Jury Finishes 2nd Full Day without Verdict in Divorce Trial

Houston Chronicle
April 20, 2015

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Jury-finishes-2nd-full-day-without-verdict-in-6211982.php

Jury deliberations will continue Tuesday in the federal case of an Orthodox rabbi accused in New Jersey of using brutal tactics to force unwilling Jewish men to divorce their wives.

The jury concluded its second full day of deliberations on Monday. They asked for a transcript of the testimony given by Rabbi Aryeh Ralbog, who was granted immunity by federal prosecutors.

Rabbi Mendel Epstein faces charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and attempted kidnapping with his son and two other Orthodox rabbis. Prosecutors say the rabbi's team used brutal methods and tools, including handcuffs and electric cattle prods, to torture the men into granting divorces.

The defense has acknowledged some crimes may have been committed but says the 69-year-old Epstein was not part of a kidnapping conspiracy.