Rabbi accused of embezzling money to keep relationship with 16-year-old quiet
Offical statements in Boston court claim as much as $480,000 paid by Rabbi Barry Star by changing amounts written on checks from community members.
A Boston rabbi has been accused of using synagogue funds to cover up his affair with a 16-year-old boy that began two years ago.
According to court documents released Monday, Rabbi Barry Starr paid 29-year-old Nicholas Zemeitus up to $480,000 to keep silent about his alleged affair with the teen, who may have been Zemeitus' younger brother, the Boston Globe reported.
Starr resigned from his post at Temple Israel of Sharon several weeks ago, citing marital infidelity, though details were unspecified at the time.
"It is with great remorse and deep regret that I acknowledge I have engaged in marital infidelity and other serious personal conduct which require me to resign," wrote Starr in an e-mail sent to his congregation. "I write this letter with a very heavy heart and a sense of shame and remorse that makes this the most difficult thing I have done in my life."
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"As you know, sometimes people who try to be good people do things that are wrong, hurtful, and shameful," he wrote.
Sworn statements from the Stoughton District Court shed light on the nature of Starr's "marital infidelity", but still left certain questions unanswered, the report said.
According to the Globe, President of Temple Israel of Sharon Arnie Freedman told investigator Scott Leonard that he was approached by the rabbi, who said simply that he was in trouble and needed a $50,000 loan.
After Freedman insisted to know what sort of trouble had put Starr in such a position, the rabbi confided in the president. According to the Globe, Leonard's account to the court stated that, "Starr told Freedman that he (Starr) got involved in a romantic relationship with a younger man, who he (Starr) met online and that the man's older brother was now extorting money from him."
"Starr said the man was threatening to make details of the romantic relationship public," Freedman told Leonard.
A sworn statement from Zemeitus tells a slightly different story however, with no reference at all to a younger brother who may or may not have been involved.
The newspaper quotes Zemeitus as saying that he and Starr met through Craigslist, where many reportedly go seeking casual sexual encounters. The two met at Starr's home where Zemeitus reportedly told investigators he was angry to see a 64-year-old man instead of the 55-year-old woman he thought he had been talking to online.
Detective Leonard took down Zemeitus' statement as well and wrote to the court, "Zemeitus told us (police) that he got angry as Starr lied about his true gender and appearance. Zemeitus told Starr that he was going to inform Starr's wife about the meeting and that he would be outed."
The report claimed that Starr then offered to give Zemeitus $100 to keep the entire meeting under-wraps. Further payments followed, reaching up to $200,000 according to Zemeitus, but Starr told Freedman that the amount added up to $480,000.
Starr apparently managed to pay such large amounts by borrowing large sums, and telling Zemeitus to change the amounts written on the checks of un-witting congregation members.
"Starr told him (Zemeitus) that the checks came from people from within the temple who were elderly or people who would not know that the check denominations were altered," Leonard wrote in his report.
Leonard cited one such example in which Zemeitus reportedly added two zeros to an $18 check to cash it out for $1,800. In light of these reports, it was unclear whether or not charges would also be announced against Zemeitus.
Starr's attorney Thomas Hoopes absolved his client of wrong-doing stating that, "The rabbi, his family, and his community have been the victims of a vicious extortioner. The case is as simple and as awful as that. Law enforcement will hopefully determine the truth of any story Zemeitus has made up and assess any other allegations."
It may also be noted that even if the reported relationship with a 16-year-old is true, this may not affect the case legally, as the age of consent in Massachusetts is 16.
Even in the case that Starr is absolved legally, he may find it more difficult to repair the damage done to his relationship with the community.
The congregation, "has been profoundly troubled and upset by these events," said Freedman. "We are cooperating fully with law enforcement officials. At the same time, we are endeavoring to respect the rabbi's request for privacy."
An additional lawsuit was filed against Starr from Morris Kesselman, a Holocaust survivor and member of the community who loaned the Rabbi $50,000 and was never repaid.
