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More Arrests to Follow in Rapfogel Scandal

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William Rapfogel, director of the Met Council on Jewish Poverty has been arrested for stealing $5 million. More arrests are expected
William Rapfogel, director of the Met Council on Jewish Poverty has been arrested for stealing $5 million. More arrests are expected
Following months of investigations, William Rapfogel, former executive director of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty was taken into custody and charged with stealing more than $5 million dollars from the organization devoted to help fight poverty in the Jewish community.

Mr. Rapfogel has been connected to New York pols for many years and has been accused of funneling money to the political campaigns of many different elected officials, bypassing election campaign limit rules.

Rapfogel’s wife is the chief of staff for New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. She denied having any knowledge of her husband’s illegal deals that came to light through a whistle-blower.

It was reported last week that Judy Rapfogel represented Assembly Speaker Silver at meetings where legislators voted to give money to the non-profit her husband headed up. The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the New York Assembly, which his wife serves as the Assembly Speaker’s chief of staff. Some believe that this may be considered a conflict of interest.

At the same time the Metropolitan Council fired Rapfogel, their longtime leader, they also severed their relationship with their former executive director, Rabbi Dovid Cohen from his paid consulting position. As of this writing here have been no charges brought against the Rabbi in Rapfogel’s scheme to skim money from the insurance payments.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been interested in improving not for profit oversite and transparency and created a statewide task force in 2012 to address these issues. Mr. Rapfogel was a member of that taskforce.

This sounds like a case where the wolf was hired to protect the chicken coup.

The specific charges involved claims that Mr. Rapfogel conspired to inflate insurance payments and skimming $1 million for himself. Investigators uncovered $400,000 in what they believed to be some of the laundered money hidden in Rapfogel’s apartments in Manhattan and upstate New York apartment.

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