USA Today: The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office used an Orthodox Jewish radio program in an elaborate sting operation that helped the government convict Malcolm Smith and other New York politicians in a corruption scandal, a four-month investigation by The Journal News/lohud revealed.
It is unclear whether there are other targets, including New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who appeared on the show as a state senator prior to the 2010 election with Moses Stern, later revealed to be an FBI cooperator. Stern appeared twice on the show prior to election day using aliases, posing as both a political analyst and a resident from Brooklyn. He urged listeners to vote for Schneiderman.
Prosecutors disclosed little about the New York Jewish Communications Channel to defense lawyers for two people convicted in the sting operation. The show was hosted by longtime Orthodox radio personality Zev Brenner, who owns Talkline Communications Network, and registered with the state by Joseph Markowitz, whose name was linked to thousands in campaign donations to Schneiderman, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, and an illegal donation to congressional candidate Dan Halloran. After the Smith arrests, Schneiderman pledged to donate the contributions from Markowitz and Markowitz’s wife to charity.
“In light of reports that Mr. and Mrs. Markowitz are involved in an ongoing law enforcement investigation, out of an abundance of caution, the campaign will donate the full amount of their contributions to charities helping New Yorkers recovering from Hurricane Sandy,” according to a statement by Schneiderman’s office after the FBI arrested six people in the sting…
The day before the 2010 election, Stern appeared on “Talkline” with Zev Brenner, president and founder of Talkline Communications, as Brenner announced a “very special pre-election broadcast” that’s “sponsored and brought to you by the New York Jewish Communications Channel.”
The NYJCC, Brenner said, represented a “bloc vote of over 100,000 Jewish voters” and worked with Jewish groups to help elected officials communicate with the Jewish community. Its goal through its radio program, NYJCC.com website and pamphlets: Register 50,000 new voters.
“We’ll hear from Eric Schneiderman, the Democratic candidate for attorney general,” said Brenner. “We’ll also hear from Avi Schick (a Schneiderman supporter and former deputy attorney general under Eliot Spitzer), Yossi Schreiber, political analyst, and others during this very special broadcast coming to you over WSNR 620 AM,” he said.
Schreiber is actually Stern.
Schneiderman, then a state senator running for the top state law enforcement position in New York, pledged on the show, if elected, to create a religious rights unit to help Orthodox Jews and others facing religious discrimination in the workplace.
Schreiber was introduced by Brenner as a “political analyst, conservative” less than 15 minutes later, urging people to gather neighbors and family members and “come out in a huge turnout” to vote for Schneiderman…
“Please, I beg you as a Jew to another Jew, talking from my heart, look at the issues for yourself and you decide for yourself, don’t listen to me, just go out there, check it out, NYJCC…,” he said, speaking for more than 20 minutes. “Just for full disclosure, I’m not getting paid by…Eric Schneiderman’s campaign, I’m not together with the Schneiderman campaign, I just look at the actual issues,” he said.
The Journal News has found that Stern called the show a day earlier under another alias, pretending to be a Brooklyn resident, asking Schneiderman about his stance on cracking down on gun violence and other issues.
It’s unclear whether Schneiderman knew Stern would go on the show under two different aliases. Stern would testify that he was involved in Schneiderman’s campaign, running a shadow campaign, helping him gain support in the Orthodox community.
The Markowitz Connection
The Journal News found that the NYJCC was registered with the state as a corporation in December 2010 after the show was already operating, by Markowitz. In addition to donating to Schneiderman, Markowitz also donated to Smith, Halloran and Sherri Eisenpress, who was elected a Rockland County Family Court judge in 2011.
