Gifford Miller make a clerical error?
One of the 60 Jewish leaders who endorsed the City Council Speaker Tuesday at City Hall was none other than Moshe Rubashkin, a Crown Heights rabbi who recently served 15 months in the federal pen for a $325,000 check-kiting scheme.
Rubashkin, 46, was elected chairman of the politically-active Crown Heights Jewish Community Council in January, less than a year after he was released from Fort Dix penitentiary in New Jersey.
As Newsday reported earlier this year, Rubashkin isn't allowed to sign checks or authorize payments for the group, which receives $1.9 million a year in city contracts.
Miller's campaign staff said they didn't know of Rubashkin's criminal past.
"The community of Crown Heights chose to elect him as their leader," said Miller spokesman Reggie Johnson. "It was their choice to forgive him and we respect that."
The speaker, who has raised $4.7 million, more than any other Democrat, paid out $100,000 to Bill Clinton consultant Mandy Grunwald, according to campaign filings.
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/newyork/politics/nyc-camp0518,0,5721520.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-politics
