Two rabbis and eight other people were arrested in an FBI sting in New York and New Jersey for plotting to kidnap a Orthodox Jewish man and coerce him into granting his wife a religious divorce.
Rabbis Mendel Epstein and Martin Wolmark charged women up to $100,000 to intimidate unwilling husbands into giving their desperate wives religious divorces known as 'gets'. According to reports, the rabbis would, for large fees, secure the right to use violence to force a get from the rabbinical court, then organize a group of thugs to kidnap and torture the husband, using cattle prods. Epstein is reported to have performed these services once every 12 to 18 months.
According to the criminal complaint which details the undercover operation, two FBI agents approached Epstein and Mendel at the beginning of August, posing as an Orthodox Jewish brother and sister seeking a divorce from the woman's husband. They met with Epstein a week later to discuss the kidnapping.
Epstein said it would cost $10,000 to pay for the rabbis on the rabbinical court to approve the use of force in obtaining the get and then an additional $50,000 to $60,000 for the 'tough guys' who would go in and get the get. Epstein added that his son was one of the 'tough guys' who would use his karate skills to force the divorce.
Epstein arranged to have a warehouse in New Jersey available for the torturing, then planned for the husband's transportation to and from the site, making sure not to alert the authorities. The undercover agents agreed to wire $20,000 once the rabbinical decree to allow the use of violence was made, then the female agent made an appearance before the court to make a case for the get. The decree was issued and the money was transferred on October 2.
The investigation took place in Ocean and Middlesex counties in New Jersey and Rockland County in New York. The arrest were made overnight Wednesday.
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