A former city Correction Department rabbi who landed in hot water for arranging a lavish Bar Mitzvah party for a Rikers Island inmate was charged Wednesday in a massive tenant-fraud scheme. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Leib Glanz, 53, faces 15 years in prison on charges of conspiracy and theft for pocketing $200,000 in federal housing grants, according to a criminal complaint in Manhattan Federal Court.
The alleged scheme involved Glanz using his United Talmudical Academy, a prominent Williamsburg yeshiva. His brother, Menashe Glanz, 49, was also charged for taking money for living in a low-income apartment in Brooklyn that he didn’t live in, the complaint says.
“Leib and Menashe Glanz engaged in a years-long subterfuge to take criminal advantage of federal housing subsidies,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. “Especially in these trying economic times, we cannot tolerate stealing from the public.”
The scam is “the largest individual case of tenant fraud” ever investigated by the city’s Department of Investigation, Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said.
The Glanz brothers surrendered to authorities on Monday and are expected to be appear Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court.
Leib Glanz is a well-connected rabbi whose links with the Williamsburg Satmar Hasidic community gave him access to Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and other politicians.
The bizarre 2008 Bar Mitzvah party he threw for a city inmate led to an investigation and his resignation from the Correction Department.
