Rabbis convicted in forced divorces want verdicts overturned

PHILADELPHIA – Three Orthodox rabbis on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to overturn their convictions on charges they played roles in a ring that used brutal tactics to force unwilling Jewish men to divorce their wives.

Their lawyers told the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Philadelphia that investigators violated their clients’ constitutional rights and that there were judicial errors during the trial.

Federal prosecutors disputed those claims.

Rabbis Mendel Epstein, Jay Goldstein and Binyamin Stimler were convicted in 2015 on charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Epstein, 70, lives in Lakewood, New Jersey, while Goldstein, 61, and Stimler, 41, live in Brooklyn in New York City.

Epstein, who was accused of being the ringleader, was sentenced to 10 years. Goldstein got an eight-year term, while Stimler received a three-year sentence.

The attacks were carried out from 2009 to 2013 in New Jersey, New York City and other locations. Prosecutors said the group used brutal methods and tools, including handcuffs and electric cattle prods, to torture the men into granting the divorces, known as gets.

Jewish law mandates that the get be presented by a husband to a wife to make a divorce official.

During his sentencing in December 2015, Epstein told District Judge Freda Wolfson that he got caught up in his tough guy image, which he said helped him persuade men to give their wives the religious divorces. Epstein said he was helping the women out of a sense of compassion because they couldn’t remarry without it.

Epstein’s attorney, Peter Goldberger, argued Wednesday that Wolfson erred during the trial by not allowing evidence that explained the rabbi’s religious beliefs. The attorneys also argued that federal authorities didn’t get a warrant to obtain private cellphone records and that the evidence against Stimler wasn’t enough to justify a conviction.

Prosecutors disputed all three claims, stating that Wolfson did not make errors during the trial and that investigators properly obtained the cellphone records. They also said there was “sufficient evidence” to convict Stimler.

It’s not clear when the appellate panel will issue its decision.