Edison Divorce Torture Plot

The New York divorce coercion gang was a Haredi JewishBandler, Jonathan; Lieberman, Steve (October 10, 2013
"FBI Arrests N.Y. Rabbis in Jewish Divorce-gang Probe
, ''USA Today''. group who kidnapped, and in some cases tortured, Jewish men in the New York metropolitan area to force them to grant their wives religious divorces (''gittin''). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) broke up the group after conducting a sting operation against the gang in October 2013. The sting resulted in the prosecution of four men, three of whom were convicted in late 2015.

Background

Divorce is permitted in Judaism. Originally, only the husband was granted the power to terminate a marriage, which he could effectuate unilaterally for almost any reason by simply giving his wife a '' get'' (divorce document). During the Middle Ages, this rule was amended by Gershom ben Judah, who stipulated that a divorce could only be obtained through the consent of both parties. Henceforth, in order for a woman to receive a religious divorce, ''halakha'' (Jewish law) required that she obtain her husband's consent; this would avert the prospect of an invalid second marriage, which carries with it the possibility of her offspring being considered ''mamzerim'' (bastards/impure).Malinowitz, Chaim
"The New York State Get Bill and its Halachic Ramifications"
; ''Jewish Law Articles''. "Various types of invalidating coercion include phvsical punishment, physical restraint (jail), monetary loss, or threats of any of the above. Any of these coercive situations which brings about a Get without a verdict of invalidates that ." A contentious divorce must be arbitrated through a competent beth din. Among the valid reasons for divorce in Judaism are impotency, the intentional withholding of sex, injurious disease, apostasy, a verifiable instance of adultery committed by the wife, or certain forms of persistent spousal abuse. If either the husband refuses to grant the or the wife refuses to accept it, the beth din can implement certain coercive measures on the recalcitrant party; these include community shunning measures, financial penalties, or even physical confinement and/or assault, which can only be implemented after the beth din issues a formal ruling of coercion (). However, these measures are most often directed against the husband; in the event of his wife's recalcitrance or insanity, the husband has the option to simply remarry, or—for Ashkenazi Jews—obtain a () to remarry.

History

It was in this gray area of ''halakha'' that in the mid-1980s, a Haredi rabbi from Brooklyn, New began to advocate for women seeking religious divorces from their husbands.Dickter, Adam (October 16, 2013
"Accused Kidnap Rabbi Known For 'Wild West' Rules"
, ''The New York Jewish Week'' Dubbed by the press, due to his boast of using a cattle prod against his victims, Epstein coerced these men to divorce their wives through the use of violence. In 1991, Father's Rights activist Monty Weinstein staged a protest with 25 people outside Epstein's home, with some carrying signs that read . Weinstein had heard stories about Epstein's tactics for years, but nothing ever happened when he complained to the authorities. He said, "What bothered me is that the police and courts didn't care."Yudelson, Larry (October 18, 2013
"Unchained Reaction"
, ''Jewish Standard''. Retrieved April 3, 2019.

On October 23, 1996, while he was walking from the synagogue to his home in Borough Park, Brooklyn, Abraham Rubin was shoved into a van by three masked men, beaten, and shocked with a stun-gun more than 30 times, including in his genitals, until he agreed to give his wife a ''get''. After his 3-hour ordeal, he was left bruised, bloodied, handcuffed, blindfolded, and half-naked at the entrance to a cemetery.Samaha, Albert (December 4, 2013
"Bad Rabbi: Tales of Extortion and Torture Depict a Divorce Broker's Brutal Grip on the Orthodox Community"
, ''The Village Voice'' The same year, a rabbinical council in neighboring Williamsburg issued a statement condemning the shadowy group of -enforcers.

In the following year, Rubin filed a civil racketeering lawsuit against Epstein and a conspirator, Martin Wolmark, head of Yeshiva Shaarei Torah of Rockland on West Carlton Road in Suffern, New York. However, charges against his attackers were dropped in 2000 by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, after Rubin . In 1998, accountant Stephen Weiss alleged that his jaw, leg, and arm were broken in 1992 by members of the gang, but no arrests were made. ''Newsday'' interviewed an additional dozen residents of Borough Park and Midwood, Brooklyn, all of whom claimed that they were harassed, threatened, or assaulted by men working for their estranged wives. Hynes agreed to look into the charges, but, despite pressure from the victims, declined to prosecute.Shaer, Matthew (September 2, 2014
"Epstein Orthodox Hit Squad"
, ''GQ''

On December 1, 2009, Israel Markowitz was lured from Brooklyn to Lakewood Township, New Jersey, under the pretense of receiving employment at a document shredding establishment.Loder, Stephanie (May 15, 2014
"Stun Guns Forced Orthodox Divorce, Prosecutors Say"
, ''Asbury Park Press''Samaha, Albert (May 23, 2014
"Indictment Officially Ties Rabbis to Three Divorce Extortion Kidnappings"
, ''The Village Voice'' He was then assaulted, placed in a van, tied up, beaten, and shocked with a stun-gun until he agreed to give his wife a ''get''. On October 16, 2010, Yisrael Bryskman, an Israeli citizen, was lured from New York to the Lakewood home of David Wax, an accomplice of Epstein, where he was promised employment as a typist of Talmudic texts. Bryskman entered Wax's home shortly before midnight, was shown into a second-story bedroom, and was immediately punched in the face, breaking his nose. He was then forced to the floor, blindfolded, handcuffed, and ankle-tied. A pool of blood appeared on the carpet. Wax presented Bryskman with a body bag, .Hutchinson, Bill (May 6, 2014
"N.J. Rabbi Pleads Guilty to Violent Scheme to Force a Jewish Divorce"
, ''New York Daily News'' He was then kicked in the ribs, burned with acid, and threatened to be urinated upon, fed to rats, and buried alive, until he agreed to give his wife a ''get''. Wax was paid $100,000 from the wife's family for the document, half of which went to Epstein, and he attempted to extort an additional $50,000 from Bryskman's father in Israel over the phone, threatening that if he didn't comply, he'd receive a . On August 22, 2011, in Brooklyn, Usher Chaimowitz and his roommate, Menachem Teitelbaum, were assaulted, tied up, and beaten for two hours, until Chaimowitz agreed to give his wife a ''get''. Teitelbaum was punched in the face, had four of his teeth knocked out, his head pushed through a wall, and his mouth stuffed with dirty socks when he tried to scream for help. When he asked why they were beating him, one of his attackers quoted the Talmudic dictum .Jones, Abigail (April 8, 2015
"In Orthodox Jewish Divorce, Men Hold All the Cards"
, ''Newsweek''

In October 2010, Wax and his wife Judy were arrested for their part in the Bryskman kidnapping and beating, and Wax subsequently agreed to testify as a government witness, claiming that Epstein was the head of the operation and that his son, David Epstein, was present in the bedroom during the Bryskman beating.Spoto, MaryAnn (February 18, 2015

, ''NJ.com'' The Bryskman case was what led federal authorities in New Jersey to begin their investigation of Mendel Epstein for his role in the crime.Samaha, Albert (May 7, 2014
"David Wax Pleads Guilty, Implicates Mendel Epstein in NJ Divorce Extortion Case"
, ''The Village Voice''

Sting operation

In the summer of 2013, an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent dialed Martin Wolmark,O'Rourke, James (January 15, 2015
"Rabbi Pleads Guilty in Violent Plot to Coerce Divorce"
, ''USAToday''. Retrieved April 3, 2019. and told him her husband refused to give her a ''get''. The agent, together with another agent she identified as her brother, met with Wolmark on August 7, who proceeded to set up a conference call with Epstein. Epstein later said he needed $10,000 to approve the coercion at the beth din, and $60,000 for the who would use karate, rope, a screwdriver, and plastic bags over the men's heads to get them to co-operate. Epstein told the agent that he would not be present at the attack, planning instead to be out and about, and suggested that she do the same, explaining that being seen in public would provide them with an alibi. The agents handed Epstein a check for $10,000, with the word written in the memo.Swenson, Kyle (July 19, 2017
"Stun-Gun-Wielding Rabbi Kidnappers Fail to Convince Court They Were Just Practicing Their Faith"
, ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved April 3, 2019. On September 29, Epstein drove from New York across state lines to a warehouse in Edison, New Jersey to stake out the location and verify that it was appropriate to stage a kidnapping and beating there. Four days later, he drove to Suffern to meet with the female agent and Wolmark, who convened the beth din that, in exchange for the fee, would declare that the is required to divorce his . The rabbis, who were unaware that the agent was recording the meeting, openly discussed the plan to kidnap and assault the husband to force him to provide the ''get''.

Arrests

On October 9, 2013, Wolmark and eight other men gathered at the warehouse in Edison to prepare for the kidnapping.Darragh, Tim (December 14, 2015
"Rabbi Sentenced to Jail in Extortion-for-Divorce Case"
, ''NJ.com''. Retrieved December 26, 2018. Suddenly, federal agents burst in and arrested the would-be kidnappers. Epstein was arrested separately in Brooklyn,(October 11, 2013
"Two Prominent Orthodox Jewish Rabbis Arrested in Divorce Extortion Case"
''News12 Westchester'' and Wolmark's Suffern yeshiva was raided. At a federal court hearing the following day in Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman said, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Gribko said the gang .Yaniv, Oren (October 11, 2013)
"Rabbi Tortured Jewish Husbands to Divorce:Feds"
, ''New York Daily News'' On May 6, 2014, Wax pleaded guilty in federal court in New Jersey to conspiracy to commit kidnapping. He named the men arrested the previous October as his accomplices.

Criminal trials

The trial of the main defendants commenced on February 18, 2015, at the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Trenton, before District Judge Freda L. Wolfson. Following an eight-week trial, including four days of jury deliberations, Mendel Epstein was convicted on April 21 of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, but acquitted of kidnapping and attempted kidnapping. Co-defendants Jay Goldstein and Binyamin Stimler were convicted of conspiracy and attempted kidnapping. The jury acquitted David Epstein of all charges. Sholom Shuchat, who had pleaded guilty in June to travelling in inter-state commerce to commit violence, was sentenced on November 19 to time served and two years of supervised release, with the first six months being house arrest. Wolmark, who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to travel in inter-state commerce to commit extortion, was sentenced to more than three years in prison,(December 14, 2015
"Rabbi Sentenced for Role in Divorce-Coercion Ring"
, ''The New York Times'' two years of supervised release, and a $50,000 fine. Epstein and Stimler were sentenced to 10 years and three years, respectively. Wolfson said during the proceeding that and that the sentence was necessary to deter others in the Jewish community from engaging in similar paid vigilantism.Spoto, MaryAnn (December 15, 2015

, ''NJ.com'' One day later, Goldstein was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. Six other co-defendants also pleaded guilty before trial, and were sentenced to up to four years.Blau, Reuven (April 22, 2015
"N.J. Jury Finds Orthodox Rabbi Guilty of Kidnap-Divorce Plot
, ''New York Daily News'' On January 12, 2016, David Wax was sentenced by Wolfson to seven years imprisonment.

Appeals

Epstein launched a number of defense arguments in his motion to appeal, ranging from warrant issues to jury questions, but the heart of the appeal focused on the propriety of their actions under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, saying the FBI sting interfered with their practice of religion. He also argued that the victims, by entering into a Jewish marriage, were essentially agreeing to the use of force outlined in Jewish law. The higher court did not accept these arguments.

Assessment

Rabbinical judge David Eidensohn of Monsey, New York, said, "I'm shocked that people who call themselves rabbis would get involved in coercion." According to Eidensohn, if a woman obtains a ''get'' in such a manner and remarries, Eidensohn accused Hershel Schachter of misquoting Maimonides in favor of beating husbands.

Judy Heicklin, president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, said:

Samuel Heilman, professor of sociology and Jewish studies at Queens College, said,

Moshe David Tendler, rabbi and professor of medical ethics at Yeshiva University, said, While conceding that he had , Tendler nevertheless considered him .Lieberman, Steve and Bandler, Jonathan (October 11, 2013)
"New Details Emerge in Jewish Divorce-gang Probe"
, ''USA Today''.

Mordechai Willig, a leader of the Beth Din of America court of the centrist Rabbinical Council of America, emphasized that rabbis should never do anything illegal, because if one rabbi does something inappropriate, .

Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, the executive director of Agudath Israel of America, stated that Wolmark's court didn't hear what defense might be offered by the husband who was allegedly refusing to grant the ''get''. Zwiebel, who referred to Wolmark as a , , and a at the time of Wolmark's arrest,Cohen, Shawn P. (October 2013
"Suspect Called 'a Rabbi of Caliber'"
. ''Lohud.com''. Retrieved April 7, 2019. later said:

The story of this group and their tactics was publicized in a 2014 GQ article by Matt Shaer. In 2020 it was announced that Sister Media has partnered with Taffy Brodesser-Akner to adapt the story into a feature film to be called ''The Get'', but no further developments have been made public.

See also

* Kiryas Joel murder conspiracy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New York divorce coercion gang
Agunot
Borough Park, Brooklyn
Divorce in the United States
Former gangs in New York City
Gangs in New Jersey
Jewish-American gangs

Jewish courts and civil law
Jewish marital law
Jews and Judaism in Brooklyn
Judaism and violence
Lakewood Township, New Jersey
Orthodox Jews and Judaism in New York City
Orthodox Judaism in New Jersey
Torture-related organizations
Torture in the United States