Rabbi one of 46 defendants (illustration)
Photo: Index Open
Rabbi pleads guilty in US corruption case
Spiritual leader of Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn, New Jersey enters guilty plea to one count of unauthorized money transmitting
The spiritual leader for the Syrian Jewish community in the United States has entered a guilty plea in a massive federal corruption probe in New Jersey.
Rabbi Saul Kassin of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty in a Trenton federal courtroom Monday to one count of unauthorized money transmitting.
The 89-year-old is the chief rabbi of the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn and New Jersey.
Kassin was among five rabbis arrested in July 2009 and charged with money laundering using charitable non-profit groups they or their synagogues controlled.
There are 46 defendants in the federal investigation into money laundering and political corruption.
Solomon Dwek, a member of Kassin's Syrian Jewish enclave, became an undercover cooperating witness and wore a wire for the government after being arrested for bank fraud.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
