“No Jewboy In Borough Park Ever Builds Legal”

Using loopholes in New York's real estate law (that allowed a reporter to transfer ownership of the Empire State building to himself citing Fay Wray as a witness and bank robber Willie Sutton as notary), a haredi man, Rabbi Benjamin Herbst, has apparently tried to steal several properties. One of them is a midtown Manhattan office building. Another is the home of an elderly retiree.

Rabbi Benjamin Herbst

The New York Observer has a piece on Benjamin Herbst. Here's a very brief excerpt:

…In 2005, a man named Enrico Mancini died in Brooklyn. He was 98 years old and had been ill for quite some time. He had outlived his wife as well as his only child. Mr. Mancini had come to Borough Park from Italy in the 1950s. There is a decades-old picture of him in court documents, standing in front of his house, 5017 17th Avenue—the one that is now in ruins. He had his arm around Mrs. Mancini in the picture: Proud immigrants who had found a foothold in the land of opportunity.

When Mr. Mancini died, the house and the rest of his estate passed into the control of one of his only remaining relatives, his daughter-in-law, Serafina Mancini, who, at the time, was in her 70s. Thinking 5017 17th Avenue seemed like an ideal place to spend her golden years, she made plans to move in. But when she arrived, she received a rude welcome from Mr.

Herbst, who announced that she was trespassing. To her shock, construction work had begun on the home. Mr. Herbst was in the midst of a full-blown project to integrate 5017 17th Avenue with his palatial house next door, 5019-5021 17th Avenue. It was as if one house were reaching out and grabbing its neighbor, the beams encircling the adjacent residence like tentacles.…

Mr. Herbst gestured at the surrounding neighborhood, where many of the homes appear to fall on the far side of what is probably permitted by code.

“Are you kidding?” he said. “No Jew-boy in Borough Park ever builds legal.”

In October 2011, Herbst's alleged attempt to seal a midtown office building made real estate news in Manhattan, as did his alleged attempts to steal other properties.

Related Post: Lawsuits Pile Up Against Haredi Rabbi Accused Of Real Estate Fraud.

Comments

[anuran]

The man is scum. There has to be a way to toss his worthless hide in jail for doing this.

And "No Jew-boy in Borough Park ever builds legal"? If you want to do something about anti-Semitism don't daven. Try obeying the law and have nothing to do with other Jews who break it.

[OTD & Shmad]

As an OTDer and a shmad one of the reasons why i can't take kasharut seriously is that the jews believe that if you commit a crime you should still eat kosher food.

Should a scumbag as Benjamin Herbst even be allowed to keep kosher? Will keeping kosher save this guy in the afterlife? In my opinion the answers are no and no.

[Lubavitchers are Christians]

Scum

[Sol.]

Shi face, gevaldig!!!!!!!

[David]

Whilst the frumma are not the only ones to exploit loopholes they are certainly masters at it because much of their Toyreh "learning" is about finding loopholes for various prohibitions.

[Robert Wisler]

Didn't Mrs. Mancini have any legal recourse against this guy?

[Flatbusher]

He is a Hassid of the (in)famous Munkatcher Rebbe from whom he learned... the laws of Real Estate...

[Dovy]

My father had to deal with Munkatchers once (after they sold him phony airline tickets and then cancelled the flight the day it was supposed to depart). They are the lowest of the low -- even lower than Satmar.

[Litvish]

This is from The New York Observer.

Nice that now the entire world will see an orthodox Jew bragging about how he and others commit crimes.

This guy is shameless.

Does he still davven at his local shul?

Is he part of a minyan?

Is he a pillar of his community?

Are they angry or just laughing?

[seymour]

Posted by: Litvish | April 23, 2012 at 05:28 PM

my guess would be yes

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

These charedi/chassid rashaim don't have any remorse committing even the lewdest acts;after all,it just takes a white chicken to be swinged over their sick heads on erev Yom Kippur and their sins are erased!No need for teshuvah or saying people useless words like :"I'm sorry."

[jancsibacsi]

This is unbeleivable my neighbor another hassidishe guy told me about him that he was a neighbor of his for years and he stole this house this was 2 years ago he also told me that this guy is so good at what he does that no one can beat him even lawyers he outsmarts i hope this time they can get him good .

[Flatbusher]

He will never do a day in jail just like his Rebbe. He knows the system cold, bribes the right people and you can yell chai vkayim. Es vet goornish helfen.

This is so sickening, even worse than any crime I've read in years. To steal from an old non Jewish neighbor. What Chilul Hashem! For years they will show him as a poster boy for all religious (or non religious for that matter) Jews! He can be the fuse lighting the bomb of Anti Semitism!

[jancsibacsi]

Flatbusher -I see you are familiar with his workings thats what i heard about him also that he is briliant in getting out of trouble
better then lawyers ,i doubt it that this time he will extricate himself from the hole he dug himself

[lionking]

he must be a pillar of tzedoka to munkatch

[nachos]

It's people like him that make me tell people I am no longer Jewish.

[Danny]

Of course now that he's an alleged fraudster Shmarya has crowned him with the title "Rabbi".
Read the original article guys, I haven't such a poorly written article in a while.
If half of the article is true , then the only way this guy is not in jail is because of an incompetent blind deaf judge. Obviously, it's not as clear to the court as it is to us geniouses that he's a fraudster.

[Emanuel]

Was this by adverse possession? Otherwise, a title study may bring some light as to the true chain of conveyance on the property and see what view the state follows if it is a race statute, notice statute, or race-notice statute. If there was actual notice, inquiry notice constructive notice. does the county uses a grantor-grantee method to register conveyances or a track index.

The problem with property law is that it does have loopholes that are costly to litigate as well. Best luck to this woman.

[Chaya Ruchy G.]

Related to Herschel, Anshil, and Binyomin (son of Herschel) Herbst?

[ultra haredi lite]

Terrible.

[MARK MEYER]

MR HERBST IS A DISGRACE TO HIS FAMILY

[Litvish]

Danny

There is a long history of this man forging deeds and stealing property. Shmarya is the messenger of this info which has been published in the Real Estate News and many other local publications.

As for being a rabbi, here is what Herbst told the Real Estate News:

“I’m a rabbi and I have taken a vow of poverty,” Herbst said, insisting that he had no desire for profit and no motive to commit fraud.

Under this article, which is a direct quote from The New York Observer, are many more links to similar articles that Shamarya has found for us that document his history.

Why not read them before you write a comment?

[5]

OTD & Shmad
boohoo
your not doin any1 a favor by not eating kosher, nbody gives a shit
nobodys giving din vcheshbon 4 u

[Tangerine]

Scum of the scum

[Fact]

OK I'm waiting to hear about all the (private) Chesed he does for the Community.

[reuven s]

his brother worked at a midtown lighting company 15 years ago and stole hundreds of thou from the owner...no surprise

[reuven s]

seems like his friend Leib Pinter of olympia mortgage fraud did a mortgage for him as well...maybe he can visit him upstate for a while

[וכל החושבים עלי רעה מהרה הפר עצתם וקלקל מחשבותם]

all you jew haters
when you need for shabbes go to the mancini family.

and you rabbi good luck
וכל החושבים עלי רעה מהרה הפר עצתם וקלקל מחשבותם

[heshyfriedman]

I don't know this guy but I do know the Italions living in and around Boro park were highly anti semitic. The young Italions especially would attack Jews who at the time were mostly orthodox but not chareidi. I have no mercy on these italions and kol hakovod for any Jew that acts like shimshon hagibur and extracts revenge. In the seventies there were numerous Italion anti semitic attacks from the throwing of eggs each friday night to more vicious acts. It was only in the eighties and more chassidim moved in and if Italion punks drove by and started some trouble,the chassidim turned over the Italions car and the reputation went out that certain very Jewish areas are dangerous to mess with Jews. I gloat when these old neo nazi Italions suffer from yidden. Revenge is sweet.

[Jake]

In the 70s the Italians ensured certain neighborhoods would not have white flight.
My MO Yeshiva HS principle who was also the Rabbi of one of the largest Syrian Synagogues in NY shared a story with us.

Two well dressed Italian men came to visit him one night. They enquirered if so and so was his congregant. The rabbi answered and was informed that if the congregant sold his home to the black family that was interested in buying it, the congregant will not live to enjoy the money from the sale. The rabbi was specifically told that they could sell to Jews Italian and Irish Just no people of color.

No excuses for the guy in this article heis a ....

That being said from what' i know building in Brooklyn the whole system
is corrupt. From many of the Jews doing the deals to contractors,city inspectors etc. Not a place to invest if you want to be honest.

[ah-pee-chorus]

I gloat when these old neo nazi Italions suffer from yidden. Revenge is sweet.

Posted by: heshyfriedman |

isnt collective guilt great?!!

i'm sure there were some jews in europe who screwed some germans at one time or another so the holocaust must have been fair revenge.

[jancsibacsi]

heshyfriedman-You act like a brain damaged retard stupid as stupid can be.

[Bill Willians]

Perhaps with scum such as heshyfriedman and his ilk in the world, Der Sturmer had a point.

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

Now it is adamantly clear:heshyfriedman is W4M and he is a troll!He made the mistake to be way too extreme in his wording.It just doesn't sound real;it sounds for what it is:a provocation and a taunt.The nasty freak (who I guess in real life is religious like Hugh Hefner)enjoys himself tremendously playing the part of the uber-religious/puritan bigot which he is not,thus provoking our anger.I guess he is a 50 year old totally secular and well learned guy(and not that illitterate imbecile he so carefully plays) whose hobby is laughing his bollocks off at our expense.

[reuven s]

muncrotch not munkatch!

[BP]

Herbst is an extreme, disgusting, scoundrel of a disgrace, and he doesn't represent all Borough Park Jews.

[Ashamed]

If only you people would do your homework you would see he doesn't daven in munkatch and hasn't in like twenty years and he doesn't support them either o leave munkatch out of it! And just or further notice if anyone does a crooked thing doesn't mean his rabbi has to be badmouthed with them

[Sol]

After reading all the above I would like to hear the other side of the story.
I only know him by face and I don't think Mr Herbst is a Rabbi. My gut tells me that he kissed up or was kind to his old neighbor and got the house as a gift and the only family member woke up a min too late, I can almost bet Mrs Mancini didn't show her face from Zos Chanuka to Chrismas while Mr Herbst did what he had to do.

[Elly Bromberg]

(Posted under my full name, to satisfy Shmarya)

This guy may be a scoundrel, but the problem (in more moderate forms) is a general one.

The FIRST question one gets asked when they go to shamayim: Did you conduct your business affairs *faithfully*?

(another three questions will follow).

Why "faithfully"? Because a yid who truly believes that hashem (and hashem alone) decides what he will and won't earn, won't be tempted to cheat. Not on tax, not on welfare benefits, not on pell grants, and not in any other way. He understands full well that he will, in the ultimate scheme of things, get nowhere. This is an area with needs a lot of work, I feel. If there is one area where jews have a rep of getting in trouble with the law, it's white-collar crime. :-( How tragic. WHat a chillul hashem (the dishonest behaviour, not the publicity!).

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

Elly Bromberg,unfortunately charedim don't worship/are afraid of Hashem;their "deity"is their rebbe.He alone they worship and to his words alone they obey!

[Hashem Yerachim]

This looks to be the Jamy they call the legal profesor who has saved thousands of families from loosing their house to foreclosure.


This is the benny who runs programs for wayward boys who run away from home.

[Alan Davidoff]

This is amazing entertainment