It's Raining Haredi Kidnap And Torture Ring Victims, Feds Say
“[T]he phone has not stopped ringing” with calls from haredim who claim
they were kidnapped by a haredi-rabbi-led gang of thugs who used
electric cattle prods and other means of torture to coerce recalcitrant
husbands to give their wives Jewish divorces known as "gets."
Rabbi Mendel Epstein
It's Raining Haredi Kidnap And Torture Ring Victims, Feds Say
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
“[T]he phone has not stopped ringing” with calls from haredim who claim they were kidnapped by a haredi-rabbi-led gang of thugs who used electric cattle prods and other means of torture to coerce recalcitrant husbands to give their wives Jewish divorces known as "gets," the New York Post reported.
The US Attorney's office knew about 20 kidnappings allegedly carried out by the gang when 10 of its members were arrested last week. But now that number has apparently grown significantly larger.
“It’s larger than we thought,” Assistant US Attorney Joseph Gribko told a federal court judge earlier this week. “The threats are not just in the past. This is an ongoing business.”
In addition to the $4 million to $5 million bail packages offered alleged ringleaders Rabbi Mendel Epstein and Rabbi Martin "Mordechai" Wolmark, four other gang members were reportedly offered lesser bail packages starting at $500,000.
Four more gang members have not yet had bail hearings.
Epstein and his gang allegedly charged women about $100,000 to kidnap and torture their recalcitrant husbands to force them to give their wives gets.
Prosecutors maintain this was done primarily as a business to make money, and not to fulfil a religious requirement or to help the women.
“Had we been talking about the mob or the Bloods or the Crips, we wouldn’t even be discussing a bond in this case. There’s no difference between them and these other gangs that engage in violent crime,” Gribko reportedly said.
Epstein is also known for using coercive tactics against women in certain divorce situations.
“Everybody knew very well about his activities, which were not always on behalf of women, but sometimes on behalf of husbands. He plays many roles: dayan [{beit din (rabbinic court)} judge], toen [lawyer in beit din proceedings] and vigilante[,] Rivka Haut, co-founder of the advocacy group Agunah, Inc, told the Jewish Week.
[Hat Tip: Devorah.]
Prosecutors should be careful. I don't doubt that there are a lot more victims out there, but some of this smells like people trolling for civil lawsuit damages.
Posted by: ezra | October 17, 2013 at 11:42 AM
I wonder how many of these gets are kosher. Some of these women may find that the deal they made with the devil may still render them married.
Ezra, you are probably right about trolls trying to capitalize on the lawsuits.
Posted by: Bas Melech | October 17, 2013 at 11:57 AM
I tend to beleive those who say they were victims of theese rebbes,since they have to prove their case why would they go through such hardships,they know if they have no proof then they are denied any monies.
Posted by: jancsibacsi | October 17, 2013 at 12:16 PM
Epstein did not discriminate against non-Hareidim when directing violence against the husbands. He was an equal-opportunity-beater.
Posted by: Moe | October 17, 2013 at 12:19 PM
Shmarya, you wrote, "Epstein and his gang allegedly chared women..." I think you mean charged women. But I understand the Freudian slip, since we're all preoccupied with how he chared men. With the spelling chared being chiefly British, whereas we Americans would spell it charred.
Posted by: Moshe in Israel | October 17, 2013 at 12:19 PM
+++Prosecutors maintain this was done primarily as a business to make money, and not to fulfil a religious requirement or to help the women.+++
that shouldnt matter. give them all life sentences.
Posted by: ah-pee-chorus | October 17, 2013 at 01:02 PM
Apeechorus: What's your problem? Wait and learn all the facts.
Posted by: Yonah Lazar | October 17, 2013 at 01:08 PM
Yonah Lazar --You are such a nice guy on somebody elses pain, there is nothing more to learn here, it is crystal clear who they are and what they did,whats youre problem that you cannot face reality?.
Posted by: jancsibacsi | October 17, 2013 at 01:32 PM
Jan--that's some very tough language. The point I am making is that there needs to be a trial or plea before we write like apeechorus.
Posted by: Yonah Lazar | October 17, 2013 at 01:47 PM
Yonah Lazar --As i wrote before a trial will not reveal anything more then we know its a no brainer, theese rebbes were in it for money ,as the saying goes the love of money is the root of all evil.
Posted by: jancsibacsi | October 17, 2013 at 01:55 PM
Respectfully, I do not agree with you on that point.
Posted by: Yonah Lazar | October 17, 2013 at 02:06 PM
Yonah Lazar --Respectfully i must say you are fooling youreself into beleiving the unbeleivable.
Posted by: jancsibacsi | October 17, 2013 at 02:18 PM
Fine; I just don't believe everything I read. I wait for all the facts. I think critically.
Don't get me wrong, I have a completely different perspective as to Eliyahu Weinstein and others who have plead guilty to their crimes. But I cannot accept anyone's one-sided narrative without considering other angles.
Posted by: Yonah Lazar | October 17, 2013 at 02:24 PM
is anyone surprised?
yonah,
c'mon are you that naive?
Posted by: ruthie | October 17, 2013 at 03:14 PM
"some of this smells like people trolling for civil lawsuit damages"
Yeah - let's immediately assume the victims are opportunists. (sarcasm)
@Yonah Lazar
He is certainly entitled to a trial - and has every right to be treated as innocent until proven guilty, but the bail amount alone is an indication that the case against him is rather strong AND the good rabbi himself has admitted to much of this in FBI Interviews. No one is making much of a leap to judgement here.
Posted by: rebitzman - $101 to read my posts | October 17, 2013 at 03:19 PM
Yonah Lazar -Again you are trying youre best to fool youreself,as i wrote before its no brainer, only if you dont use youre brain you dont see the obvious.
Posted by: jancsibacsi | October 17, 2013 at 03:47 PM
C'mon. The frum community knows what to do and to whom to go in order to "facilitate" get.
"Epstein is also known for using coercive tactics against women in certain divorce situations." But, no description of methods.
Posted by: Bas Melech | October 17, 2013 at 03:49 PM
I understand your persepctive, but I still have some questions that need to be answered, so I await additional information.
Posted by: Yonah Lazar | October 17, 2013 at 05:38 PM
Interesting how an electric cattle prod trumps the prohibition against mesira.
Posted by: Jeff | October 17, 2013 at 07:16 PM
HALACHA AS ACCOMPLICE.
Posted by: Remote control | October 17, 2013 at 07:27 PM
Apologies to the Weather Girls: (It's raining men):
Hi - we're your FBI boys.
And have we got news for you? You've gotta listen:
Get ready all you lonely goons and leave those husbands alon.
The humility is risin - risin
Bais Din's gettin' low - how low
Nu?
According to Failed Messiah - what, Shmarya now?
The clink's the place you'll go - you'd better cut it out.
'cause tonight for the first time - first time
Just about gettin' me sick -gettin' sick
For the first time in history it's gonna start rainin' vics.
Chorus:
It's rainin' vics. Hallelujah
It's rainin' vics - oh shit.
You'd better go out. You'd better let yourself get
The best lawyer you've ever met. It's rainin' vics.
Hallelujah
It's rainin' vics
"cause of beis din shtick:
Beatings from thugs
Rough and tough and strong and mean.
G-d bless US attorneys
They will not take shit from you.
They took on the heavies
And they did what they had to do.
They fought ev'ry rabbi
They arraigned this guy
So that each and ev'ry felon
Could find a prison guy.
Chorus
I feel Chillul Hashem movin' in about to begin
Hear the verdict, eat water and bread
Rip off the Goyim and gei in dred.
G-d bless US attorneys
They don't take shit from you. . . .
Oy
It's rainin' vics
Yeah.
Humility is risin - humility is risin
Beis Din's gettin' low - it's gettin' low
Low
Low . . .
According to Failed Messiah - according to Reb Shmarya
The clink's the place you'll go
Cause tonight for the first time - first time.
Just about gettin' me sick - gettin' sick
For the first time in history
It's gotta start rainin' vics - it's gotta start rainin' vics.
Chorus to fade out.
Posted by: Yochanan Lavie | October 18, 2013 at 09:50 AM