Former New York Governor David Paterson allegedly told an anti-child-sex-abuse activist that New York State's former Inspector General Joseph Fisch "corrupted" Brooklyn D.A. Charles J. Hynes years ago by convincing Hynes that it is wrong to put Orthodox and haredi Jews in prison.
Brooklyn D.A. Charles J. Hynes, right, with an unidentified haredi rabbi in 1994
Mark Meir Appel of the Voice of Justice was on Zev Brenner's Talkline radio show last night.
Appel has served on the New York City Mayoral Mental Health Advisory Board and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation Mayoral Advisory Board and was appointed to those positions by New York City Mayors Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg.
Appel said that he happened to meet David Paterson when Paterson was governor of New York. He asked Paterson what was going on with Brooklyn D.A. Charles J. Hynes in light of his clear mishandling of haredi child sex abuse cases.
According to Appel, Paterson told him that the now-former Inspector General of the State of New York Joseph Fisch had corrupted Hynes by convincing him that Orthodox and haredi Jews shouldn't be prosecuted.
You can listen to Appel making the claim about Paterson, Hynes and Fisch by clicking the gray bar below. The exchange lasts for about 10 minutes.
Mark Meir Appel Zev Brenner Hynes Corrupt Paterson Said
Fisch is a long-time Chabad supporter who is the Honorary president of its National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCJFE).
When Fisch was appointed as a judge in June of 1990, the then-head of the NCJFE Rabbi J.J. Hecht brought Fisch to Chabad-Lubavitch's Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
(The exact date of the brief meeting, which took place during "dollars" – the Rebbe's customary distribution of a charity dollar to all comers who were then expected to add some money, hopefully a lot of money, to that dollar and give it to charity – was July 1, 1990. A video of that brief meeting is posted below.)
The Rebbe told Fisch that he should "judge all the people according to the right law…that all your judgements will only be in a preventative manner – not to punish someone."
Fisch responded that, "You know Rebbe, that in my courtroom, im yirtzah Hashem [God willing], the inspiration of Lubavitch will always be present."
The Rebbe replied, "That is the inspiration of God Almighty, I am only the transmitter trying to transmit without any changes."
Fisch went on to become the Inspector General of the State of New York.
Fisch is very close to the Chabad Hecht family – including J.J. Hecht's son Rabbi Shea Hecht – and is unlikely he would have spoken to Hynes and advocated going light on haredi pedophiles and other haredi criminals unless the Hecht's, based on the Rebbe's instructions, encouraged him to do so.
Appel also said that Hynes special assistant who deals with haredi issues, Henna White, who is a Chabad follower, does the intake on all haredi victims of child sex abuse (and related crimes) brought to the D.A. through his Kol Tzedek program, even though activists had asked that a trained police officer or prosecutor handle that task. "And these cases get whitewashed – they disappear," Appel said.