Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Jailhouse Bar Mitzvah Rabbi Quits Amid Scandal
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 16, 2009
Modified Jun 16, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 16, 2009
Modified Jun 16, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Oy vey: The Post reports that Rabbi Leib Glanz has resigned as a city jail chaplain, as tales of his generous ways towards Orthodox Jewish inmates—from allowing one to throw his son's bar mitzvah at the Tombs to entertaining some with clowns and allowing them to have sex with female prisoners—grew. Glanz, who was suspended after the unorthodox bar mitzvah (held at the Manhattan Detention Complex's gym, complete with knives), said, "Yes, I resigned. I decided it was best for everybody."
However, the Rabbi denied the allegations, telling the Post its series of articles, which mentioned that food was specially brought in for Orthodox Jewish inmates and that a satellite feed of one inmate's daughter's wedding was set up, were "uncalled for, totally unjust, pure lies... Whoever gave that information over lied. For 35 years I've been in public life. I never did bad for a single creature." Still, the scandal was enough to prompt Corrections Chief Peter Curcio to resign. Curcio told the Post, "I regret the embarrassment that this event has caused the city of New York. As a three-star bureau chief, I understand that I'm ultimately responsible for everything."
Curcio, though, laid the blame on approving the bar mitzvah for financial scammer Tuvia Stern's son on head chaplain Imam Umar Abdul-Jalil, "However, in this particular instance, I did not approve the bar mitzvah -- it was approved by Umar [Abdul-Jalil]." The Post says, "Before the scandal, Curcio was being eyed to become the agency's next chief of department."
Tagged
bar mitzvah
corrections department
Manhattan Detention Complex
Rabbi Leib Glanz
the tombs
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .