEOPLE with schools , food and other grants to there general respective publics..

So then yes i completely stand by my initial statement!

G-d bless.

Anonymous said...

" ??? So if someone is a CEO or a Rebbe they answer to a different set of laws? If they're innocent, they will be released. If they are guilty, they should do the same time anyone else would have to do.
10:37"

"If the charges are true they deserve to be punished, regardless of who they are."

Charges are just that When we have a Government out to get what they themselves call "White collar criminals" AND ARE TOTALLY INCOMPETENT OF GETTING REAL Murderers , drug dealers ETC. and other REAL Criminals (Just to mention a few names of recent history: Osama Bin Laden . . Just look @ the FBI's "FEDS" own 10 most wanted list http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/fugitives.htm
most of them commited one or the cardinal sins of the Judeo Christion religions..) and focus somuch attention and energy on traping Peaple who they claim stole $$ (as a real indicator look at a person's lifestyle.. these Rabbis (and perhaps even some CEO's) did not live overly extravigant lives with toys like yachts, private jets, multimillion $$$ gambling addictions.. BUT RATHER SUPPORTED ENTIRE COMMUNITIES OF PEOPLE with schools , food and other grants to there general respective publics..

So then yes i completely stand by my initial statement!

Anonymous said...

Gentleman...let's get real...thi skind of enterprise requires much forethought and deliberation before one embarks, (on what might cleaverly be called) criminal mischief. However the Government and the Judicial system of the USA look unfavorably on shenanigans that dont give them their cut of the action. The call this theft pure and sinple...Go figure....next time, maybe cut in your local IRS agent in the conspiracy...it will at least delay the inevitable. Cmon who can tell me that a brilliant scholar cannot distinguish between petty white collar financial indiscrestions, and international syndicates involving multiple scenarios and the complicity of numerous co-conspirators. Even if the end result is meritorius,ie. Yeshivot, bywhat right do we have to premeditatively break the obvious laws....do we feel entitled toi an exemption...some sort of "get out of jail free" card from the Abishter. This isnt a game. This is realtime, and the harsh reality is that there's no escaping the strictness of cause and effect. If anyone elses is pulling this shtick then they better check themselves before they wreck themselves, to quote the street, as if this event doesnt reflect crime on the street, just like any other gangster. The Rebbe should have taken an elevated position and trusted in G-ds encompassing mercy to provide for his kinderlach. I'm not disillusioned, mind you, just embarassed.

Anonymous said...

Let me tell you about these "religious" individuals. Many of the contributors to the money schemes live very nicely in places like Hancock Park, California in their million dollar plus homes. They have spent their lives ripping off medical and medicare. In fact, many of them are in the Nursing Home business and have such a bad reputation that the state won't let most of them operate the facilities anymore. I know first hand since I was employed by them. They act miserly with the poor and sick. Their buildings are disgusting and I even had to count disposable diapers for one multi millionaire because he was so cheap. I've been in some of their buildings that were so disgusting that one resident had a cochroach coming out of mouth when I went to give care. These people hide behind their charitable puny offerings to Yeshiva's and schools. They have plagues on walls and are honored and doted over by Rabbi's. I have trouble entering some of these buildings that have their names on them. This is the unfortunate truth about them.