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Monday, March 15, 2010

Fugitive who fled to Israel returns to plead guilty to scamming government out of education grants 

A fugitive in hiding for more than a decade pleaded guilty Monday to fleecing the government out of millions in education and poverty grants.

Avrum Friesel bolted to Israel in 1997 when he learned he was under indictment for a scam that included creating a phony school in Brooklyn to steal education money, and collecting tuition grants for non-existent students to enroll in Judaic studies programs.

He and a crew ran the scam out of an Hasidic Jewish community in New Square, in Rockland County.

Four of Friesel's partners in crime were convicted in 1999 in the decades-long scheme. All were sentenced to 2-1/2 to 6-1/2 years in prison.

But each of the four had their sentence commuted by then-President Clinton. The move drew scrutiny because New Square village leaders backed her Senate campaign.

A federal review found no criminality in Clinton's pardons.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/15/2010-03-15_fugitive_who_fled_to_israel_returns_to_plead_guilty_to_scamming_government_out_o.html

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