Rabbi, Former Jail Chaplain, Settles Paying $2500 Fine For Taking Gift

In a settlement with the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board on Monday, Rabbi Leib Glanz, former New York City jail chaplain, agreed to a $2500 fine.  As reported by the New York Times and JTA, the fine grew out of a much-publicized 2008 Bar Mitzvah celebration that Glanz helped inmate Tuvia Stern hold for his son in the Manhattan Detention Complex ("The Tombs") after a judge refused to grant Stern a furlough to attend his son's Bar Mitzvah outside of jail. (See prior posting.)  While Glanz cleared the Bar Mitzvah celebration with Department of Corrections officials, publicity about the event created a furor that led to Glanz's resignation and disciplinary action against several corrections officials. At the Bar Mitzvah celebration, Stern presented Glanz with a plate and a silver Kiddush cup worth $500. Glanz says he initially refused the gifts, but then took them in order to avoid offending the family after being pressed to do so by the family and other guests.  Glanz, who was once a powerful Satmar rabbi with political connections, has been charged in an unrelated case with theft and conspiracy for taking $22,000 in Section 8 housing subsidies.