NY State Disabilities Chaplain Pleads For Mercy For Rabbi Milton Yehoshua Balkany–On Official Stationary

On official stationary bearing the governor's name, the chaplain of the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, Rabbi Moshe Wulliger, calls on judge to show "mercy" when sentencing convicted blackmailer and extortionist Rabbi Milton Yehoshua Balkany – a man who was caught several years ago embezzling $700,000 in federal grant money meant to build classrooms for disabled children.

 

 

Here's a PDF containing 75 pages of letters in support of Balkany:

Download Balkany Support Letters

Comments

[ruthie]

the block vote will be taken under consideration...who are we kidding here people

he's been caught before...everyone knew about balkany...block voting kept him safe.

[ruthie]

o.k. i read all the letters.
he was a fine jew; kind.
but he was a little bit of a bullshit artist too.
and a fine criminal...very good one.

i don't wish him harm.
i just wish he would have stayed a rabbi not a rabbi and a criminal.
that can confuse simple jews like me. or kill us.

[Ariela]

Is this not an example of conmingling religion and government. What happened to separation of church and state??
I hope that this request is dismissed upon those grounds.
Sneaky bastards!

[yidandahalf]

What can you expect? As they say, Game knows Game.

[Hadasah]

Bloomberg News posted his sentence.

[eli]

I read some of the support letters. They obviously came from the heart and expressed people's personal feelings and what he had done for them. It is rather crass on your part to publish what they had written in good faith. This can inhibit others who wish to write in other cases.
I am sure that you will claim that they are in the public domain, but why should you be the one to betray what was written by the people in what they understood was in confidence to the judge.
Shame on you who claims to champion justice and sensitivity

[Shmarya]

I am sure that you will claim that they are in the public domain, but why should you be the one to betray what was written by the people in what they understood was in confidence to the judge.
Shame on you who claims to champion justice and sensitivity

Posted by: eli | February 21, 2011 at 10:59 AM

Idiot.

They are public documents, there is no expectation of privacy and letters like this are regularly quoted and published in the media.

And why should these people be embarrassed?

Don't they believe in what they wrote?

[eli]

Shmarya - there is no need for epithets or derogatory comments. Your response shows an untold arrogance, and certainly not a person who has any sort of sensitivity.
Who said that these people had no expectation of privacy? I am sure that many of them have never written such letters before.
And as for your caustic comment "And why should these people be embarrassed? Don't they believe in what they wrote?"
That is clearly not the issue.
Unfortunately, and here I feel extremely sorry for you, considering people's privacy is just not in your lexicon. Remember, what goes around comes around and when your personal info is splashed around, do not cry foul...

[Shmarya]

Posted by: eli | February 21, 2011 at 12:00 PM

Again, letter like this are ROUTINELY published in the media.

Anyone who doesn't understand that has no one to blame but himself or herself.

As for your threat, I think you should stand in front of a mirror and take a long hard look.

[eli]

Threat? Oo you really need to hone your comprehensions skills. You still don't get it so nothing more needs to be said. Nebech

[tears for shattered souls]

While writing something personal to a judge because of ones desire for some sort of justice to be recognized and served, one does not expect their personal tzorres be made accessible to an entire community with the click of a button.

It's one thing for it to be a public document where someone has to go down to
the courthouse to request the file, but an entirely different matter to be accessible on a popularly read website.

When people are in need, and many were, and Balkany stepped up to offer them assistance, one doesn't necessarily want the entire community to know their personal challenging circumstances.

Have you never learned the different madreigas of tzedaka, for this very reason?

Innocent people who had the unfortunate circumstance to be in need, and now show gratitude to the one who helped them (unlike most in this world), to be publicly embarrrassed by YOU????

How about showing some lifnei meshuras hadin?

[Shmarya]

Posted by: tears for shattered souls | February 21, 2011 at 08:18 PM

How about understanding that people have the absolute right to know, unless a judge seals the record, and that this information has been available on the Internet for years, and that you and the people you seek to protect are ignorant if you don't know this.

You chose to write a letter to help Rabbi Balkany? Good.

But that letter is now a public document. That's the way our court system works.

[eli]

Shmarya, you just seem determined to have your way and have absolutely no sensitivity. Just as you have right to know, as you put it, there is the imperative to be human, understanding and a mensh.

"Shattered souls" explained it again and you just do not get it.
Do you think that it is easy for a person to express their persomal lives and sometimes their paiinful circumsyances to anyone, let alone a judge? But they did it as an act of gratitude, thanks and in the hope that they can help the person who helped them so significantly. Thus, not everything that can be published and accessed should be so.

Your response reminds me of the Mishna in Avos - he who says what's mine is mine and what's yours is yours is an average or regular person - but some say that is the attribute of the people of Sodom, who also claimed that they were acting within the law because they kept to their own and would not help others - rather they let them starve to death...

Shmarya, contemplate, do not rush to respond, and hopefully you will be blessed with understanding and the ability to have compassion.

[eli]

Shmarya,

You are absolutely besotted by your "right to know" It is chilling to see that you have no sympathy for people's plight and the courage that they displayed to write on someone's behalf baring personal details that they would rather have forgotten.

I believe that terrible harm has been done by just splashing it on this blog. Already, and this is fact, not supposition, I have already heard of embarrassment and pain that this has caused in some of the families of those who submitted letters.

You remind me of the mishna in Avos - he who says what's min is mine and what's yours is yours is average, but some say it is the way of the people of Sodom!!! The reason for this is that they would never give food or help claiming that they were being perfectly lawful by claiming that they were lawfully holding on to what rightfully belonged to them - not caring that the beggar was dying before their eyes...

Bottom line: THE LINK TO THE LETTERS SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF IMMEDIATELY and those who are noseyparkers and want to know someone's tzorres should have to make other moves to find out.

[eli]

Shmarya

I posted two responses to your above comment and both times they did not post - are they being excluded by your censorship?

Don't they have a 'right to be published" or the 'right of the public" to see them, or are they just too embarrassing because they show up your callousness in allowing the hurt of innocent people to be flaunted on your blog?

[eli]

Thank you - I see that finally did post and apologize for accusing you of censorship

[Seraphya Berrin]

They are already public.

I really don't know how you can think this is a reasonable criticism.

It is like accusing newspapers of treason for reporting about wikileaks documents after wikileaks already leaked everything.