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Rabbi Moshe Rubashkin (born 1958) is a Chabad lay community leader in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He was elected to a three-year term in 2005 to serve as the head of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council, a public organisation that among other activities receives $2 million per annum in state funding.

Assault on police

In 1983, he was one of four Lubavitch men arrested after nine police officers were injured in a mêlée between the police and Orthodox Jews leaving a synagogue holiday service in Crown Heights.

Montex Mills

Rubashkin was the owner of Montex Mills, a textile mill in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It ceased operations in 2000. Accoring to court papers Rubashkin was involved in an offense in connection with his operation of Montex Mills. Pennsylvania law requires companies to secure worker's compensation insurance for their employees. Nevertheless, when an employee of Montex became injured and attempted to recover disability payments, it became apparent that Rubashkin, in his capacity as president of Montex, had failed to secure the required insurance. On May 4, 2001, Rubashkin was placed in an ARD program for a period of 18 months. It was during this probationary period that Rubashkin - in an attempt to liquidate some of the failing plants assets, wrote bad checks to himself from the company, defrauding the Banks of over $300,000.

Bank fraud

A government investigation found that between March 25, 1999 and March 30, 1999, Rubashkin attempted to deposit three checks payable to Montex, all drawn from the account of an entity named First Choice Associates, into Montex's First Union accounts. In the aggregate, the three checks totaled approximately $325,000. Rubashkin withdrew or used most of the funds which he attempted to deposit. Shortly thereafter, First Union learned that there were insufficient funds in the account from which the deposited checks were drawn. Rubashkin pleaded guilty to one count of Bank Fraud under US CODE 18 § 1344, "execution of a scheme to defraud a financial institution"., on July 31, 2002, for passing bad checks to prop up his failing Montex Mills textile business. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison and a further five years on probation. He was also given a fine of $233,000. He appealed the length of the sentence, but this was rejected. He served his time at Fort Dix Federal Prison in New Jersey.

Montex Mills fire

The mill had been closed for more than 4 years and Rubashkin had defaulted on his city tax payments. The city had obtained an order for the property to be sold to raise public funds. The mill burnt down following a series of fires attributed to arson that began on April 19, 2005. The original fire burnt for over 24 hours. The fire took place three days before the building was to be sold at a sheriff's sale because of more than $100,000 in delinquent taxes. The mill had not been functioning for a number of years before the blaze.

The Environmental Protection Agency was forced to get a court order to enter the site - which posed a serious public safety risk - as the owners were uncontactable. The site contained numerous major fire hazards including explosive aluminium powder and acids.

In November 2005 the local government had obtained a court order to repossess the building due to non-payment of back-taxes when the building burnt down. Subsequently the majority of the ruins were transferred from Skyline Industries to Southside Development, both companies are believed to be controlled by the Rubashkin family, according to local officials.

Cherry Hill Textiles

In 1995, Rubashkin along with his father Aaron Rubashkin, he was found guilty of fraudulently withholding Union remittances from organized labor groupings that were active at the Cherry Hill Textiles Mill in Brooklyn, that was under their ownership. The National Labor Relations Board found them guilty on an number of charges and ordered them to pay all the back-dated dues.

Community leader

His leadership of the community has been controversial. During 2006 he was involved in a series of disputes with other members of the Community Council that led to physical fights during committee meetings on more than one occasion, arrests and court hearings for him and other members of the board.

Family

He is the son of Agriprocessors founder Aaron Rubashkin, brother of its current CEO Sholom Rubashkin, and brother-in-law of Chabad rabbi and republican political fundraiser Milton Balkany.

Citations

1. Felon Elected To Head Council in Brooklyn, E.B. Solomont, The Forward, Mar 18, 2005
2. Felon picked as leader, Glenn Thrush, New York Newsday, March 10, 2005
3. 4 Hasidim held following clash with police, Lindsey Gruson, The New York Times, September 23, 1983
4. United States of America v. Moshe Rubashkin, Appellant. No. 02-4180. United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
5. Cornell Law School, legal Information
6. Felon picked as leader, Glenn Thrush, New York Newsday, March 10, 2005
7. United States of America vs. Moshe Rubashkin, Criminal action 02-333-01
8. ^ United States of America v. Moshe Rubashkin, Appellant. No. 02-4180. United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
9. Felon picked as leader, Glenn Thrush, New York Newsday, March 10, 2005
10. Blaze at Montex Textiles in Allentown ruled arson, Angela Pomponio, Morning Call (Allentown, PA), May 5, 2005
11. ^ EPA fears that hazardous chemicals pose imminent risk, Eliot Grossman, Allentown Morning Call, October 21, 2005
12. Allentown officials prepare to seize and sell the Montex Mills, Allentown Morning Call, November 13, 2005
13. Cherry Hill Textiles Inc and United Production Workers Union, Local 17-18, Case 29-CA-17848, Decisions of the National Labor Relations Board, No. 40
14. Crown Heights Politics Takes A Drastic Turn For The Worse, Crown Heights News, July 1, 2006

External links

• Website of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council

See also

• Chabad messianism
• 770 Eastern Parkway

• 1958 births
• Living people
• Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis
• American criminals
• American fraudsters
• American tax evaders
• Jewish Americans
• American businesspeople
• People from New York
• Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim