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Rabbi Accused of Extorting Millions from Hedge Fund
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 19, 2010
Modified Feb 19, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 19, 2010
Modified Feb 19, 2010
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A rabbi known as the "Brooklyn Bundler" for his ability to raise campaign money for (mostly) Republican candidates was charged on Thursday with trying to extort $4 million from a Connecticut hedge fund. Rabbi Milton Balkany, who serves as the dean of the Bais Yaakov day school in Borough Park, allegedly dreamed up the scheme after becoming a "spiritual adviser" to a federal inmate who told him about a Connecticut hedge fund that had used inside information in stock trades. Prosecutors say Balkany told lawyers at the hedge fund that unless they handed over $4 million ($2 million of which would go to Bais Yaakov), he'd instruct the inmate to rat them out. But Balkany insists he's just being punished for doing a mitzvah!
"Seven or eight years ago I was accused of wrong-doing and the government had to back off then," Balkany told reporters yesterday as he left court on $250,000 bond. "This is much more ridiculous. When you are in public service that's the price you pay. An innocent man is constantly dragged through the mud. This is from helping an individual in jail. He got a very lengthy term and I was trying to reduce it. I was in touch with the U.S. Attorney's office the whole time." The U.S. Attorney... so important.
Yesterday the feds got audio and video recordings of Balkany and the hedge fund lawyer as Balkany accepted two checks from the hedge fund; $1.25 million for Bais Yaakov and $2 million for Torah Vodaath, another Yeshiva school. He was arrested later that afternoon. He's charged with wire fraud, extortion, blackmail and making false statements. According to the TImes, the wire fraud count a sentence of up to 20 years.
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a serious man
arrest
borough park
extortion
hedge fund
Rabbi Milton Balkany
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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