Conservative Rabbi Raids Synagogue Discretionary Fund To Buy Transsexual Prostitutes

From the Forward:

The fifth Conservative rabbi subjected to R.A. disciplinary measures is Barry Starr, a former president of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis and a spiritual leader of Temple Israel, in Sharon, Massachusetts, for almost 30 years.
Starr’s congregation was shocked when the rabbi stepped down last year after admitting to “marital infidelity and other serious personal conduct.”
It soon emerged that Nicholas Zemeitus, a local petty criminal, had been extorting Starr for years over allegations that Starr had a sexual relationship with a teenage boy.
Zemeitus was charged with larceny and extortion. Starr was charged with larceny and embezzlement related to his misuse of congregational funds.
Both men pleaded not guilty.
During Starr’s court case, which began on June 2, it emerged that many of Zemeitus’s claims about Starr were untrue.
The police found no evidence that Starr had had sex with underage boys, nor did they find evidence of child pornography on Starr’s computer, according to reports in the Boston Globe.
Prosecutors did find evidence that Starr sought out transsexual escorts online. They believe that he paid Zemeitus $450,000, about $350,000 of which was taken from the synagogue’s discretionary fund.