Brooklyn Man in Corruption Bust Was an Organ-Trafficking Thug

Photo of neighbors outside the Borough Park home of Levy Rosenbaum by David Karp/AP

As the dust still settles from the massive FBI sting operation that brought down three New Jersey mayors, rabbis from Brooklyn and saw a total of 44 suspects arrested, more details are emerging about the one charge among the fray that really turned heads this week—organ trafficking.

Levy Rosenbaum of Borough Park was arrested when he tried to broker a deal to an undercover agent selling a kidney for $160,000 after purchasing it from a donor for $10,000. Apparently Rosenbaum was known as the go-to guy for organs, running a ring where he would entice donors over from Israel in order to undergo surgery to remove a kidney in a local hospital. John Davis, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, said following Rosenbaum's arrest, "The allegations about an organ trafficking ring in the United States are appalling."

A UC Berekeley professor who is an expert in organ trafficking told the AP that Rosenbaum was "the top man" in the US. He also reportedly carried around a gun and was known for alluding to it if donors began to get cold feet. As for his high price tag, WABC 7 says Rosenbaum told the undercover agent, "Let me explain to you one thing. It's illegal to buy or sell organs, so you cannot buy it. What you do is, you're giving a compensation for the time...One of the reasons it's so expensive is because you have to shmear all the time." By "shmear," Rosenbaum meant paying people to look the other way.

While Rosenbaum's family wanted nothing to do with the media, others in the Borough Park area spoke to reporters. One neighbor defended Rosenbaum, saying he knew someone whose life was saved by a kidney he supplied and even went so far as to call him "a hero." At the NY Times' Freakonomics blog, where the topic of legalizing the sale of organs has been frequently discussed, Stephen Dubner questioned the logic of the current ban in cases like this where "poor people are already being excluded from getting organs (because there’s a scarcity of donated organs) and being lured into selling them."

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By Billy Parker in News on July 25, 2009 3:57 PM

Comments [rss]

apartments of tel aviv

its not a joke to sell a kidney i think the government should make action immediately they must be put in jail

David Nahmani

TLV2GO company obviously isn't a hotel of any regular standards but we do operate as one. TLV2GO website and all of the vacation rentals together are been manage under the same management that operating in the name of TLV2GO. All of these Tel Aviv apartments belong to one company and it is thru that they are not all in the same address but they are solely advertised has TLV2GO property in an independent website called www.tlv2go.com.

inoyourider

What a piece of garbage.

NannyState

"I can tell you for a fact that the kidneys that gonif Rosenbaum sell are no good. Everybody knows this. And $160,000? We should all be born so rich and so stupid. I can get you a better kidney for half the money. And you get a nice hospital room in Tel Aviv right on the beach. You can even see pretty girls from your window while you reach gesund. Who knows? With the money you save, you might buy that girl something nice? I got a brother that sells diamonds..."

NannyState

Sorry, damned Moveable Type.

NannyState

"I can tell you for a fact that the kidneys that gonif Rosenbaum sell are no good. Everyone knows this. And $160,000? We should all be born so rich and so stupid. I can get you one that's better, for half the money. And you get to stay in a nice hospital in Tel Aviv by the beach, you can even see pretty girls from your window, while you reach gesund. Who knows? With the money you save, maybe you buy that girl something nice? I got a brother who sells diamonds..."

ddhboy

Guy had to be in Williamsburg huh...

freddynyc

Yes, they are indeed the "chosen people"...

Snoopy

Can someone explain to me why there at that many cossacks hanging out on the steps outside the Borough Park home of Levy Rosenbaum? Don't they realize this is the end of July and no snow is expected for several months?

Did the guy also owe back taxes for a shtetl he owned in Poland?

Obviously the raid was not sanctioned or paid for by stockholders of either Gillette, Remington or Norelco.

HymietownHero

Uncomfortable dress is how you prove to God that you love him. Also penis-slicing.

grandzu

This is the same rabbi who has a "congregation" listed at a residential home in Brooklyn.

The same address is used by at least 97 different religious non-profits.

http://newsdesk.tjctv.com/2009/07/synagogue-nj-corruption-prob/

Nyctini11

I live in brooklyn in these parts and have often questioned these homes/shuls. Surprisingly most are legit, they have the basement of the house used, surprisingly, due to the limitations, in distance since, on shabbat and other such holidays, driving is forbidden, it's smaller neighborhood groups, that congegrate, anywhere from 10-50 would be my guess.