Millions Skimmed From Milan Jewish Community

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The Jewish community in Milan is confronting an apparent case of embezzlement in which millions of dollars were removed from the community bank accounts.
“Over the course of the past few months, all the accounts of the community have undergone a general audit, which is still going on,” Milan Jewish community president Walter Meghnagi told hundreds of community members at a special meeting this week.
The audit, he said, had shown that “taking advantage of everyone’s good faith, over the course of the years millions of Euros have been subtracted from the community’s accounts, by subtle and deceptive ways that have proven well suited to frustrate the required controls that are constantly put in place.”
Meghnagi said suspicion focused on a person who “played an important role in the financial and administrative management of the community.”
He said the matter came to light after “the person in question” was removed from his post last year following 30 years of service.
Judicial authorities are investigating, but no details have been officially revealed.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
