Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Religion & Law Blogs -> Religion Clause

Religion & Law

: Religion Clause

Chaplain Resigns After In-Jail Bar Mitzvah Party Disclosed

By Howard M. Friedman

On Wednesday, the Forward reported that Satmar Rabbi Leib Glanz has resigned as a New York prison chaplain after it was disclosed that he helped a Jewish prison inmate throw a lavish Bar Mitzvah party inside the Manhattan Detention Center. The party was for the son of Tuvia Stern, a fellow Satmar, who is in jail at "the Tombs" on charges of bank fraud and fleeing the country. Catered kosher food and silverware were brought into the prison gym where the party was held, and as entertainment a popular Hasidic singer performed for the Bar Mitzvah guests. The article reports that Rabbi Glanz has a history of wielding political influence to obtain funding and political good will for Satmar institutions. Corrections Department chief Peter Curcio, who was in charge of jail security, also resigned in the wake of disclosures about the in-jail Bar Mitzvah party.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 19, 2009 (boomark / email).