Setting aside the hyperbole and mischaracterizations deployed liberally throughout Mr. MacGiollabhui’s letter, I would like to correct one of his primary assertions and also to answer his questions. My article did not, as Mr. MacGiollabhui implied, attempt to find evidence that “Sam Kellner attempted to extort the Lebovits family.” Instead, I showed how Kellner’s involvement…
In the letter posted below, Niall MacGiollabhui responds to the Forward’s November 14, 2013 article, “Sam Kellner’s Tangled Hasidic Tale of Child Sex Abuse, Extortion and Faith; Is Alleged Shakedown Artist a Hero or Crook?” The article discussed controversies surrounding two separate, ongoing criminal prosecutions-one of Mr. Kellner and one of Baruch Lebovits. Mr. MacGiollabui…
The prospect of a plea deal for accused child abuser Baruch Lebovits was shot down by both the prosecution and defense — prompting a judge to move toward a retrial of the tangled case. Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Mark Dwyer set a new hearing on January 23, at which he is expected to set a date…
For this week’s story about the cases of accused molester Baruch Lebovits and accused extortionist Sam Kellner, the Forward was provided with a trove of secretly-recorded conversations. Among the recordings is a conversation Sam Kellner had with the family of a man who had already pled guilty to abuse charges. Over the course of 80…
This is a story about religion, sex abuse, power, extortion, bungled prosecutions and the pitfalls of pursuing justice in an insular Orthodox community where disputes are solved internally and mistrust of outsiders reigns. It involves a convicted sex offender; a Hasidic multimillionaire oil and diamond dealer; a drug addict; a New York assemblyman; a supporting…
The troubled bribery and extortion trial of a Brooklyn man who says his son was a victim of child abuse has been delayed — again. Laughter could be heard in the Brooklyn Supreme Court courtroom, November 12, when prosecutor John Holmes said that the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office was still not ready to try the…
On the campaign trail, Ken Thompson, the Democratic candidate for Brooklyn district attorney, has sharply criticized incumbent Charles Hynes’ prosecution of a prominent Hasidic advocate against sexual abuse, even attending a rally calling for charges against the man to be dropped. But Thompson, who is widely expected to win the November 5 election, is now…
This article originally appeared in the Forverts and was translated by Frimet Goldberger. Last Thursday, New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind called on Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes to drop the charges against a Hasidic whistleblower of sexual abuse, Sam Kellner. In 2010, Kellner, a Munkacs Hasid, reported that his son had been sexually molested by…
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