NEW YORK
The New York Times
By SHARON OTTERMAN
MARCH 7, 2014
Brooklyn prosecutors announced Friday that they will move to dismiss all charges against an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man indicted three years ago on charges he paid a young man to falsely testify that he had been sexually abused.
The move came as vindication for the defendant, Sam Kellner, 52, who had publicly and loudly argued since 2011 that the case against him was a fiction invented by the supporters of a prominent Hasidic cantor, Baruch Lebovits, who had been convicted of child sex abuse in 2010.
“After a careful review of the evidence, we have concluded that the charges against Samuel Kellner must be dismissed in the interest of justice,” said the Brooklyn district attorney, Kenneth P. Thompson. “We’ve reached this conclusion because we do not believe that we can prove these charges at trial.”
Mr. Kellner had helped encourage young witnesses to come forward against Mr. Lebovits.
On Thursday night, Mr. Kellner’s lawyer said prosecutors had informed him that the extortion indictment would be dropped.
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