Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., June 13, 2009 Sivan 21, 5769 | | Israel Time: 06:19 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Focus U.S.A. Travel Week's End Anglo File
Share |
Last update - 16:34 12/06/2009
Convict stages son's bar mitzvah in New York jail
By The Associated Press

The young boy read from the Torah during his bar mitzvah, his guests enjoyed a catered kosher spread and the proud father returned to his cell.

The party for the son of a convicted scam artist was held at a New York City jail, and city taxpayers paid overtime for some of the jail staff to help out.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was fuming Thursday after learning of the bar mitzvah held at the lower Manhattan lockdown known as The Tombs.
Advertisement

A Correction Department spokesman confirmed that five staff members were disciplined over the December bash, which was reported in the New York Post on Thursday.

Bloomberg said the bar mitzvah should not have happened.

"I don't care how you sugarcoat it or how you define it, it's sort of through the looking glass," the mayor said, adding that the city Department of Investigations was looking into the incident.

The bar mitzvah host, Tuvia Stern, was accused in June 1989 along with his brother Ephraim of stealing $1.7 million through two scams including a bogus deal to lease back office equipment and a check-kiting scheme targeting Morgan Guaranty Trust.

While out on $250,000 bail, Tuvia Stern fled to Brazil with his wife and five children.

Stern was detained in 2006 while trying to enter England and was returned to the United States last year.

Stern, 47, pleaded guity earlier this year to bail jumping and to grand larceny from the 1989 indictment; he was sent to Woodbourne state prison in the Hudson Valley in April.

The bar mitzvah took place Dec. 30 in the gym at The Tombs. About 60 guests attended, and Stern was allowed to use his own kosher caterer.

Stern also was permitted to swap his jail garb for more festive clothing, and guests kept their cell phones, which normally are not allowed in city jails. A popular Orthodox singer, Yaakov Shwekey, performed.

The party was so successful that Stern held a small engagement party for his daughter at the same venue four months later.

Rabbi Leib Glanz, the chaplain who arranged the bar mitzvah, was suspended for two weeks, and four other staff members lost two weeks of vacation each.

Correction Department spokesman Stephen Morello said he could not comment on the incident beyond confirming that several correction employees worked overtime and that some corrections officials were disciplined.

Stern's lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, did not return a call seeking comment.

Related articles:
  • Is self-deprecation killing Jewish comedy?
  • Former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor 'converts to Judaism'
  • Interfaith dialogue is pointless without intra-faith reflection
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Holocaust Memorial
    Elderly gunman named as white supremacist opens fire on guards at D.C. memorial.
    Why 'Jewish' state?
    A.B. Yehoshua argues that the many qualifiers of Israel's name do more harm than good.
      1.   Werewolf Bar-Mitzvah, spooky scary! 04:38  |  Noah 13/06/09
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    hotel Jerusalem
    David Citadel Hotel, come stay at the finest of Jerusalem hotels.
    ISRAEL ARMY SURPLUS STORE
    IDF insignia,Uniforms, Paladium Boots Watches, Israel Army T-shirts & Collectibles
    Dead Sea Skin Care
    Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off!
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    More Headlines
    06:11 Iran election tally: Ahmadinejad wins 66%
    01:03 Lebanon's Hariri wants unity government including Hezbollah
    02:59 U.S.: Netanyahu policy speech not adequate
    21:15 J Street blasts 'distorted' poll that says Israelis against settlement freeze
    01:03 ANALYSIS / All Iran candidates will bolster Hamas, Hezbollah ties
    01:32 Five gay couples wed in ceremony on Tel Aviv beach
    23:17 UN approves wider sanctions against North Korea
    20:58 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel
    22:25 Noam Shalit gives Jimmy Carter letter to son held by Hamas
    09:48 What about the Arabs' natural growth?
    17:59 U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum reopens after day of mourning
    16:34 Convict stages son's bar mitzvah in New York jail
    11:38 IN PICTURES / Iran chooses a president
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
    | Israel 2009 election results | Makom: Engaging on Israel
    | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved