Chabad and haredim claim Sholom Rubashkin was singled out and that the government's prosecution of him and his resulting 27 year sentence is bigotry if not outright antisemitism. This, they say, is why they have chosen to act on Rubashkin's behalf. But is it true?
Chabad and haredim claim Sholom Rubashkin was singled out and that the government's prosecution of him and his resulting 27 year sentence is bigotry if not outright antisemitism. This, they say, is why they have chosen to act on Rubashkin's behalf.
Chabad and haredim make that claim based on the sometimes stated and often implied claim that no one else has been treated like Rubashkin, and that Rubashkin's sentence is unique.
But it isn't.
Worse yet, Chabad and haredim are not helping these other "victims" of the government's "bigotry" and/or "antisemitism."
For example, here's the case of a man getting, in effect, far more than a life sentence for crimes similar to Rubashkin's financial crimes.
Here's a quick comparison of the two cases:
The man was charged with 15 fraud-related counts. Rubashkin was charged with 86.
The man stole much more money than Rubashkin, but he's also 27 years older and has a heart condition. Rubashkin is healthy.
The man's life expectancy is 5 years. Rubashkin's is close to 30.
The government wants the man sentenced to 19 1/2 to 24 years in prison – an effective life sentence.
Prosecutors wanted Rubashkin sentenced to 22 to 30 years in prison – a long term to be sure but a term that is less than his life expectancy.
Both sentences follow the US sentencing guidelines.
Rubashkin was sentenced to 25 years plus two more for perjuring himself in court. If Rubashkin serves his entire term, he'll be 77 years old at his release – the same age this other man is now, five days before he is to be sentenced.
Chabad and haredim have not advocated for this man. They have not screamed that he is being unduly punished. They haven't said, screamed or implied antisemitism as they have with Rubashkin.
The man is not isolated somewhere with few Jews. He lives in South Florida and was tried in Manhattan.
And the man is Jewish.
I can't find any record of Chabad or haredim advocating for him in any way.
Here's is Arthur Nadel's story:
U.S. prosecutors seek 19-24 years for elderly 'mini-Madoff'
Arthur Nadel, 77, was to be sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in New York for the multimillion dollar fraud he admitted to in February, but the judge postponed the proceeding until Oct. 21.
(Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors say Arthur Nadel, the elderly former Florida fund manager dubbed
"mini-Madoff," should serve at least 19-1/2 years in prison, describing him as "a con man dressed up as a kind, old soul."
Nadel, 77, was to be sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in New York for the multimillion dollar fraud he admitted to in February, but the judge postponed the proceeding until Oct. 21.
Prosecutors noted in a court document that Nadel committed his crimes from the time he was 66 years old to 76 years old, "an age when most people slow down and consider retirement."
The government asked the judge to sentence Nadel to between
19-1/2 years and 24 years and five months and reject Nadel's plea that he not be sentenced to die in prison.
Notorious swindler Bernard Madoff, 72, who was arrested in December 2008 for an investment fraud estimated in the tens of billions of dollars, is serving a 150-year term.
Nadel pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme, one in which early investors are paid with money from new clients. The Sarasota-based fund manager obtained more than $300 million from investors across the United States in managing six different funds.
"Nadel used his old age and frail appearance as a weapon to deceive others into believing he was experienced, wise, kind and trustworthy," prosecutors said."He was a con man dressed up as a kind, old soul."
Nadel defrauded hundreds of investors of approximately e168 million between January 1999 and January 2009, claiming to investors that he was an attorney and a successful trader. Prosecutors said Nadel used client money to support his lifestyle, and to invest in real estate and his wife's flower shop.
The scheme crashed with the declining economy in 2008 when more investors demanded redemptions, similar to the fate of Madoff's scheme.
According to court papers, Nadel's partners insisted on an independent auditor for the funds following Madoff's arrest and one was hired on Jan. 13, 2009. The next day, Nadel fled.
He disappeared for two weeks before his arrest.
Nadel's lawyers said in court papers that their client has already spent 20 months in custody, and that his age and heart condition give him a life expectancy of just five years.
The case is USA v Nadel, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 09-433.
Update 10:10 pm CDT – Seymour noticed another case in today's New York Post. The criminal is not Jewish, and he faces more than 30 years in prison after agreeing to a plea bargain. Rubashkin refused two plea bargains. The second one would have seen Rubashkin sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Here's the case:
Developer admits $92M fraud
By MITCHEL MADDUX • New York Post
A city real-estate developer yesterday pleaded guilty to masterminding a $92 million mortgage-fraud scheme.
Thomas Kontogiannis, 61, admitted in Brooklyn federal court that he bought land parcels in Brooklyn and Queens from 2001 to 2003, subdivided the properties, and obtained bogus appraisals to use on loan applications.
Straw buyers then applied for mortgages and took out multiple loans on the same properties, using mortgage and title companies also involved in the scheme, prosecutors said.
Kontogiannis faces more than 30 years behind bars under a plea agreement federal prosecutors.