Mayer Herskovic, one of five Hasidic men indicted in a beating that left the victim blind in one eye, opted for the bench trial just before the jury selection process began.
The lawsuit alleges that the police mishandling of the investigation is directly related to a federal corruption scandal involving police officers and Orthodox Jewish businessmen.
A gay black man who says he was beaten by a group of Hasidic men in Brooklyn sued five of his alleged assailants and a local Jewish volunteer security patrol.
