TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Two rabbis are accused in an FBI sting carried out in New Jersey and New York of plotting to kidnap and beat a man to force him to grant a religious divorce.
Rabbis Mendel Epstein and Martin Wolmark charged Jewish women and their families thousands of dollars to obtain religious divorces, known as “gets,” from recalcitrant husbands, the FBI said in a complaint released Thursday.
Two undercover agents contacted Wolmark and Epstein in August about seeking a divorce. Epstein spoke about employing“tough guys” who use electric cattle prods and even place plastic bags over the heads of husbands.
The FBI said the price was $50,000.
The undercover agents were a woman posing as a wife unable to get a divorce from her Orthodox Jewish husband, and her brother.
Under Jewish law, a husband must provide his wife with a document known as a “get” to get a divorce.
