Criminal Justice
NYC Mayor Fumes Over Jailhouse Bar Mitzvah
Posted Jun 12, 2009, 08:56 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A lavish jailhouse bar mitzvah complete with catered kosher food and a popular Orthodox singer is attracting the ire of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"Clearly, this is not something that should have taken place," Bloomberg told the New York Post after it carried a report of the event, hosted by Tuvia Stern, who jumped bail after being accused in two scams costing victims $1.7 million. He later pleaded guilty to grand larceny, the Associated Press reports.
About 60 guests “partied and danced the hora for six hours in the jailhouse gym” at the Manhattan jail known as the Tombs, the earlier New York Post story says.
The chaplain who arranged the event, Rabbi Leib Glanz, has been suspended for two weeks. But the bar mitzvah party isn’t the only allegation being lobbed.
In a different story, the New York Post cites a correction officers’ memo that claims Glanz ensured that Orthodox Jewish inmates awaiting trial were held in the Tombs, known to be less dangerous than Rikers Island. The memo claims Glanz brought in feasts of roast beef, salmon and chicken twice a week, citing the need to provide kosher food for the inmates.
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