Neil Rosenstein, the noted Orthodox Elizabeth, NJ surgeon, genealogist and author, has been arrested for possession of child pornography. 1010 WINS reports:
…In a related story, a prominent Elizabeth surgeon and published author was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography after federal agents found hundreds of pornographic movies and photos involving children on his home computer, authorities said.
Neil Rosenstein, 62, author of "The Unbroken Chain" and founder of the Jewish Genealogical Society of New York, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday and made an initial appearance in federal court in Newark. He posted bail later that day
Rosenstein's home computer was seized from an attic office on July 24 by ICE agents and searched for pornographic material. Among the files found were videos allegedly showing explicit sexual acts between adult men and children, according to a criminal complaint against him.
If convicted of possessing child pornography, he could face up to five years in federal prison, ICE Deputy Special Agent in Charge Thomas Manifase said.
Neil Rosenstein was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1944. He studied medicine at the University of Cape Town and interned in Israel. He specialized in surgery at the Mt. Sinai hospitals in Cleveland and New York City, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, New Jersey.
As a result of over four decades of investigative study of rare books and manuscripts, trips to libraries and cemeteries, travel and correspondence, Dr. Rosenstein has accumulated a vast matrix of material on Jewish genealogy, especially in the field of rabbinical dynasties for which he has become world famous. His research has included travel in South Africa, Israel, U.S.A., Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, England, Italy, and France.
He founded the Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc. (New York) in 1977, first located in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and is also the founder and director of the Computer Center for Jewish Genealogy.
Dr. Rosenstein is the author of many works on Jewish Genealogy, his magnum opus being The Unbroken Chain, first published as a single volume in 1976. An expanded two-volume second edition was published in 1990. Other noted works include Saul Wahl, The Grandees of New Jersey, The Lurie Legacy: The House of Davidic Royal Descent, Avnei Zikaron (Stones of Remembrance), The Gaon of Vilna and his Cousinhood, and Latter Day Leaders, Sages and Scholars. He has produced a CD-ROM with the indexed obituaries of the first-ever Hebrew weekly, HaMagid, which was in print from 1856 to 1903. In addition, he is contributor of articles to various Jewish genealogical publications and The Jewish Press. He lectures frequently and has spoken many times to various Jewish genealogical societies, in the United States and abroad, as well as at the International Seminars for Jewish Genealogy and the annual National Summer Seminars. His biography is included in Who's Who in World Jewry (1987) and is listed in Marquis' Who's Who in America (from 1997 onwards).
Dr. Rosenstein continues to both practice medicine and conduct genealogical research. He and his wife, Mavis, live in Elizabeth, New Jersey. They have five sons and 13 grandchildren.