Editing New Square, New York (section)

=== Fraudulent grant controversy ===
Four Hasidic men from New Square—Benjamin Berger, Jacob Elbaum, David Goldstein, and Kalmen Stern—created a non-existent Jewish school and enrolled thousands of students, to receive US$30 million in education grants, subsidies, and loans from the U.S. federal government. Some of the money were used to enrich themselves, but also to benefit the community institutions.<ref name="Questionsmount">{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=121757&page=1 |title=Questions Mount in Pardon Saga |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=February 23, 2001}}</ref><ref name=nyt1997>{{cite news |first=Benjamin |last=Weiser |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/29/nyregion/6-indicted-in-fraud-over-use-of-grants-for-hasidic-groups.html |title=6 Indicted in Fraud Over Use of Grants For Hasidic Groups |work=New York Times |date=May 29, 1997}}</ref> The fraud scheme in New Square was tied into larger schemes in other ultra-Orthodox communities in Brooklyn and across the country.<ref name=nydn2001>{{cite news |first=Larry |last=Cohler-Esses |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/u-s-att-ripped-hasidic-pardons-article-1.903731 |title=U.S. Att'y Ripped Hasidic Pardons |work=New York Daily News |date=January 25, 2001}}</ref> The men were convicted in 1999. In October of that year, all four men received prison sentences ranging from 30 months to 78 months. Two other suspects who were indicted left the United States.<ref name="NickAnderson">{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Nick |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-24-mn-29756-story.html |title=Hasidic Clemency Case Entangles Hillary Clinton |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 24, 2001}}</ref> The indictment drew sharp criticism in New Square. A statement by village representatives accused authorities of having a vendetta against New Square residents, and acting "in a manner remindful of the [[Holocaust]]," during the investigations.<ref name=nyt1997 />

[[Hillary Clinton]] met with New Square-area Hasidic leaders as part of her Senate campaign.<ref>{{Cite web |editor-last=Astor |editor-first=Yaakov |title=The Rebbe & President Clinton |url=https://www.zmanmagazine.com/PDF/Z47%20Clinton%20Pardon.pdf |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=Zman Magazine}}</ref> Michael Duffy and Karen Tumulty of [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' Magazine]] said that "as far as anyone knows, that was a campaign event only; no pardons were mentioned". Hillary Clinton attended another session with the men, who wanted to see the four Hasidic leaders released. After Hillary Clinton was voted in as a senator, during the morning of December 22, Twersky and an associate visited [[Bill Clinton]] in the White House Map Room in Washington, D.C., and asked him to pardon the four men. Hillary Clinton attended the meeting; she said that she did not participate in it and did not discuss the meeting with her husband.<ref name="DuffyTumultyPardonMe">{{cite magazine |last1=Duffy |first1=Michael |first2=Karen |last2=Tumulty |title=Pardon Me, Boys |magazine=[[TIME (magazine)|TIME]] |date=February 25, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010228173738/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,100549,00.html |archive-date=February 28, 2001 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,100549,00.html}}</ref>

On January 20, 2001, President Clinton commuted the sentences of the men; Berger's sentence became two years, and the other men each had 30 months. Federal prosecutors investigated the pardons to see if they were made in exchange for political support.<ref name="NickAnderson"/> A 2001 ''[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]'' article stated that some people wondered whether the pardons occurred as a kind of favor because the Village of New Square had [[Orthodox Jewish bloc voting|voted overwhelmingly]] for Hillary Clinton for her first senate term (1359 out of 1369 votes – in contrast to two other Hasidic communities nearby who voted overwhelmingly [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]) – or if the pardons occurred as part of a [[quid pro quo]] swap for votes.<ref name="Questionsmount"/><ref name="DuffyTumultyPardonMe"/><ref name=nydn2001 /> Hillary Clinton said that she was not involved in the pardons, and that her husband pardoned the men out of clemency.<ref name="NickAnderson"/> In 2002 the prosecutors closed the investigation with no action.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/06/24/cf.crossfire/index.html |title=Has Clinton been vindicated? |work=[[CNN]] |date=June 24, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020702224750/http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/06/24/cf.crossfire/index.html |archive-date=July 2, 2002}}</ref>