The Woodmere man who was the treasurer at Congregation Aish Kodesh has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $634,000 from the temple, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced on Friday.
Isaac Zucker, 49, pleaded guilty Friday morning to second-degree grand larceny. He faces up to seven years in prison at his April 9 sentencing.
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Between his election to treasurer in 2006 and June 2011, Zucker stole $634,960 from the Woodmere temple. Zucker had been responsible for paying bills and making deposits and used his access to the synagogue’s accounts to steal the cash by wiring it into his law practice’s business account and writing himself checks from the congregation’s accounts, Rice said.
Temple officials discovered the theft in June 2011 when checks meant to pay the synagogue’s bills began bouncing. Doctored bank statements provided to the congregation’s leadership by Zucker showed one account’s balance to be $200,000. In reality, it was only $50, according to the DA.
Zucker was arrested by members of the Nassau County Police Department’s Crimes Against Property Squad at a hotel near MacArthur Airport on June 29, 2011.
“Houses of worship act as beacons of education, guidance, friendship, and trust and for this defendant to violate that sanctity in order to fill his own pockets is unconscionable,” Rice said in a press release. “He could not escape the years of lies and deceit, however, and for that my office will be seeking full restitution in addition to any prison sentence he may receive.”
Assistant District Attorney Peter Mancuso of the Government & Consumer Frauds Bureau is prosecuting the case for the DA’s Office. Zucker is represented by Joseph A. Grob, Esq.
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