Rabbi and KJ resident charged in ‘chilling’ murder-for-divorce plot

BY ERIKA NORTON
CENTRAL VALLEY — Two Orthodox Jewish men with ties to the Village of Kiryas Joel have been charged with conspiring to kidnap and murder a man so the man’s wife could obtain a religious divorce, according to prosecutors.
Shimen Liebowitz, 25, of Kiryas Joel, and Aharon Goldberg, 55, of Bnei Brak, Israel were arrested Tuesday in Central Valley, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, while allegedly meeting to plan the kidnapping and murder. Goldberg is a rabbi based in Israel but maintains a position of prominence in Kiryas Joel, according to authorities.
“The defendants are charged with a chilling plot to kidnap and murder the intended victim,” said Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Over a period of months, the complaint alleges, they met repeatedly to plan the kidnapping and to pay more than $55,000 to an individual they believed would carry it out.”
According to the complaint, Jewish religious law as observed in certain communities states that in order to effect a divorce, a husband must provide his wife with a document known as a “get.”
Without this document, the only way a wife can be released from her marriage is through the husband’s death.
In early July, an Orthodox Jewish individual referred to as the “CS” in the complaint, reported to the FBI that he had been recruited by Liebowitz and Goldberg to kidnap a wife’s husband in order to torture and force the husband to issue a “get” to his wife.
Goldberg and Liebowitz paid the CS more than $57,000 in cash over the course of July, August and September, authorities said.

From kidnapping to murder

After several recorded meetings, Goldberg and Liebowitz allegedly revealed their intent for the CS to not only kidnap the intended victim, but murder him as well.
“As if the plan to kidnap the victim and force him to divorce his wife in this alleged conspiracy wasn’t bad enough, the plotters allegedly decided halfway through the arrangement to go a step further and add murder to the list of their planned crimes,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. “Our country protects freedom of religious beliefs and practices, but no one is allowed to plot a kidnapping and murder regardless of their motivation.”
Liebowitz and Goldberg are charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, which carries a maximum potential sentence of life in prison, and one count each of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison.
The case is being handled by the Violent and Organized Crime Unit and Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Hartman and Paul M. Monteleoni are in charge of the prosecution.
According to the Associated Press, it is unclear who will represent Liebowitz and Goldberg during a Manhattan federal court appearance.

Other similar cases

In 2013, Orthodox Jewish communities in Monsey and Brooklyn were raided by the FBI after it was alleged that a number of prominent rabbis were involved in a massive kidnapping, torture and extortion scheme, according to online reports.
In December of 2015, prominent Lakewood, N.J. rabbi, Mendel Epstein, 70, was convicted of helping to organize the ring of kidnappings of orthodox Jewish men who refused to grant their wives religious divorces.
According to NJ.com, during the hearing, undercover FBI agents revealed secretly recorded conversations in which Epstein reportedly bragged about using a cattle prod and other methods to force husbands to agree to religious divorces. Epstein was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Eleven others were also sentenced to time in prison for their parts in the scheme, according to online reports.