Rabbis Indicted for Money Laundering

The latest scandal to hit the Jewish community is really hard to swallow! The NYT reports that 5 Rabbis including Rabbi Kassin, an 87 yr old Rabbi of Shaare Zion and one of the leading Rabbis of the Syrian Jewish community, has been indicted by the FBI on allegations of money laundering through charitable organizations. This unfortunately reminds me of the recent the case in which the Spinka Rebbe pleaded guilty to similar charges and is looking at 5 yrs. in prison. We hope these allegations prove to be false but what a devestating effect this has on Jews to see Rabbis in the news like this. This should strengthen our resolve moving into the month of ellul to be more diligent about following halacha in regards to our business dealings. In this merit we should all have much success and merit to see the geulah real soon.

Spinka Rebbe Pleads NOT GUILTY!

They may look guilty but they are not pleading guilty. Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Weisz and five other members of the New York City-based Spinka sect pleaded not guilty to U.S. federal charges Monday that they arranged and profited from accepting inflated charitable donations that saved the donors millions of dollars in federal income taxes.

Spinka Rebbe: Free on $2 Million Bond....

The Spinka Rebbe who was indicted with 5 others for tax fraud and money laundering had his bail set at $2 million and is currently out on bail. The arraignment of the six defendants named in the indictment is scheduled for Dec. 31. One of the defendants, Joseph Roth, the assistant manager of the Israel-based Mizrahi Bank had his bail set at 1.9 million by U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Hillman but the Judge then delayed granting bail until the government could appeal his decision. Roth will have to remain in federal custody until at least Jan. 4, pending the district judge's decision on Hillman's ruling.