A wealthy Brooklyn man was indicted Friday on charges he tried to shake down the son of a convicted child molester with bogus sex allegations.
Simon Taub, a sweater mogul, had a go-between tell Meir Lebovits to pay him $250,000 or he would report Lebovits had molested Taub's child, sources said.
Lebovits, 31, is a son of Baruch Lebovits, a rabbi sentenced to 10 to 32 years after a jury convicted him of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy.
The younger Lebovits turned to his better-off brother, Chaim, for help - and together they began taping Taub's phone calls as he greedily raised the blackmail amount to $400,000, sources said.
The brothers went to the Brooklyn district attorney's office - and Taub was arrested after he accepted $75,000, the first of five arranged payments, prosecutors said.
Taub, who made millions in the garment business, is also known for his bitter, long-running divorce fight with his wife, Chana.
The couple divided their Borough Park residence with an interior wall because neither would leave the marital home.
Taub, 61, could face seven years in prison if convicted.
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