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Overweight Rabbi Accused of Calling Hit On Ex-Cop
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 3, 2010
Modified Dec 3, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 3, 2010
Modified Dec 3, 2010
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A Brooklyn man was charged yesterday with hiring two ex-cons to carry out a hit on a former suburban cop and his nephew. And by Brooklyn man, we mean an overweight, gun-toting Rabbi who claims to suffer from seizures. Basically, the whole thing sounds highly unkosher.
Rabbi Victor Koltun, 41, allegedly hired the two ex-cons to kill Sgt. Frank Piscopo, 49, and his nephew Gerald Piscopo, 28, in Newburgh, Orange County. The Piscopos were found dead from gunshot wounds in their home in Newburgh in early November. Koltun, who weighs over 450 pounds, suffers from diabetes and uses a walker, claims the Piscopos were trying to extort money from him and had roughed him up in the past. Frank Piscopo had left the police force in 1990 after accusations he'd stolen from the police evidence locker, and was arrested in 2004 in a marijuana case and accused of intimidating a witness. The nephew had been deep in credit-card debt, and had previously spent two-and-a-half years in state prison on burglary charges.
Rabbi Koltun has his own strange criminal history: he has a federal conviction on a mail fraud scheme he masterminded; after the scam unraveled, he allegedly threatened witnesses with a gun. More recently, he was indicted in Brooklyn on charges of mortgage fraud, which included taking out a $225,000 mortgage on a senior citizen's home without her knowledge; he faces a possible 15-year prison term on those separate charges.
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brooklyn
fraud
hit
newburgh
rabbi
Victor Koltun
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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