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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF KINGS, PART: TAP
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
VS.
MEILECH SCHNITZLER
DATED: June 18, 2014
IND # 10648/2012
BEFORE THE HONORABLE JOSEPH GUBBAY, JSC
APPEARANCES:
FOR THE PEOPLE:
BY: MR. ARI FARKAS, ESQ.
FOR THE DEFENDANT:
BY: MR. FRIED, ESQ.
MICHAEL RIZZO
OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
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PROCEEDINGS
THE CLERK: 10648 of 2012 Meilich Schnitzler.
Appearances, please.
MR. FARKAS: Ari Farkas, Kings County District
Attorney's Office.
MR. FRIED: Israel Fried for Mr. Schnitzler.
THE COURT: Have the parties had an opportunity
to review the investigation and sentence report?
MR. FARKAS: Yes.
MR. FRIED: Yes.
THE COURT: This was a negotiated plea. The
Defendant plead guilty, People, to Assault in the Second
Degree.
MR. FARKAS: Yes, Your Honor, with a promise of
v ~ years probation.
THE COURT: This was a negotiated plea by the
parties; is that correct?
MR. FARKAS: Yes, Your Honor. And a full
ordered of protection.
THE COURT: Okay. THE COURT: The Defendant
stands before the Court a convicted felon; is that correct?
MR. FRIED: That's correct, Your Honor.
THE COURT: People, any legal impediment why
sentence cannot be imposed?
MR. FARKAS: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Do you want to be heard, People?
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MR. FARKAS: The People have nothing further.
But the complainant in this case is in the courtroom today.
We informed the Court. And we ask that The Court give an
opportunity to the complainant to make a statement.
THE COURT: Yes. I invite the complainant to
come' forward.
MR. ROSENBERG: My name is Nathan Rosenberg but
I am known in the community with my Jewish name as Rabbi
Norhom Rosenberg (phonetic spelling) .
THE COURT: Yes/ you may proceed.
MR. ROSENBERG: Defendant Meilich Schnitzler,
with his pre-meditation through a cup of bleach in my face
and almost blinded me. For over nine years I have publicly
fought for of my -- of the communities, children
from sexual abuse.
I operate the Yiddish hotline with recorded
weekly lectures about how to prevent and prosecute child
molestation. My hotline draws several thousand listeners
each week from allover the world.
My assault was not a random event. It was
timing. It was after there was some Mahasaz Weberman
(phonetic spelling) was found guilty of 59 counts for
sexually,assaulting a girl for and a half years.
THE COURT: Listen, I want to give you a full
opportunity to be heard, okay. I really sort of want to
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focus on what is relevant to this proceeding, all right. I
want to interject a little bit, okay.
You raised the motive. I do not see the
relevancy of the Weberman matter in this proceeding.
Weberman was tried in this courthouse/ was convicted in this
courthouse and sentenced to more than a century in prison/ am
I right about that?
MR. ROSENBERG: That's correct.
THE COURT: OkaYI let's leave the Weberman
matter alone. That is not before this Court. I am much more
interested in hearing about you and your trauma and your
p-
expression of the experience, the personal experience. That
is what I am interested in. Because that is what this
proceeding has to be. e ~ u s e The Court is very sympathetic
to the trauma that you went through.
Rabbi, continue.
MR. ROSENBERG: In spite of what the
Defendant's Attorney claimed in an interview with the New
York Times his attack did not go out of a heated exchange
between me and Schnitzler.
On the day of the attack I was walking in
Williamsberg when Schnitzler saw me from the other side of
the street, holding,a cup of bleqch. He ran across a four
lane street, busy traffic, tapped me on my shoulder. When I
turned around he tossed the bleach in my face. The attack
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1 was premeditated.
2 The fact is that there is Grand Jury testimony
3 from a neighbor, Mr. Santiago (phonetic spelling} who is the
4 manager --
5 THE COURT: Get to some of the things that the
6 Court is concerned about. Again, I want to give you an
7 opportunity to be heard, all right. Definitely. But I want
8 to sort of limit it to your personal experience and not
9 rehashing the Grand Jury minutes, the Grand Jury testimony.
10 MR. SCHNITZLER: I was fortunate that
11 bystanders helped me to flush my eyes with water. I may have
12 been blinded for life. There are permanent damages today
13 with my eyes and I use a specialist, a physician. For years
14 I have been insulted/ excommunicatedJand even physically
15 attacked because of my anti abuse activism.
16 I am no exception. Anyone in our community who
17 dares to cooperate with Criminal Justice System gets the same
18 treatment. When Schnitzler injured me the Defendant was a
19 messenger of those in the Hasidic communities who want us to
20 be silent.
21 I am very disappointed with the plea deal/ with
22 the Office of the District Attorney. The D.A. shortchanged
23 me Justice and the interest of_children who are sexually
24 abused by not bringing the case to trial. I was ready to
25 testify. The ADA, Mr. Farkas, sat with me numerous times.
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I never expected the plea bargain until I came
in the courthouse April the 29th and the ADA told me that
this is what it is. And he is getting a plea with no jail
sentence.
Your Honor, if you cannot void this plea deal I
beg you to the least send a message to the community and to
the D.A. in your sentencing statement that this sort of
conduct and this sort of plea deal can no more -- can no
longer be accepted anymore. Please let the community know
that you feel this sort of violence needs to be taken more
serious. The violence in the community aimed at the children
THE COURT: That I will cut you off, okay.
Don't want to return to the nexus, okay, and trying tD
connect the Defendant's acts against you with your community
activism. I heard enough on that. But, again
l
again, your
concerns about there being a non-jail disposition in this
case, that is valid comment. The pain and suffering that you
went through, sir, that is valid comment. The desire for the
Court to address its intolerance for this kind of behavior,
that is valid comment.
Are we almost done? Go ahead.
MR. ROSENBERG: On the day where Lhey offered- -
Mr. Schnitzler a plea deal that same day I went in the
community and I was thrown at with stones from teen-age
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boys. Everybody was screaming ha, ha, Schnitzler, is
walking. So, please, try to send a message for our community
that children are not free for all and people who come
forward are not free forever to be intimidated.
THE COURT: Thank you, Rabbi. You may be
seated.
People, you want to add anything at this
juncture? If not I will move on to Counsel.
MR. FARKAS: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Counsel, do you want to be heard?
MR. FRIED: Yes, Your Honor, briefly. This was
a negotiated sentence/ Your Honor. This was not a sentence
or a negotiation that took place on the last court date.
This was an ongoing negotiation.
This case was quite lengthy in its presence
before The Court. And/ I believe/ that all of the facts and
circumstances of this case were evaluated thoroughly by both
sides before the resolution and disposition was reached.
In the probation report you will see that Mr.
Schnitzler has accepted responsibility for his actions, Your
Honor. He made admissions both in court, in open court on
the record, as well as in the probation report. And I rely
upon t hoae admissions and remorse that he haa expr-essed__ fOI .
his conduct.
I just want to add that I donlt believe that
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this is anything other than a limited instance. This, in my
opinion, is not about potential hypothetical greater issues
in the community. This was a spat between two people based
on comments that were made on this radio station. I don't
condone the conduct or result of this conduct. But I do
believe that this disposition is fair. Again, I rely upon
the negotiated disposition in this case.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Mr. Schnitzler, Meilech Schnitzler m am I
pronouncing your name correctly?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
THE COURT: You have a statutory right to
address The Court. If you want to be heard, you may be
heard.
THE DEFENDANT: No, thank you.
THE COURT: I have given this case a great deal
of thought and deliberation. I actually was one of the first
Judges to preside on the case. I read the Grand Jury
minutes. The facts of the case, as the Rabbi out,
are very, very disturbing. The conduct is that kind of
conduct that resonates viscerally, throwing bleach into an
individual's face. By the grace of God, there was no
permanent By the grace of God, the Rabbi
wasn
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t blinded.
I read the investigation and sentence report
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and Mr. Schnitzler does admit his guilt. He admits his guilt
freely. I don't see remorse, any comment about remorse in
the investigation and sentence report. Maybe he said it to
the Probation Department. Maybe he said he was sorry for
what he did. Maybe he did.
Do you want to talk to your client, Mr. Fried?
Were you sorry? You want to say something?
THE DEFENDANT: 1--
THE COURT: Loud and clear so we could hear
you.
THE DEFENDANT: I want to say I am sorry for
. -
what I did. I regret what I did.
THE COURT: You are asking for forgiveness?
THE DEFENDANT: I can ask?
THE COURT: Do it.
MR. FRIED: From here. From here.
THE COURT: You want to come a little forward.
Not to forward though. That is good.
THE DEFENDANT: Are you forgiving me?
THE COURT: Could you sit down. Who is that
guy? Sit down.
THE DEFENDANT: Can you please forgive me?
MR. ROSENBERG: No, because he didn't harm ~
you harmed all the children that I represent and there are
thousands of them.
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THE COURT: Okay, you got what he said, Mike?
Thank you. We are not Convena Bate Dean (phonetic spelling).
MR. ROSENBERG: That's correct.
THE COURT: We are not going to do that. This
is a civil court. But I do have some familiarity with the
tradition. On Rosh Hashanah, right, we say Sly Hote
(phonetic spelling). The Sly Hote service. We ask for
forgiveness, right? We say Sly Hate during the service,
right. All from the Rootstaha (phonetic spelling). I am
sorry. I forgive. We ask God for forgivenessI to withhold
forgiveness. I will leave it at that. Something for each of
the parties in this case to reflect on.
Sentence imposed. Five years probation. $325
maDdatory surcharge, $50 DNA fee, final order of protection.
That is on behalf of Nathan Rosenberg. Full stay away
order.
Time to pay, Counsel? I will set it down for
MR. FRIED: I believe he could pay today, Your
Honor. What is the total?
THE COURT: $375.
MR. FRIED: He could pay todaYI Your Honor.
would ask if there is any bail that itbe
exonerated as well.
THE COURT: If there is bail it is exonerated.
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1 All right, so you need to listen to me, Mr. Schnitzler. You
2 will be on probation for five years. You plead guilty to a D
3 Violent crime. A D Violent Crime carries with it the maximum
4 of seven years prison. So you have to obey the law. Obey
5 the order of protection. Report to Probation as directed.
6 Anger management I will set down as a condition of
7 probation. Anger management as a condition of probation.
S There is DNA here. The reality is your DNA will be on file.
9 And probation will facilitate the swab. That concludes this
10 proceeding.
11
Thank you.
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MR. FRIED: Thank you very much, Your Honor.
13 Thank you, People.
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TgE CLERK: Wait for your paperwork. Have a
15 seat in the audience.
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REPORTER'S CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and
accurate transcript of the proceedings recorded by me.
Michael Rizzo
Senior Court Reporter
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