-Caveat Lector-
Jan 24, 2001 - 09:25 PM
U.S. Attorney's Office Wrote Letter Opposing Pardons
By Shannon McCaffrey
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Just days before President Clinton commuted the
sentences of four Hasidic men convicted of stealing $40 million
in government funds, the prosecutor in the case urged the White
House not to reduce their prison time.
In a strongly worded letter to White House counsel Beth Nolan,
Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Landis said the case was being
watched closely by the ultra-orthodox Jewish community.
"Were the president to pardon or commute the sentences of these
defendants he would send a message to that worldwide community
that its pursuit of its own religious customs justifies fraud
against the government regardless of its magnitude," she said.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter Wednesday.
Landis said the fraud scheme in New Square, a Hasidic enclave 20
miles north of New York City, was tied into larger scheme in
other ultra-Orthodox communities in Brooklyn and throughout the
country.
The letter was dated Jan. 16, four days before Clinton reduced
the sentences of Kalmen Stern, David Goldstein, Benjamin Berger
and Jacob Elbaum. The commutations were among 176 pardons and
clemencies issued by Clinton just hours before leaving office.
The men are still in prison.
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, then New York's senator-elect,
sat in on the White House meeting between her husband and
supporters of clemency for the men. But she said that she played
no role in the president's decision and had no opinion about the
case. Her spokesmen said she was there because the New Square
supporters were now constituents.
Hillary Clinton traveled to New Square during her Senate campaign
and met Grand Rabbi David Twersky. Hasidic communities typically
vote in blocs and Clinton received New Square's 1,400 votes; her
Republican rival Rick Lazio received only 12 votes.
After the election, Twersky and New Square's deputy mayor, Izzy
Spitzer, were invited to the White House, where they raised the
issue of the clemency with the president while the first lady was
in the room.
Supporters of the four men have not denied their guilt but said
they did not keep the money for themselves, and gave it instead
to a school and residents of the village. The men are accused of
created a fictitious religious school to receive government
money.
In her six-page letter to Nolan, Landis outlined evidence that
was used against the men during the three-month trial.
"That evidence overwhelmingly proved that for almost 20 years,
the members of this conspiracy successfully corrupted every
federal government grant program available to them so that they
their families and their friends could maintain a community
subsidized almost entirely by the taxpaying public," she wrote.
She also noted that community had resisted the investigation and
that on one occasion, a mob surrounded federal agents trying to
serve subpoenas.
AP-ES-01-24-01 2126EST
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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