Shalom! and don't drop the soap

Scam artist holds bar mitzvah inside jail
By Karen Matthews, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK - The young boy read from the Torah during his bar mitzvah, his guests enjoyed a catered kosher spread and the proud father returned to his cell.

The party for the son of a convicted scam artist was held at a New York City jail, and city taxpayers paid overtime for some of the jail staff to help out.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was fuming Thursday after learning of the Jewish ceremony celebrating the boy's coming-of-age held at the lower Manhattan lockdown known as The Tombs.

A Correction Department spokesman confirmed that five staff members were disciplined over the December party, which was reported in the New York Post on Thursday.

Bloomberg said the bar mitzvah should not have happened.

"I don't care how you sugarcoat it or how you define it, it's sort of through the looking glass," the mayor said, adding that the city Department of Investigations was looking into the incident.

The bar mitzvah host, Tuvia Stern, was accused in June 1989 along with his brother Ephraim of stealing $1.7 million through two scams including a bogus deal to lease back office equipment and a check-kiting scheme targeting Morgan Guaranty Trust.

I don't get what the big deal is. To me if we're going to bring down prison costs maybe we should stop locking up drunks and guys who like pot. I bet these prison guards insisted on throwing this bar mitzvah. It's got to spice up the day. If someone wanted to throw a bar mitzvah in my office I'd be all for it. If I was a prison guard and the highlight of my day was not getting shanked I'd demand a few more prison bar mitzvahs.