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The Tombs: "Private Club" For Some "Orthodox Jewish Jailbirds"
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 12, 2009
Modified Jun 12, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 12, 2009
Modified Jun 12, 2009
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The Post follows up its awesome story about how the Tombs—you know, the Manhattan Detention Complex—hosted one inmate's son's bar mitzvah party—complete with knives!— by saying the correction facility "was like a 'private club' for a group of Orthodox Jewish jailbirds, whose politically connected prison-chaplain rabbi regularly treated them to feasts of roast beef, salmon and chicken with all the trimmings." The Post also got hold of a corrections memo which read, "The inmates are untouchable. When it comes to the Jewish inmates, all rules are put aside."
The blame is apparently on prison chaplain Rabbi Leib Glanz, who was suspended after the bar mitzvah-in-the-Tombs gym news broke out. The Post details some of what he did: "Twice a week unloaded an SUV filled with food for the Jewish inmates, including 'sodas, salmon, roast chicken, roast beef, mash potatoes, vegetables, cakes, condiments'"—just like in Goodfellas, though that was Italian food (video)—and held a summer picnic where "Jewish inmates are allowed to cook and serve the food [at a summer picnic], and then they are allowed to sit at the table and eat like invited guests. [When the picnic is over] other inmate workers... come and clean up the place, which usually consist of the black or Hispanic inmates." He also gave Christmas presents to various Tombs employees, which helped people defend him when complaints arose. The city is investigating the blowout—and Mayor Bloomberg is pissed too!
The inmate who held the bar mitzvah, Tuvia Stern, was in February convicted of grand larceny related to a $1.7 million financial scam. And Stern, who is now at a state prison, apparently also held his daughter's engagement party at the Tombs right before getting transferred to state prison because the bar mitzvah was so great!
Tagged
bar mitzvah
corrections department
Goodfellas
Manhattan Detention Complex
ny post
orthodox jews
tombs
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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