Israeli Charged in Monroe crime
An Israeli citizen who works as a divorce mediator in New York has been detained and accused of conspiring to kidnap of a man who had refused to give his wife a Get.
- Atara Sternbuch
- י' אלול התשע"ו
Binyamin Gottlieb, 33, has been arrested by the FBI at JFK International Airport on Sunday while boarding a Ukraine-bound flight, four days after charges declared against an Israeli rabbi and another individual over the same plot.
Those men, Aharon Goldberg, an Israeli Rabbi, and Shimen Liebowitz, a member of Satmar Hasidic community in Kiryas Joel, were accused of colluding to abduct and murder the intended victim.
Prosecutors said, an Orthodox Jew who provided investigative services, contacted the FBI in July after being recruited by Gottlieb and Liebowitz to kidnap a Brooklyn man.
The crime intended to force the man to issue a Get. A criminal complaint said that at a meeting in July , they discussed options including Gottlieb's suggestion to kidnap the guy in Ukraine, where he planned to go for Rosh Hashana and then to fly him to Israel.
Officials said that after that meeting, Gottlieb, an Israeli citizen who lives in Monsey, New York, got paid $25,000.
In following meetings, Goldberg and Liebowitz discussed their request to kidnap and kill the Brooklyn man, the accusation said.
Yakov Laufer, Gottlieb’s lawyer, argued in court on Monday that his client, a self-employed divorce mediator had a slight connection to the case, and should be released on a $2.5 million bail.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Hartman stated that there is evidence proving that Gottlieb was extremely involved and suggested he may have engaged in similar schemes requiring forced divorces.
U.S. Magistrate James Cott refused Gottlieb's bail, calling him a flight risk.
Laufer denied commenting after the hearing. Susan Necheles, a lawyer for Liebowitz, stated that the source is entirely improbable. An attorney for Goldberg did not respond to a request for comment.
Those men, Aharon Goldberg, an Israeli Rabbi, and Shimen Liebowitz, a member of Satmar Hasidic community in Kiryas Joel, were accused of colluding to abduct and murder the intended victim.
Prosecutors said, an Orthodox Jew who provided investigative services, contacted the FBI in July after being recruited by Gottlieb and Liebowitz to kidnap a Brooklyn man.
The crime intended to force the man to issue a Get. A criminal complaint said that at a meeting in July , they discussed options including Gottlieb's suggestion to kidnap the guy in Ukraine, where he planned to go for Rosh Hashana and then to fly him to Israel.
Officials said that after that meeting, Gottlieb, an Israeli citizen who lives in Monsey, New York, got paid $25,000.
In following meetings, Goldberg and Liebowitz discussed their request to kidnap and kill the Brooklyn man, the accusation said.
Yakov Laufer, Gottlieb’s lawyer, argued in court on Monday that his client, a self-employed divorce mediator had a slight connection to the case, and should be released on a $2.5 million bail.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Hartman stated that there is evidence proving that Gottlieb was extremely involved and suggested he may have engaged in similar schemes requiring forced divorces.
U.S. Magistrate James Cott refused Gottlieb's bail, calling him a flight risk.
Laufer denied commenting after the hearing. Susan Necheles, a lawyer for Liebowitz, stated that the source is entirely improbable. An attorney for Goldberg did not respond to a request for comment.
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