Secret Tape In Lebovits And Kellner Trials Allegedly “Goes Missing” From D.A.’s Office

A secretly recorded tape of alleged hasidic serial pedophile Rabbi Baruch Lebovits making incriminating statements to one of his victims appears to have “gone missing” from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office just as Lebovits is allegedly about to get a sweetheart plea deal from Brooklyn's outgoing D.A. Charles J. Hynes.

Rabbi Baruch Lebovits

Secret Tape In Lebovits And Kellner Trials Allegedly “Goes Missing” From D.A.’s Office
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

A secretly recorded tape of alleged hasidic serial pedophile Rabbi Baruch Lebovits making incriminating statements to one of his victims appears to have “gone missing” from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office just as Lebovits is allegedly about to get a sweetheart plea deal from Brooklyn's outgoing D.A. Charles J. Hynes, Hella Winston reported in The Jewish Week.

Last week, the prosecutors on the case against Samuel Kellner, the father of an alleged Lebovits victim who was accused by the D.A. of extorting Lebovits’ family, wanted to dismiss the case against Kellner due to lack of evidence.

The D.A.’s Rackets Bureau Chief Michael Vecchione expelled them from his bureau and, with help of D.A. Charles J. Hynes, demoted them.

Still, the evidence against Kellner has crumbled, with most of the key parts shown to be based on what appears to be perjured and illegally induced testimony and on a blatant mistranslation of a secret Yiddish language tape make by a member of the Lebovits family that purportedly recorded Kellner extorting the family.

Vecchione – who has been excoriated by judges over the withholding of evidence from defendants and what appears to be illegally coerced testimony – “believes there is a case” against Kellner, the D.A.’s spokesman reportedly said.

But the A.D.A. who appeared in court earlier this week knew nothing about the case at all and simply asked for and received a postponement to early January – after Hynes is out of office.

Kellner’s case has languished for years with delay after delay after delay being asked for – the vast majority by the D.A.

Kellner’s lawyers excoriated the D.A.’s office for “playing games” with the court.

As they have done several times during the past year, they also told the judge they were ready to go to trial immediately.

Meanwhile, Kellner’s lawyers also asked for discovery materials they are entitled to receive under law – including the tape of Lebovits, made under the direction of an NYPD sex crimes detective. On that tape Lebovits apparently admits he sexually abused the boy and instructs the person making that recording to tell the boy to “deny it” if questioned by police.

Prosecutors had previously disclosed a transcript of that tape to Kellner’s attorneys in July as required by law.

Kellner’s attorneys, however, want to hear the tape itself – but the D.A.’s office appears to have ‘lost’ it.

According to the Jewish Week, Kellner’s attorneys also asked for:

• The results of an investigation prosecutors claimed to have undertaken this summer into the relationship between the Lebovits family and Zalmen Ashkenazi. (Ashkenazi is believed by some to have manipulated one of Kellner’s accusers to fabricate allegations against Kellner.)

• Notes taken by a sex crimes assistant district attorney and detective

• Information about two differing versions of the indictment against Kellner were given out to members of the press. (The D.A.’s spokesman has perviously claimed the two radically different indictments were the result of a “computer glitch.”)

• Third party tape recordings of Kellner allegedly delivered to the D.A.’s office. (Prosecutors allegedly previously told Kellner’s attorneys that those tapes have no evidentiary value against their client but did not turn those tapes over.)

The judge reportedly ordered all of this material be “given to the defense in court on November 25,” the Jewish Week reported.

But while Kellner’s actual trial has been delayed yet again by the D.A., Lebovits’ next court date is November 19.

However, sources told The Jewish Week that Lebovits – who was originally sentenced to 10 to 32 years before that conviction was overturned on a technicality that did not directly impact the evidence against him – is likely to get a sweetheart plea deal with little or no jail time.

It is unclear whether the missing tape was ‘lost’ as part of an alleged purge of the D.A.’s office undertaken by top Hynes aides after Hynes lost the Democratic primary to Kenneth Thompson in a landslide two months ago. The alleged purge was first reported on FailedMessiah.com the day after the primary.

Hynes lost the general election to Thompson in a crushing landslide that saw Thompson receiving three out of every four votes cast.

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Comments

[put a square into a hole]

Looks like bussiness as usual. At least in Brooklyn they stand trial, in New Square & Monsey they just get a slap on the wrist. The bigger the crime the bigger the deal. No wonder Turner is laughing all the way to his next victim.....
Baruch Hashem Hynes is on his way out..

[Flatbusher]

1. Hella Winston should be put in for a Pulitzer prize. While Michael Powell of the NY Times and others did some excellent reporting, she has shown NY how journalism honest and fearless looks like. Kudos.

2. Is Brooklyn part of America? Some days I have my doubts. How is this possible? How can a case that for the past year has had the media shine an ongoing searchlight on, which usuall results in more care for evidence stored and on hand, how can this go missing?

If the US Attorney does not come in, as they did in Pine Bush, then perhaps Brooklyn has pulled off a miracle that Jefferson Davis failed to do: They seceded from the Union.

3. Can someone please explain why Hasdic Jews who also believe in TORAH , no? , How can they PROTECT a pedophile?! They should be front and center dragging this POS into the Police Station for being METAMEH innocent Jewish Children! What does the Munkatcher gain by protecting BML, who has molested scores of young boys,and girls including according to the rumors people from the Munkachers family. So why PROTECT such a monster??

[put a square into a hole]

To flatbusher.
Your 100% correct. We live in a CRAZY world.As I wrote before, the only reason the Munkatcher is pushing all this under the rug is out of fear that the boys wont get good shidduchim.

[Account Deleted]

It was so secret, they don't remember where they put it.

[Account Deleted]

@: Flatbusher..I got your answer for Q.3 above...Hassidism is a mental dosrder, that's why.

[dh]

Honestly, Flatbusher, I'm hard pressed to figure what else they do besides this, fight informed consent and every generation or so someone ghost writes a book for one of them which they publish, manufacture and distribute and sell to themselves and their yeshivas, or as I like to call them, concentration camps for the mind. Can someone enlighten me?

They self promote for money and ain't no one gonna come between them and their money, even if that means filling their days with circling the wagons. What else do they do? Do they get up and go to work and spend the evenings with their wives and children? Do they help around the house? Do they look up or from side to side?

[Andrew]

"Forget it Jake, it's Brooklyn."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSz0mEtEsQ

[Sarek]

Gee, this wasn't a plot point on their reality TV show.

[Bas Melech]

Why is anybody surprised that the tape is missing? I wonder if it will miraculously appear, when there's a new DA.

[rebitzman - $101 to read my posts]

@Bas Melech

It will miraculously be found - on top of a pile of magnets.