Orange County, NY – Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and William J. Bratton, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the filing of a federal criminal complaint charging Shimen Liebowitz and Aharon Goldberg with conspiring to kidnap and murder an individual in order to obtain a religious divorce for that individual’s wife.
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LIEBOWITZ and GOLDBERG were arrested yesterday in Central Valley, New York, while meeting to plan the kidnapping and murder. They will be presented later today before Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman in federal court in Manhattan.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The defendants are charged with a chilling plot to kidnap and murder the intended victim. 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. Thanks to the exemplary work of our partners at the FBI and NYPD, Liebowitz and Goldberg are now in custody.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “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. Our country protects freedom of religious beliefs and practices, but no one is allowed to plot a kidnapping and murder regardless of their motivation.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
According to Jewish religious law as observed in certain communities, in order to effect a divorce, a husband must provide his wife with a document known as a “get.” A woman whose husband will not consent to a divorce is known as an “agunah.” In the absence of the husband’s issuing a get, an agunah may be released from her marriage only through the husband’s death.
In early July, an individual (the “CS”) contacted the FBI and reported that the CS had been recruited by LIEBOWITZ and GOLDBERG to kidnap a particular individual (the “Intended Victim”) in order to force the Intended Victim to issue a get to his wife. Like the CS, GOLDBERG and LIEBOWITZ are orthodox Jews. LIEBOWITZ is a member of the Satmar community in Kiryas Joel, New York (a village in Orange County, New York), and GOLDBERG is an Israel-based rabbi who also maintains a position of prominence in Kiryas Joel.
The CS provided the FBI with information about a conversation he had with LIEBOWITZ and GOLDBERG on or about July 6 or July 7. During the meeting, which was recorded, the CS feigned interest in participating in the kidnapping. He, GOLDBERG, and LIEBOWITZ discussed how such a kidnapping might be carried out, including the possibility of luring the Intended Victim to Pennsylvania in order to kidnap him, torture him, and force him to give the get. The CS, GOLDBERG, and LIEBOWITZ also discussed the possibility of kidnapping the Intended Victim in Ukraine, where the Intended Victim planned to travel in late September to celebrate the Jewish New Year.
GOLDBERG and LIEBOWITZ agreed to advance the CS $25,000 to assist in efforts to plan the kidnapping. According to the CS, within days of this initial meeting, an envelope containing approximately $25,000 cash was delivered to the CS.
On or about August 9, 2016, the CS met with LIEBOWITZ and GOLDBERG in Kiryas Joel, New York. During this meeting, the CS, GOLDBERG, and LIEBOWITZ discussed additional details of the kidnapping plan, including logistics and the cost associated with a plan to kidnap the Intended Victim overseas. This conversation was also recorded.
On August 12, 2016, the CS again met with LIEBOWITZ and GOLDBERG, at which time they provided the CS with an additional payment of over $20,000 for use in making arrangements for the kidnapping. In this meeting, which was also recorded, the CS, GOLDBERG and LIEBOWITZ further discussed their plan to kidnap the Intended Victim in the United States and to obtain the get from him in this country.
Subsequent to the August 12, 2016, meeting, the CS had additional conversations with GOLDBERG, in which GOLDBERG discussed his desire not merely to kidnap the Intended Victim, but also to kill him.
On August 25, 2016, the CS met LIEBOWITZ in Central Valley, New York. During the meeting, LIEBOWITZ paid the CS an additional sum of about $12,000 to carry out the kidnapping. Also during the meeting, the CS spoke by phone with GOLDBERG, who was still in Israel, about the kidnapping plan, which the CS and GOLDBERG referred to in code as a “wedding,” as well as GOLDBERG’s desire that the CS kill the Intended Victim. This conversation was also recorded.
On or about September 2, 2016, the CS had another recorded conversation with LIEBOWITZ, during which LIEBOWITZ indicated his understanding that the Intended Victim would be murdered as part of the plan.
LIEBOWITZ, 25, of Monroe, New York, and GOLDBERG, 55, of Bnei Brak, Israel, 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 maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
how stupid? didn’t they learn from Rabbi Epstein’s case that those old days are long gone? Ok now comes Pidyen Shave em and collecting for the families who are gonna be left with husbands in prison.
A direct consequence of letting mendel epstein off the hook.
All in chodesh Elul!
Conspiracy to commit kidnapping carries a longer sentence than conspiracy to commit murder for hire? I don’t get it!
People always jump to conclusions….
Goldberg is a well known Asken from Israel who is involved in many difficult divorce cases where the the 2 sides can’t come to an agreement.
he was set up by someone here who wanted him out of a case, he does this for 35 years and has never been involved in these kind of stuff. this is a clear setup and mere allegations. hope the truth will come out.
Lebowitz was just his driver and was never involved in anything.
Something is strange.
If you murder him why bother with the get?
His wife becomes a widow (and she can even marry a Kohain)
All you chachomim, that bash the askonim without looking into the matter, all is based on some prosecutor, that some of them are worse than a criminals, like we know from Rubashkin case.
Have you ever try to help an aguna even with a kind word, some Chesed, few dollars, listened to her heartbreaking story?
I bet if you would – you wouldn’t sit and comment all the loshon ora on-line, bashing some people who stood up to help them. Where is your “don l’chav zchus”?
I don’t say they did a right thing, all I say that we don’t know, and if you do know – it’s not for the public forum.
The “get” process, meaning the husband is in control of writing it, has no place in the civilized world. It should be able to be written by either the husband or wife.
Lebowitz is young and not so smart, he got utilized for unsafe actions by older shrude people. they all know him as a good heated man will never harm anyone.
Audio recordings hmmmmmmm?
This should be a slam dunk!
Bharara isn’t not know for jumping the gun, this guy is not going to bring a case if it’s not air tight!
Get ready here we go 1234 and cue the pidun shvuim campaign !
i CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE ARE SOME ON THIS SITE WHO STATE “OH, IT HAS TO BE A MISTAKE. THEY WERE SETUP; THEY WOULD NEVER DO THAT”. I JUST CAN’T UNDERSTAND HOW SOME PEOPLE ARE EITHER NAIVE, OR DOWNRIGHT STUPID! THE FACT OF THE MATTER, IS THAT THERE IS NO CORRELATION IN THIS CASE, BETWEEN BEING ULTRA FRUM, AND PLANNING TO ENGAGE IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES SUCH AS KIDNAPPING AND MURDER. THIS KIND OF CONDUCT CANNOT BE TOLERATED BY ANY ETHNIC GROUP, LET ALONE OUR OWN. IF THERE ARE CONVICTIONS IN THIS CASE, THEY SHOULD RECEIVE THE MAXIMUM PENALTY!
They can bunk with Shelly.
I seriously doubt if two Jews from KJ would commit a murder for money. Kidnap and threaten a man to give a get, they might reason is a mitzva, but murder? NEVER!
All you chachomim, that bash the askonim without looking into the matter, all is based on some prosecutor, that some of them are worse than a criminals, like we know from Rubashkin case.
Have you ever try to help an aguna even with a kind word, some Chesed, few dollars, listened to her heartbreaking story?
I bet if you would – you wouldn’t sit and comment all the loshon ora on-line, bashing some people who stood up to help them. Where is your “don l’chav zchus”?
I don’t say they did a right thing, all I say that we don’t know, and if you do know – it’s not for the public forum.
we all know the thruth,…. what does a 55 yr old from israel to do business with a 25 yr yungster from KJ ?????????????????? he got scammed or just stupit and young.
all those who blow out their opinions are “WRONG”
I know the young Lebowitz. he may have used a sharp word when talking to some stranger and expressed himself with some words of “killing” just like you can hear a boy says to the other “if you get me angery, I will kill you” which is just a kind of expression.
But those who are behind the Trap, were in a hunt for them.
some how this Husband new that they have a plan on him. so he placed the undercover agent to trap them.
those FEDs are not idiots , they will soon find out that Youngster Lebo was a small player in this case, they will most proberly put pressure on him to give out who is underlying this case.
still he was to young and stupit to be involved in such mitzvos……
What i heard that Mr. Goldberg got a first class ticket to new York to do his plot. I guess he wound up in a first class jail. Is the first class return ticket for sale ???