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Ramapo tech scam: Monsey businessman once cited as a NYC slumlord

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Peretz Klein photographed during the 2016 FBI raid

Peretz Klein during 2016 FBI raid Photo/The Journal News

“A Monsey businessman charged in a $14 million scheme to rip off a federal program to provide computers to yeshivas was once cited as a New York City slumlord.

Peretz Klein, who ran the Bridgestone Group LLC, in 2012 and 2013 faced 144 infractions of the New York City health code for a 46-unit apartment building at 1645 Grand Ave. in the Bronx, according to the New York City Public Advocate’s Office.

The company is no longer listed on the office’s “NYC Worst Landlord Watchlist” for 2017. The company’s corporate address is Klein’s home at 44 Ellish Parkway. [Read more…]

Ramapo: FBI, Rockland DA make 7 arrests from 2016 E-Rate computer raids

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“Authorities today arrested seven people – including six Ramapo residents – who are accused of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars through a federally subsidized program to provide electronic equipment to local yeshivas.

The arrests of Peretz Klein, 64, of Spring Valley, Susan Klein, 57, of Spring Valley, Ben Klein, 39, of Monsey, Simon Goldbrener. 55, of Monsey, Moshe Schwartz, 45, of Monroe in Orange County, Sholem Steinberg, 39, of Monsey and Aron Melber, 42, of Monsey resulted from a series of raids on multiple Ramapo businesses and schools in 2016.

They were all charged with various counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The statute sets a prison sentence of 20 years for the crime, though a judge has discretion under federal sentencing guidelines. [Read more…]

Feds Arrest Seven, Including some Rabbis, in $14M Monsey/Kiryas Joel Funding Scam

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Shield of the Dept of JusticeBy Jonathan Dienst  NBC 4 New York

Published 46 minutes ago | Updated 9 minutes ago

Seven Monsey and Kiryas Joel residents – including some rabbis – were arrested Wednesday in connection with an alleged $14 million dollar rip-off of a federal school technology funding program, federal prosecutors said. The FBI arrested the seven for allegedly stealing money meant to help underprivileged children.

Prosecutors said the suspects lied to claim they were serving as independent consultants and vendors to help obtain and provide telecommunication services to private religious school students across Rockland County. Federal dollars would come from the federal E-Rate program which is funded by the FCC. But investigators said the services were never provided with the seven allegedly stealing much of the money from 2010-2016. [Read more…]

Monsey firefighters fear for girls’ safety in school operating without certification

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Photo: The Journal News
Firefighters and housing advocates have voiced concerns about the safety for students at a Route 306 private girls school and camp that continues to operate without town approvals and with fire and safety violations.

While Ramapo’s request for a state judge to order the school closed awaits a decision, Congregation Bais Chinuch Ateres Bnos is running a summer camp and has held classes for more than 300 students in multiple trailer classrooms beyond the expiration of its temporary certificate of occupancy. [Read more…]

Monsey man demands lawmakers protect seniors from overdevelopment

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Photo: Seth Harrison/ The Journal News  Herrick Avenue, Monsey

Community View in the Rockland County Times

A letter to Senator Carlucci, Assemblyman Zebrowski & Assemblywoman Jaffee from Monsey resident Asher Kaufman

Fourteen years ago the Town of Ramapo produced a Comprehensive Plan and the only mention of Seniors living in single family homes is to say they “no longer need or want the responsibilities associated with maintenance of a single-family home” while completely ignoring that many seniors in the community do want to remain and spent considerable amounts of money maintaining their single-family homes so grandchildren can visit them in the houses their parents grew up in. [Read more…]

Kaser: Fire-damaged trailer sits on same property with Village Hall

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Trailer on Kaser Village Hall property

A fire broke out in a group of trailers across from the Kaser Village Hall at 15 Elyon Road early Sunday morning. The unattached trailers, village hall and attached boy’s school are on the same fenced-in property. (Photo: Rochel Leah Goldblatt/lohud)

“A Sunday-morning fire in trailers that raised questions among fire officials occurred on the same property as a yeshiva and Kaser Village Hall.

The property belongs to congregation Khal Torath Chaim, according to Ramapo town property records. The Village Hall rents an office from the yeshiva, Kaser Deputy Village Clerk Binyomin Mermelstein said. [Read more…]

Route 59 mess was made by developers, let them fix it

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The following is a letter published in The Journal News in response to “State must fix Route 59 mess in Monsey,” May 22 Community View:

“I applaud the vision of Mr. Brachfeld. The improvements he proposes for Route 59 are desperately needed. I can’t understand, though, why he feels that taxpayers should pay to clean up the mess that real estate developers like him created, and in the process enrich his real estate enterprise. [Read more…]

Developers should fix Route 59 traffic mess

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This letter from Ian Diamond was published in The Journal News on Sunday February 26.

“When I was growing up, my family’s vernacular was peppered with Yiddish words and phrases. Whenever standard English failed to capture the nuance of a situation, we defaulted to Yiddish. When I read about developer Joseph Brachfeld’s plans, terms like “nerve,” “audacity,” and “gall” were inadequate. The suggestion that the state should pay for expansions to the congested corridor of Route 59 in Monsey? Once again, Yiddish rode to the rescue: “Chutzpah.” [Read more…]

Ramapo nears breaking point

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Front Page of The Journal News Sunday Jan. 8, 2017

On Sunday, The Journal News devoted its entire front section to an examination of the accelerating, crushing growth in the Town of Ramapo. The cautionary lead on the front page was followed by six feature articles in section one, all dealing with the growing crisis in a town with uncontrolled development, a collapsing tax base, and top-level administrators busy working on their legal defenses against scores of federal charges. The dry rot resulting from endemic political corruption threatens the entire community.

The six features in section one are divided by six separate themes:

“It’s Ramapo’s lack of zoning and safety code enforcement, not religion, that has encouraged development chaos and divided the town. [Read more…]