Excerpts and themes from Book “Chasing Justice – I Am My Brother’s Keeper”. Chapter: Jewish Laundry-The Detergent An American Response to Jewish Criminality and Corruption”. From: Rabbi Gary Moskowitz Director of the Jewish Justice Center Met Council Scandal Regarding the criminal probe of William Rapfogel former CEO of the Met Council who is accused of pocketing funds and directing campaign contributions to favored politicians in a kickback scheme. The Met Council has been for years running like an organized crime syndicate. The surface is only being scratched. Here are some charges being leveled against Rapfogel and company and some others that should be: Collusion Malfeasance Misfeasance Fraud Coercion Slander Collusion Abuse of Process Money Laundering However much more will be coming out including possible testimony from myself and others who worked with me during the time I led the National Association for the Jewish Poor a volunteer not for profit setting up Jewish Poverty programs for the elderly poor in the south/south east Bronx, Harlem, Brownsville and Jamaica areas. These are the worst inner urban areas of NYC which have been decaying for years. William Rapfogel/Met Council was instrumental in destroying our volunteer organization and he with others at the Met Council were known to us as the poverty pimps of the 1990s. He brought much pain and despair too many poor elderly Jews throughout his tenure. There is no surprise with the people in the know that he is finally in trouble. The only surprise is what took them so long. Any not profit poverty program where an executive takes over $8,100 dollars a week is not a poverty program but a profit sharing company running as an undercover profit corporation. Only here, little William did not have to make any initial investment that we know of. The board of directors need to be held accountable as well. They need to resign immediately as the investigation continues. It is very possible that some charges may also be pending against a few of them who are on this or previous boards. The only way to do that successfully is to hold public hearings. The pay to play scandals are still with us. Our community must set up the first Jewish compliance organization with forensic accountants that would check on cheats who rip off the government and steal precious donor resources that our poor truly need. The other scandal which is brewing is that many people knew and facilitated this as it was precipitated twenty years earlier in the tenure of Rabbi David Cohen, former CEO of Met Council who continued to draw a salary up until recently and who is named as coconspirator and under investigation as well. I wonder if William Rapfogel and Rabbi David Cohen will go down alone if they eventually wind up facing jail time. Over the years I have reached out to try and speak with the Board of Directors but they weren't interested in listening. When the story broke I offered the attorney from Derchert who the Met Council hired to investigate their mess to assist them in learning about other wrong doings. Clearly they felt meeting with me was unnecessary and clearly there is a conflict of interest where they seem more interested in damage control protecting the board of directors and other employees then obtaining the truth no matter where it leads. I have recently met with an attorney along with several other Jewish communal organizational people where we are contemplating bringing a class action against William Rapfogel and the Metropolitan Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty as much funds were being redirected away from worthy organizations who wouldn’t do Met Council’s bidding and where funds were being redirected to the William Rapfogel Group visa vi through he Met Council. Perhaps now our volunteer organization along with others can get a fair shot at the funding process and continue the important work of helping our poor without being hampered by the Met Council through their political considerations and kickbacks. In short, some of the other crimes and torts that need to be investigated that William Rapfogel and the Met Council participated in are: Collusion with high level government officials Manipulation of the government’s Request For Proposal (RFP) process which compelled politicians and government officials to funnel poverty funds through Met Council where the Met Council decides which Jewish organizations will get funding based on their ”Cut” (management fees) and political biddings. Profit Sharing as the Board of Directors were complicit in allowing William Rapfogel to increase his salary based on how much money they believe he was bringing in. Credit Card Fraud – stealing expense monies for personal business False Programs - Met Council participated in receiving government and private funds which on occasion went to hosting false programs. They funded individual programs where people who were allegedly being served had already expired or there was no one being served. Metaphoric anti-trust type - Use of coercion & bribery to compel Jewish community councils to fall under their umbrella. They began gobbling up Jewish Community Councils and other Jewish organizations through bully and threatening tactics along with slander/libel. Concealment of programming – Taking credit for other organization’s work and getting the funding for it. Refunding existing programs under other Jewish organizations’ names prior – they take credit for funding it and continue to receive more government and private monies. Blacklisting – The National Association for the Jewish Poor - preventing us from continued funding from the government and from the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies even though everyone working were volunteers except for one full time and one part-time worker aiding hundreds. Coercion - Synagogues Sale Scam – Use of coercion to close poor synagogues and those made up of elderly Jews and eventually profiting from their sales. Conspiracy in participating with other orthodox Jewish men in barring and kicking elderly Jews out of their synagogues for the purpose of closing down competing poverty programs there. Then they were complicit in the illegal sale of a synagogue taking some of the monies from the illegal sale under the guise of receiving donations as a 510c3 (kickbacks) for their help. During this period I was personally under a death threat for going to court against them. Slander Slandering the organizations and names of individuals who spoke out about their corruption and anyone who oppose them including myself. Abuse of Process Brought false charges against a Jamaican group who aided our program and were invited in to the synagogue who used the synagogue for birthday and wedding parties. They had the police raid the synagogue under false pretenses. The police finally embarrassed justified their raids by summoning the participants for having beer and alcohol. (Since when is drinking beer and alcohol at a party illegal in a shul? This was all part of a campaign to throw us from the synagogue. They almost started a race war slandering the Jamaican and Black communities. The Blacks were threatened, intimidated and summonsed and our organization (NAJP) and congregant/members) civil rights were violated. Political Campaigning Met Council compels their staff to work on political campaigns making calls and raising funds on job time and even on their off hours. Sheldon Silver gives over one million tax payer dollars to the Met Council and Willy takes almost half. Willy’s wife who is chief of staff of Assemblyman Sheldon Silver claimed she had nothing to do with this patronage even though she was a direct beneficiary to his sham. As reported later she claimed she didn’t know about the stolen Met Council’s kickbacks of $400,000 in cash found in her closet. She and the assemblyman need to be put under oath about a series of inquiries and questions over this and more. Corporate Malfeasance/Misfeasance The Board of Directors must be terminated. Some of them must have or should have known some of the crimes being committed by its executives. An investigation needs to inquire whether any of the Board of Directors benefited from William’s crimes or perhaps embroiled themselves in their own schemes. At best they were grossly negligent for not knowing and shouldn’t be in their position to decide how $112 million dollars of public and private funds should be spent. The Met Council has proven that its executives cannot be trusted as they are thieves and at the very best they are incompetent or negligent. Political Contributions returned - Every politician who took money from this scheme needs to be questioned. All monies that came from any members of the Met Council or the insurance company must be returned. Investigation for kickbacks is warranted to all Jewish organizations who worked with and received or gave funding to the Met Council. It is amazing how many people can be so gullible thinking these crooks at the Met Council have been the people’s heroes of the Jewish and Gentile poor. They were only in business to service – THEMSELVES For the Man of Steel - Charity begins at home – Willy’s home Poverty is big business just ask the experts below We are often who we hang with. Above - Willy and Rabbi David Cohen and with State Senator Malcolm Smith who is also on his way to jail. Torah Quote: “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdoff - Justice Justice You Should Pursue! Rabbi Gary Moskowitz Director of the National Association for the Jewish Poor and Jewish Justice Center Authoring Book: “Chasing Justice – I Am My Brother’s Keeper” 917-916-4681 Gavriael@aol.com www.martialartstherapy.org Rabbi Gary Moskowitz, former NYC Police Officer and Director of the National Association for the Jewish Poor who is currently authoring his book, “Chasing Justice” with a chapter dealing with these issues entitled, “Jewish Laundry and the Detergent - An American Response to Jewish Criminality and Corruption“. This is a letter I sent to the president of the board at the end of August. No response. Shalom Mr. Stephen Price – President of the Board Met Council, I hope this letter finds you well. William Rapfogel has caused much grief and despair to the elderly poor Jewish clients we used to serve. I would make myself available to your board to help you finally end much of the unfair illegal practices which the Met Council through William Rapfogel has been involved with. I have spoken to your attorney from Dechert and I realize there is a clear conflict of interest in her investigation of William Rapfogel as you are paying for the investigation and one wonders what info will become public or made available to the Attorney General's office if some of the board or other employees are also tainted. Members of your board may be found complicit or at least negligent. It seems that this investigation is more of a damage control operation then getting to the bottom of the rot of your organization. The Met Council is more of service agency for its executives than that of the Jewish poor they claim to help. Rabbi Gary Moskowitz 917-916-4681