Moshe Gerstein, who attended a day school in Massachusetts and who often served as his Orthodox synagogue's Torah reader, was found dead in Mexico, reports say, apparently a suicide.
Moshe Gerstein, NYC lawyer with Longmeadow ties, dies after authorities charge him with possessing, trading child pornography
Patrick Johnson • The Republican
A New York City corporate lawyer with ties to Longmeadow and Holyoke apparently committed suicide in Mexico, two days after it was announced he was arrested as part of a New York City investigation into an underground network of people who traded pornographic images of children, the Associated Press reported.
Moshe Gerstein, 35, died June 16, according to his obituary that appeared in The Republican on Friday. His funeral was conducted Friday at Ascher-Zimmerman Funeral Home in Springfield.
On June 14, the Manhattan District Attorney's office announced Gerstein was one of 26 people arrested in May as part of a five-month investigation into an extensive network of people in the United State and Canada who regularly traded photographs and videos of children being sexually assaulted over an online file-sharing system. Prosecutors said Gerstein was found to have 5,000 pornographic images of children on his home computers.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. called the images “truly sickening” and that those in the network “traded images of child sexual assault the way others trade baseball cards.”
Gernstein was charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing a sexual performance by a child, according to his indictment, but he had not yet been arraigned on the charges before his death.
Those in the ring ranged in age from 18 to 63 and included drug store workers, a security guard, a building superintendent and a high school student. The charges against them vary, but they generally face charges of promoting or possessing a child sexual performance, which can carry up to seven years in prison.
Gerstein worked for 10 years as a lawyer with the firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in New York City.
He graduated with honors from Yale University and Harvard Law School. He was also a graduate of Heritage Academy and Longmeadow High School.
His obituary notes he was a Hebraic scholar who often conducted services and read the Torah at Congregation Rodphey Sholom in Holyoke.
Associated Press material was used in this report.
Note: Over the past few days, several people tried to get me to post on Gerstein's death. I've been waiting for the US Attorney to confirm the death. But as more media reports are published, I've decided to post. How Gerstein was able to leave the US is an open question.