Brooklyn Da’s Office Wants to Delay Extortion Case until after New Prosecutor Takes Control

By Oren Yaniv
New York Daily News
November 12, 2013

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/brooklyn-da-office-delay-extortion-case-article-1.1514522

Samuel Kellner, 49, is accused of trying to extort relatives of cantor Baruch Lebovits, whose conviction for sex abuse was overturned.

The Brooklyn District Attorney seemed intent to kick the can of a problematic extortion case in the Hasidic community down the road Tuesday as possible new evidence and allegations of prosecutors' infighting added to the legal mess.

A new prosecutor assigned to the case against Samuel Kellner — after two assistant district attorneys that had handled it were demoted Friday — tried to push it back to January, days after lame duck DA Charles (Joe) Hynes leaves office.

The new ADA, John Holmes, said his office is not ready for trial and that he has no information about the status of the case, which has been dragging since April 2011.

Incoming Brooklyn D.A. Kenneth Thompson (left) will take over for Charles Hynes in January.

"They're never going to be ready as long as Joe Hynes is the DA," said defense lawyer Michael Dowd. "This is a disgrace."

Kellner is accused in trying to extort relatives of cantor Baruch Lebovits, who was found guilty of sex abuse in 2010 before an appeals court overturned the conviction, and with trying to bribe witnesses.

Incoming DA Kenneth Thompson had expressed skepticism regarding the case, which became shaky over the summer when questions arose about the veracity of a witness who first claimed abuse by Lebovits — but later alleged Kellner had bribed him to say that.

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes (right) and Chief of the Rackets Division Michael Vecchione, (center) announced the indictment of Samuel Kellner, 49, on charges of paying a witness to falsely testify in a sex crime case.

Supreme Court Justice Ann Donnelly seemed taken aback by the unusual turn of events and ordered a hearing in two weeks to make sure new recordings prosecutors recently received are turned over to the defense.

In those tapes, Kellner is heard trying to convince another man to bring allegations against the cantor even after that person recoils, sources said. He also appears to meddle in unrelated sex abuse cases, offering his assistance to associates of alleged abusers.

Samuel Kellner, 49, is charged with paying a witness to falsely testify in a sex crime case.

Even with that alleged evidence in their hands, prosecutors Joseph Alexis and Nicholas Batsidis called the defense team last week and said they intend to dismiss the case, Dowd said.

They were overruled Friday in a meeting with their boss, Rackets Bureau Chief Michael Vecchione. But that was not the only reason they were reassigned, two sources said.

The Kellner discussion devolved into personal attacks and two veteran prosecutors nearly came to blows.

Incoming Brooklyn D.A. Kenneth Thompson has expressed skepticism regarding the case.

"Alexis challenged Vecchione to a fight," said a source. "It was like high school."

Office security was nearly called, another source said.

Hynes, who was defeated by a wide margin in last week's election, is slated to leave office Dec. 31.

Contact: oyaniv@nydailynews.com