Disgraced former Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty CEO William Rapfogel allegedly stole millions from the Met Council in a conspiracy with the Breslov hasid-run Century Coverage insurance agency. The scheme, which along with Rapfogel
is currently being investigated by New York's attorney general and
other law enforcement and regulatory agencies, allegedly involved
Century Coverage overcharging the Met Council for insurance and then
kicking back a portion of those overcharges to Rapfogel, both as cash and as campaign contributions to Rapfogel's chosen candidates. Now proof of those illegal campaign contributions has been found.
William Rapfogel
Disgraced former Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty CEO William Rapfogel was fired by the Met Council three weeks ago for allegedly stealing millions from the Met Council in a conspiracy with the Breslov hasid-run Century Coverage insurance agency. The scheme, which is currently being investigated by New York's attorney general and other law enforcement and regulatory agencies, allegedly involved Century Coverage overcharging the Met Council for insurance and then kicking back a portion of those overcharges to Rapfogel, both as cash and as campaign contributions to Rapfogel's chosen candidates.
The New York Daily News now reports it has found evidence of those illegal campaign contributions:
…Since 2003, city and state politicians have steered $5 million to the Met Council in discretionary funds known as “member items.”
By law, charities like the Met Council cannot return the favor by assisting candidates directly or indirectly. But Rapfogel appears to have pushed the interpretation of that law, and at times, Rapfogel’s role as a fund-raiser has been quite direct.
He is listed in campaign finance records as collecting $18,250 for assorted candidates from 1994 to 2007. Nearly half of that money — $8,500 — came from people tied to Century Coverage.
Century executives and their relatives have also donated or raised $130,000 for politicians who have funded the Met Council, records show.
One such politician is Silver, who has appropriated $868,000 in discretionary funds to the Met Council since 2006, and received $8,500 for his political committees from Century employees, records show.
Democrat David Weprin is another. From 2004 through 2009, when he was a city councilman, Weprin’s campaign committee received eight checks totaling $4,950 from Century employees. During that time, Weprin sponsored $700,000 in discretionary funds for the Met Council.…
A source close to Rapfogel said Rapfogel would let candidates receiving donations tied to the insurance company know that he was responsible for raising it.
“Otherwise, why go through the trouble?” the source said.
The source said that from Rapfogel’s perspective, using the insurance company to spread campaign donations “became an indirect way to do what he couldn’t do directly — make political contributions.”…
Since Rapfogel did this for many years while he was CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and as the Met Council's CEO, the IRS should strip the Met Council of its nonprofit status. If it does so, that will almost certainly mean the Met Council – the New York City Jewish community's anti-poverty organization – will go out of business.
New York City has already cut off millions of dollars of funding to the Met Council.
Rapfogel is extremely close to the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Shelly Silver, and Rapfogel's wife is Silver's chief of staff.