Rabbi Samuel Kellner Accused of Bribing Witness in Case Against Other Rabbi

Brooklyn Man Accused of Paying Child Witness to Lie:MyFoxNY.com

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A Brooklyn rabbi is under arrest and facing charges of bribery and witness tampering for allegedly paying an individual to accuse another rabbi of sexual abuse.

Sources tell NBC New York that Samuel Kellner was arrested Tuesday night. The Brooklyn district attorney has scheduled a news conference but has declined comment ahead of the announcement.

Kellner is accused of paying a witness to say he was abused by Rabbi Baruch Lebovits, who was sentenced a year ago to 32 years in prison after he was convicted of child molestation.

Defense lawyers for Lebovits were expected in court Wednesday to try and argue their client should be released.

It was not immediately clear whether Kellner had an attorney
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MYFOXNY.COM - Rabbi Samuel Kellner of Brooklyn faces several charges including perjury and conspiracy for allegedly paying a witness to testify that he had been abused by another rabbi, according to the Brooklyn district attorney.

Kellner was arrested Tuesday night.

Rabbi Baruch Lebovits was sentenced to 32 years in prison last year after he was convicted of child molestation, according to the D.A.

The Brooklyn District Attorney will announce charges against Kellner on Wednesday.
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VIN NEWS

Borough Park, NY - Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced the indictment of Samuel Kellner, 49, charged with paying a child to testify falsely that Borough Park rabbi, Baruch Lebovits, had sexually abused him. Kellner is also charged with attempting to extort $400,000 from the Lebovits family to prevent other children from accusing the rabbi and to stop those who had come forward from pursuing their cases.

The indictment charges that, in 2008, after Kellner learned Lebovits had been accused of sexually molesting a child, Kellner paid a second child $10,000 to falsely claim Lebovits also abused him. Both children testified before a Kings County Grand Jury which ultimately charged Lebovits with both misdemeanor and felony sex abuse counts, according to the indictment against Kellner. Kellner next sent emissaries to the Lebovits family demanding $400,000, in exchange for which, Kellner would prevent those witnesses from testifying at trial and prevent a third “victim” from coming forward, according to the indictment. The Lebovits family did not comply with the demand, and in November 2008, a third “victim” did come forward, the indictment charges. Kellner later threatened to bring a fourth “victim” to testify, according to the indictment.

In March 2010 Lebovits was convicted of eight counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the Third Degree, with the testimony of the third witness. The second witness did not testify at the trial. Lebovits was sentenced to 10-and-two-thirds to 32 years in prison.

Kellner is charged with Five Counts of Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Two Counts of Perjury in the First Degree, One Count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree and Two Counts of Criminal Solicitation in the Fourth Degree. If convicted, he faces up to 21 years in prison.

According to NBC News Defense lawyers for Lebovits were expected in court Wednesday to try and argue their client should be released.


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Associated Press
NEW YORK — Authorities say a man is charged with paying a child $10,000 to falsely testify that a Brooklyn rabbi had sexually abused him.

The rabbi, Baruch Lebovits, was sentenced last year to up to 32 years in prison.

District Attorney Charles J. Hynes says a new indictment charges Samuel Kellner with perjury.

The prosecutor says Kellner found out in 2008 that the rabbi had been accused of molesting a child, then got the second child to make similar claims.

Kellner also is accused of demanding $400,000 from the rabbi's family while saying he could have other children make allegations against him.

The name of Kellner's attorney was not immediately on record.
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NY POST

Authorities say a man is charged with paying a child $10,000 to falsely testify that a Brooklyn rabbi had sexually abused him.

The rabbi, Baruch Lebovits, was sentenced last year to up to 32 years in prison.

District Attorney Charles J. Hynes says a new indictment charges Samuel Kellner with perjury.

The prosecutor says Kellner found out in 2008 that the rabbi had been accused of molesting a child, then got the second child to make similar claims.

Kellner also is accused of demanding $400,000 from the rabbi’s family while saying he could have other children make allegations against him.

The name of Kellner’s attorney was not immediately on record.
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By TAMER EL-GHOBASHY WSJ

A Brooklyn man has been indicted for allegedly paying a child to testify that he was molested by a Yeshiva teacher and for attempting to extort the teacher's family out of $400,000 in exchange for suppressing other alleged victims from coming forward.

Samuel Kellner, 49 years old, pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of grand larceny, perjury, conspiracy and criminal solicitation in Brooklyn Supreme Court Wednesday. His attorney, Israel Fried, didn't return a call seeking comment.

The charges against Mr. Kellner stem from a 2008 case in which Baruch Lebovits was accused of molesting a boy. According to prosecutors, Mr. Kellner paid a second child $10,000 to falsely claim Mr. Lebovits had sexually abused him too.

At about the same time, Mr. Kellner, through an intermediary, demanded $400,000 from Mr. Lebovits's family in exchange for preventing the two boys from testifying and for preventing more young men from coming forward with accusations of sexual abuse, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said.

When Mr. Lebovits's family refused the demand, a third victim came forward with an accusation of abuse, Mr. Hynes said.

In March 2010, Mr. Lebovits was convicted of eight counts of criminal sexual act and sentenced to up to 32 years in prison. A spokesman for Mr. Hynes said the new developments don't affect Mr. Lebovits's conviction. The spokesman said the first and third victims were legitimate, and Mr. Lebovits was convicted based on the testimony of the third victim. He conceded that the accusations made by the second victim were likely false, but the second victim never testified at the teacher's trial.

On Wednesday, an appellate division judge granted Mr. Lebovits $250,000 bail and house arrest pending the appeal of his conviction.

His attorney, Arthur Aidala, said he was "satisfied" the district attorney pursued the case against Mr. Kellner. "It's always been our theory that the complainants only came forth and created these stories because they were paid tens of thousands of dollars," he said. "We're hopeful this will lead to the total exoneration of our client."
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NY DAILY NEWS

Prosecutors stood by a Brooklyn rabbi's child-molestation conviction Wednesday, even as they charged a Hasidic man with shaking down his family and bribing someone to make false accusations.

Baruch Lebovits, 60, received a sentence of 10 2/3 to 32 years in prison a year ago, based on the testimony of a 22-year-old man who said the rabbi sexually abused when he was 16.

The trial and stiff penalty sent shockwaves through Borough Park's tight-knit Jewish community.
But Samuel Kellner, 49, who brought the victim to prosecutors' attention, was charged with paying another man $10,000 to accuse Lebovits of abuse.

Kellner was also charged with trying to blackmail Lebovits' family out of $400,000 to make the cases disappear.

"Child abuse has to be prosecuted vigorously, but we also have to be careful about false complaints," said Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, defending a decision to prosecute the case.

An investigation into Lebovits - a wealthy man who owned a travel agency - began when Kellner's close relative accused the rabbi of inappropriate touching, sources said.

Lebovits was hit with a misdemeanor, but when a second accuser - the one paid by Kellner - came forward, the rabbi was slapped with felony counts, prosecutors said.

The charges relating to Kellner's relative were eventually dismissed, and the second accuser later refused to testify at trial.

Meanwhile, representatives for Kellner told the Lebovits family to pay up or another victim would come forward, prosecutors said.

When the family refused, a third accuser stepped forward and gave testimony in March 2010 that led to Lebovits' conviction.

A source told the Daily News that third accuser was also tainted, having been offered $50,000 to take the stand.

"We believe everything was premeditated all along. All they wanted was the money," said a relative of Lebovits who asked not to be named. "The DA has him on recordings."

An appellate division panel will decide later Wednesday whether to release Lebovits on bail pending his appeal.

Prosecutors oppose any release, arguing the victim who testified at trial was truthful.

The rabbi is represented on appeal by high-power attorney Alan Dershowitz and his original defense lawyer Arthur Aidala.

"The indictment today really made it clear that our client was the victim of an extortion plot," said Dershowitz.

"We are satisfied and relieved by the DA's actions to follow up on the leads we gave him," Aidala said. "It goes a long way to prove our theory that all these charges are false."

Kellner was arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court for 10 counts of grand larceny, perjury and conspiracy that can land him behind bars for up to 21 years.

He pleaded not guilty and his lawyer Israel Fried described him as an advocate of sexual-abuse victims, which made him a lightening rod in the ultra-orthodox neighborhood.

"It seems reasonable that people in the community who are aware of him bringing people to justice will have a vendetta against my client," he said.
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NY1

A man was charged Wednesday with paying a child to falsely testify in a Brooklyn rabbi's sexual assault trial.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes says Samuel Kellner, 49, paid a young boy $10,000 to testify that Rabbi Baruch Lebovits sexually abused him.

Kellner also reportedly tried to solicit $400,000 from the rabbi's family, saying he could prevent the children from testifying.

The district attorney says the rabbi is applying for bail pending an appeal, but he says Kellner's indictment should not change his sentence.

Lebovits is serving up to 32 years in prison for sexual assault.

"The question is whether or not the appellate division under all of the circumstances of this case will admit Lebovits to bail," said Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes. "We're opposing it, because we see no connection. It's clear that number two was falsifying, but we have no reason to believe that number three falsified his testimony."

Hynes added the bribed witness did not testify, and it was the testimony of a third child that led to the rabbi's conviction.

Kellner is charged with perjury, attempted grand larceny, conspiracy and criminal solicitation.

If convicted, he faces up to 21 years in prison
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04/14/2001 PIX-11

Brooklyn Rabbi Accused Of Sex Abuse Freed From Jail, Under House Arrest

BROOKLYN (WPIX)— The appellate division of state Supreme Court has ruled Rabbi Baruch Lebovits should be freed from prison on bail, pending the outcome of his appeal of a 2010 sex abuse conviction. The decision to bring Lebovits back to Brooklyn, putting him under house arrest, came after District Attorney Charles Hynes announced that a Brooklyn man paid off a witness in one case to lie about Lebovits.

Samuel Kellner is accused of paying a Brooklyn youth more than $10,000 to testify to a grand jury that Rabbi Lebovits molested him.

Prosecutors said Kellner hatched an extortion plot, after he heard another youth had made abuse claims against Lebovits. D.A. Hynes said Kellner tried to extort more than $400,000 from Lebovits' family, which owns a travel agency.

Kellner solicited a third, young man to testify against Lebovits, but this victim said he never received any money from Kellner. Rabbi Lebovits was convicted by this man's testimony last year and sentenced to up to 32 years in prison.

The District Attorney said Wednesday he had no reason to believe the third victim told any lies, and he stands by last year's conviction. But Defense Attorney Arthur Aidala, went right to the appellate division of NYS Supreme Court, demanding that Lebovits be freed.

The judges agreed to set bail at $250,000 and said Lebovits will be sent home to spend time under house arrest, while the appeal on his conviction is heard.

The Lebovits trial was a "high-profile" case in the ultra-conservative, Orthodox Jewish community, which has been rocked by investigations of sexual abuse in families and schools in recent years.