Jacob Bienefeld, rabbi of the Downtown Center, and his son, Myron, charged with conspiracy to defraud, yesterday were held for Special Sessions Court by Magistrate Richard McKiniry in First District Magistrate’s Court.
Magistrate McKiniry’s decision to hold the men came on the heels of his denial of a motion to dismiss the charges. Testimony to the effect that Bienefeld used a judge’s name without permission in soliciting funds had previously been heard.
Included among the witnesses who appeared against the men were former Magistrate Hyman Bushell, Sylvia Wells, a secretarial worker at the Downtown Center, Deputy Commissioner of Welfare Stanley H. Howe and Clark F. Ruck, a Port Jefferson justice of the peace. Bienefeld was accused of using Ruck’s name in soliciting contributions.
Bienefeld and his son were arrested several weeks ago by Detective Harry Lichtblau of the District Attorney’s office upon the advice of Bushell. The pair are accused of having solicited funds from Rudy Vallee, who called upon Bushell to investigate the Downtown Center.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
