http://www.vosizneias.com/125299/2013/02/28/brooklyn-ny-judge-exhibits-leniency-in-former-prison-chaplain-sentencing
Brooklyn, NY - Rabbi Leib Glanz, once an influential prison chaplain and power player within the Satmar community, was sentenced to a mere 45 days in federal prison today in connection with a Section 8 fraud after taking a plea deal.
The 54-year-old rabbi had been facing up to 15 years in prison for willfully defrauding the federal government out of more than $36,000 in Section 8 housing subsidies, the New York Times reports http://bit.ly/WkHK5z
Beginning in 1996, Glanz conspired with his 51-year-old brother, Menashe, to commit the fraud. Menashe was sentenced on February 20 to six months in prison and another six months of home confinement. The brothers were ordered to pay back more than $220,000 to the federal government.
Justice P. Kevin Castel of the Federal District Court in Manhattan opted for a lenient sentence saying he is taking the rabbi’s prior good deeds into consideration.
A letter written by Satmar Grand Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum on Glanz’s behalf to Judge Castel said Glanz “has led a life of dedication to his faith and to others.” In asking for leniency, Teitelbaum included references to God and passages from Deuteronomy such as “Justice, justice shall you pursue,” according to the New York Post http://bit.ly/XK2D5u
The letter also said Teitelbaum had spoken with Glanz extensively about his case, and “I can assure the court that his shame and humiliation have already exacted a significant toll and punishment.”
At sentencing, Judge Castel said, “Section 8 subsidies are not free money. They exist at the sufferance of the citizens and those who pay taxes. Punishment is intended to sting. It is not simply a matter of rolling back the clock to what it was before the fraud was done.”
Glanz broke down in tears before the nearly empty courtroom and begged for mercy. “All my life, I have tried to do only what is good, I have tried to help many people,” he said. “But in this case, I have not lived up to my own standards. I said ‘yes’ when I should have said ‘no,’ and by doing that, I have failed myself, I have failed many people.”